new skis?

Anybody want to trade unmounted Drifters for S7's?

sorry buddy! They are absolutely the bee's knees in the BC.

Don't forget that, especially if you're trying to maintain a quiver of one, you can rent skis you're interested in and give them a whirl in your usual environment. Marmot stocks a number of skis with Dynafit rental plates all year, other shops might too.

For what it's worth, my experience on fatter skis has been pretty good. These days, I ski el Hombres through the winter and Atomic Kongurs in corn season. Fat skis make breakable crust and crud easier to ski and ease trailbreaking in powder. TLT4 boots have been sufficient to drive them both in reasonable conditions, though I'd go stiffer if I were skiing the Hombres inbounds frequently. I'd keep the Kailas as a spring/harder snow ski. If I were hunting a quiver of one ski for my own purposes, I'd probably be looking at ~88-95 underfoot, lightweight but durable, moderately stiff, ~18-24 m turn radius, with good edgehold.

A few i'd look at personally if i was going for a quiver of one type ski. keeping in my touring and weight and the fact itll need good spring type skiablity.

DPS wailer 95- a nice lightweight option at ~7 pounds a pair. 95mm isnt to fat nor to skinny. Sort of in the middle. Do good in spring corn and in pow kind of size. has some tip rocker which is nice. Or you could step it up to the wailer 105 which is pretty much same ski just 105 underfoot instead.

DPS wailer 112RP- pretty much a lighter version of a Rossi S7. Be new this year. Its 112 underfoot so still not bad and not to heavy either at ~8.5 pounds a pair. Does have tail rocker which might not be as attractive for spring.

Rossi S7- great ski (i got to rid it for the first time a few days ago) but felt heavy to me. i've found that they weight ~11 pounds which would be kind of heavy (in my mind) to tour on. With the DPS wailer 112RP coming out id go that route if you can afford it. Does have tail rocker too.

Lhasa 186 carbons (what i use figured id mention it) pretty much a Rossi S7 without the tail rocker. Bout the same weight as the 112RP ( ~8.5pounds) and 112 underfoot. It does like to charge though. It does feel a bit harder to turn at slow speeds but once you get some speed it is the best ski i have ever been on. Charges through all conditions. Skis well with dukes or with dynafits too.

Anyways figured id toss a few more into the mix. Ultimately itll be a choice of what exactly you want. Tradition or a bit of rocker, lighter or heavier, ect ect. But those are all skis i have heard awesome things about and would pick up myself possibly if i was looking!

thanks for all the comments, demoing sounds like a solid idea. On Sat. at Stevens (an epic day for this year) I rode up with someone on El Hombres. He loved them, anyone else have something to say about them. Think they might be a ski to demo. Keeping the Kailas for spring touring does make sense. It does put the "one ski quiver" out the window, but we all must continue to grow in new directions.

thanks again for helping me think about this

greg

I enjoy my hombres (185 with BD01s) they ski well across a wide range of conditions from powder to semi hardpack. They are on the stiffer side for a bc ski which I like as im big. If i was replacing them i might be tempted by lower weight tip rocker or a combination of the 2.

They're the only fat ski I've skied (I won them in a G3 contest, hence the lack of demos). I find that the Hombres are pretty stiff, prefer long radius turns, weigh a little more than I'd like, but bomb through crud at speed. Edgehold is fine, only my soft boots make them a little tricky on hardpack/ice. At speed, the flex is sweet. When they're in their element, they're great. The tails occasionally hook up unexpectedly in breakable crust while the rest of the ski's still floating.

If you conclude that the more traditional shape of the Hombre is for you, you might also consider the ZenOxide. It's lighter and feels softer in the store, which might be an advantage in tight trees. I'd give a couple of other, probably rockered, skis a try before settling on the Hombre/Oxide. There are tons of ski reviews at telemarktips that you may find useful.

(Gripe: Why do people make backcountry specific skis, especially fat ones, with black topsheets? Sure, they look cool sometimes, but they warm up in the sun and snow sticks to them.)