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Moment Donner Party - A Review

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123ski
Posts: 7374 - Karma: 1,415
Ok, so apparently a bunch of people want a review on this ski, so I will go ahead and dish it out to you.  I am 5'11" 175lbs.

Similar skis ridden: Moment Bibby Pro, K2 Hellbent, Armada JJ, Armada ARG, Bluehouse Maven.

Alright, first of all...this ski is AWESOME when you get to ride it in the conditions it is meant for. I had this ski for about a week after a 3 foot storm, so I had some really really deep pow and some really really skied out afterstorm snow.

I skied this ski at Snowbird. This ski was mounted very aggressively.

In powder this ski is unmatched. It floats/surfs better than the Hellbent, or ARG, and its tip is so fat that it never dives (like the ARG sometimes does). This is easily one of the best powder specific skis ever made. The flex is a bit softer than the ARG, especially in the tip, but it definitely is not a noodle. I didn't drop anything huge on these skis, but everything I did drop they stomped way easy, which is one thing I love about any semi-stiff rockered ski.

In crud the ski isn't your best option in a reverse cambered ski, it turns fine and everything but it is lacking some of the stiffness that the ARG or JJ have in order to absolutely kill it in crud. You will have to take a few more turns than you might have to with a stiffer ski.

On groomers this ski basically skis like a reverse sidecut ski, although I had a harder time finding the sweet spot than I did on the ARG. You know how it goes, just wash out the tail to turn, don't put it on edge and you are golden.

Any specific questions I would be happy to answer.
Mar 10 2009 11:06AM
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Bamski
Posts: 814 - Karma: 79
How did you find the flex? What other skis could you compare it to?
Mar 10 2009 1:17PM
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123ski
Posts: 7374 - Karma: 1,415
Finding the flex just comes from skiing the ski.  I have also skied the Bibby, Hellbent, ARG, Bluehouse Maven,  EP pro, SFB, Blend, Steeze extensively, the K2 Pontoon, the 4Frnt VCT, the Armada JJ, and the Moment ComiKaze...well..out of that "category" anyway


I will be skiing the S7 next week.

Out of what I have skied..the Donner Party has more of a similar flex to the Steeze with a slightly softer nose.
Mar 10 2009 8:05PM
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coolhandluke
Posts: 4465 - Karma: 153
"This ski was mounted very aggressively."

......so the shop tech had an angry drill?
Mar 10 2009 8:59PM
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Shewlur...
Posts: 5046 - Karma: 940
haha
Mar 10 2009 9:01PM
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123ski
Posts: 7374 - Karma: 1,415
no..but the shop tech was angry when he mounted it
Mar 10 2009 10:06PM
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.jt
Posts: 29 - Karma: 10
So I am 5'3" and 120 pounds soaking wet in all my gear. But I am a pretty aggressive skier that loves to huck 40+ foot cliffs and likes to straight line anything with pow on it. Does anyone know if the ski is too stiff for me? I have a pair of ep's in the 185 and i love everything about them. But hearing that the donner party is a stiffer ski scares someone my size. I'm not worried about length, just the flex.
Mar 10 2009 10:33PM
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jca
Posts: 4162 - Karma: 6,261
I haven't skied the EPs but the Donner Parties turn faster, are lighter and "pop" way easier than hellbents.
Mar 10 2009 11:04PM
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jca
Posts: 4162 - Karma: 6,261

here is my review:

Me: 5’7, 150lbs, 17 years young, I like to go fast, ski around 110 days a year.

Conditions: 30cms of light pow up high and wet “baker pow” down low.  Skied everything from super tight trees to open fields.

Skis I usually ride are 179 Hellbents and 190 Moment Rubys

 Wow.  I am in love with these skis.  They are absolutely phenomenal in any sort of soft snow conditions and as expected, they turn on a dime, float over everything forwards or backwards, they pop out of powder even better then the Hellbents and are light as hell.  I hit some 15-20 footers and it was like landing on 2 giant pillows, had a couple of off balance landings which were no problem because they just popped me right back to center.  I didn’t feel any “wheelie” stuff going on but that might have to do with being used to riding Hellbents.  They are really fast in powder and chopped up stuff like my and like my Hellbents it was really easy just to make huge super g turns and just bouce off everything on open, low angled stuff.  I would say that they are about a medium flexing ski – soft in the tips gradually getting to be medium stiff underfoot.  They ski super stable in the chopped up and skied out stuff.  As for durability, the bases, like all Moments, are absolutely bomber.  I hit some rocks, not super hard but I expected at least some decent gouges but the bases looked brand new.  I just borrowed the skis for the day so I can’t comment on the long term durability, but if they are anything like my Rubys (which I’m sure they are) they will last a looong time.

