Help! Building a PNW quiver

Hi all,

This summer my wife made the unfortunate and very Sonny Corleone move of saying that if I chose to go to grad school in state, I could purchase a second pair of BC skis with no argument. I have never jumped so fast in my life (proof that two Sonny's can make a Michael). But things got trickier when I started trying to narrow down to an exact ski.

Currently I ski K2 Mt Baker SLs with Dynafit Comforts and Scarpa Spirit 3s. My rough concept is that the new skis would be a burlier "powder"/crud ski for short, midwinter tours at places like Skyline, Yodelin, Paradise, etc. The Baker SLs would be brought out for longer tours such as Muir and other volcano epics. The new ski will be driven with Dynafit ZZeus boots (already purchased) and Dynafit bindings, and 99.9% of its use will be for human powered BC in the Cascades.

I am a modern Hamlet (so far without the ending, knock on wood), so there has been A LOT of dithering, but I have managed to narrow the field to two very different skis, the BD MegaWatt and the K2 Coomback. My question is, which one of these skis (or ski categories) do you recommend as a second ski to compliment the Bakers, given my intended usage. I should mention that I am a highly mediocre skier, and EXTREMELY conservative to boot. I tend to make short little fraidy-cat turns and would probably push my mother in front of a train before I would huck anything. I'm 6'1", 170 lbs. and pretty active but not in anything anyone would call great shape.

So...I'd love to hear the expert opinion. Is the MW just absurdly heavy and overkill in the waist for the local snow? Or is it worth it for the ride down? Is a 102 waist what people tend to prefer as a fatter ski for the NW, or is this a go big or go home situation?

Also, I certainly don't mean to stifle anyone's creativity, so please recommend other alternatives as you see fit. Just know that: a) I have thought about this A LOT, b) I'm sure these snazzy carbon skis are great, but they're a little out of my price range, c) I'm very intrigued by the tip rocker thing (fad? revolution? cult?), and d) I'm not super excited about a true twin tip. This is not to say you can't recommend these options, just that I would probably take some extra convincing (as in: "I own DPS, and you can have some Lotus 120s for free because we don't yet sponsor any skiers in the coveted 'hopelessly pathetic' category").

Thanks in advance!

PS. Yes, I have read the "NW powder ski" thread on this forum, and it is wonderful.

I'll play. I tour with MWs, much to the derision of my ski partners, and love them. Way more versatile than you'd think, but not as versatile as the Coomback would likely be. The one area where they absolutely suck is in set-up refrozen crud, but Coombacks won't be worlds better. And, if you're touring, why would you go in those conditions anyway?

One issue you might have: At your height/weight, if you're as tenative as you say, you might find the 188 to big/heavy, and the 178 too small. They ski short with the rocker.

I own Coombas as well. I can't imagine they're too much different than the new ones. They're good with soft boots (Megarides) but suck with burlier boots (Factors) because they're pretty soft. I'd try skiing the Bakers with the Zeus to see if they ski the same way. If you still like the Bakers with the Zeuses, the Coombacks might be a good call. If they feel like dead fish, get MWs. My MWs are 1,000,000x more fun to ski than the Coombas. I like the flat camber/tip rocker design so much that I bought DPS Wailer 105s to more or less replace the Coomba.

Good luck. Buying skis is fun.

I would push your mother in front of a train to see you huck something and I've met her and she's very sweet.

Just go for the Big Dogs so we can hear your rants about compartative weights of my Freeride/MW combo vs. your Dynashit/MW setup. You can buy something in the 105ish range when you have a kid but until then you've got no excuse not to have 125mm of beef underfoot, unless you're scared the Zzeus can't handle them...

When comparing skis, check what kind of radius turn the manufacture claims for the ski.  As an intermediate skier you probably want something with a shorter radius turn. 

Tua Toute Neige

I am a highly mediocre skier, and EXTREMELY conservative to boot.  I tend to make short little fraidy-cat turns and would probably push my mother in front of a train before I would huck anything. 

Very funny stuff!
I'll muddy the waters - This sounds like an excellent time and you sound like a prime prospect to take up Telemark...at least the way I do it. :
(No offense to my many better skilled mentors.)