They aren’t as bad as I expected on groomers, you definitely can’t carve but you can initiated the turn with a slide then roll onto edge and its fine.  They definitely take a run or two on groomers to figure out.

Mar 10 2009 11:06PM
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.jt
Posts: 29 - Karma: 10
hey thanks. sounds like a good ski for me. I was worried that they were too stiff but it sounds like they are fine.
Mar 10 2009 11:08PM
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123ski
Posts: 7374 - Karma: 1,415
they are too long for you though..
Mar 10 2009 11:21PM
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Fish_Sandwich.
Posts: 9108 - Karma: 16
I skied mine in some deep and it was so epic, words can't describe it.  In trees they are so sick.  Hardpack...not so much,
Definitely a third ski for a quiver.
Mar 11 2009 4:29AM
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Big_Spence
Posts: 16177 - Karma: 4,352
Help me out here:

Currently I have a pair of Anthems for park.
A pair of Seth's for all mountain.
And I'm thinking of picking up a pair of these for a pow ski.

I'm 6'1, 170 lbs. and a pretty aggressive skier.
I'll be on the good ol' Northwest pow, just as a heads up.

What do guys think?
May 4 2009 12:37AM
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VTtreeskier
Posts: 1833 - Karma: 64
Im pretty much the same bodytype as you and ski pretty hard, these skis are amazing. 186 is just big enough for me, dont really need much more length as its not really a charging ski and you already have the seth im assuming at 189. The best tree ski ever created, you can keep your speed up so well and with confidence as initiating turns is ridiculously easy and you can quickly dump speed when needed. So fun and playful with the snow if theres enough of it, hopping around on them brings smiles to my face just thinking about those days. So, yeah, buy em
May 4 2009 1:53AM
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Big_Spence
Posts: 16177 - Karma: 4,352
Okay, I still need a little more help from you guys.
Here are the questions I have left:

1. How much snow do you need to be skiing in for these to be the most effective? Like is it still worth it to take out when there is only four inches of fresh on the ground?
2. Where are yours mounted? And if you were to do it again would you mount them somewhere else?
3. Is there any similar ski you would suggest to me to look into?

Any information would be great.
May 4 2009 2:39AM
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hollygrove
Posts: 7845 - Karma: 93
OKAY. I'll tell you about them. I have mine mounted at 2.5 cm's ahead of the line and I wouldn't want anything else. I do alot of spinning and switch landings and at 2.5 they do it great. Seven's and five were completely managably even off smaller sized hits. Like mentioned already in this thread these skis are absolutly amazing in powder snow. The lightness of the skis allow for some of the quickest turns imaginable in tree and waste deep snow. They definitely do take getting used to landing cliffs, but once you figure out the particulars they're fine. The one gripe I have with these skis is that they simply do not function to charge. even with 7cm of fresh ontop of questionable yet soft snow they don't funtion. I suppose that's not what they're made for. Definitely a quiver ski, and so their intended use they're absolutly amazing. If you have room for these skis I say gogogogogogo. Definitely a sick ski and I couldnt be more stoked on them, I just need to get a charger to round out my skis. I'm thinking Surface LL1. Hmmmm....Anyways. Moment Donner Party. Fucking sick. I'm 6'3 and skinny as hell for reference, probabaly about 155.
May 4 2009 11:11AM
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Big_Spence
Posts: 16177 - Karma: 4,352
So without say...16 cm of new they're no good?
And I don't know where the recommended line on these skis are, so how close to center is +2.5?
May 4 2009 11:26AM
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SV420
Posts: 242 - Karma: 10
You don't know how he skis so you don't know that.

Also I don't understand that the thread creator said that these skiied like a reverse sidecuted ski, but he did not mention any other reverse sidecuted skis in the similar skis part, because I have heard that it is very different than a reverse sidecuted ski.

Oh yeah and Moments are for squares.
May 4 2009 8:24PM
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backwardsrider
Posts: 543 - Karma: 70
They are reverse sidecut...
May 5 2009 4:27PM
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SV420
Posts: 242 - Karma: 10
They have straight sidecut underfoot.
May 5 2009 9:32PM
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jca
Posts: 4162 - Karma: 6,261

Next years are, I haven't heard of anyone riding them yet though.

I wish they came in a 196, the mount line is definitely pretty far forward, they ski short.

But still the funnest skis ive ever ridden.

May 5 2009 11:58PM
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