Mr. Pollard's Opus 185

if i was u id look at the at the rossi super 7 or on3p billy goats much better for what ur doing. the opus is an amazing ski but those fit ur style better

Inb4 "inb4 mountainviper" haha Yeah dude I've told this a bunch of times now. I got the opus early so I have a better idea of how it handles compared to someone who demoed it for an hour. First, I'm 6'1" and 185-190 lbs. Second I'll tell ya like I tell everyone else concerned with length, the opus has more running surface and more effective edge than most other pow skis. As far as pow skis go I have never felt like they were too short for me. Even on groomers they feel like they're the perfect length for me. Plenty of stability but not so long ya have to fight em. Now that said and looking at what you want to use them for, I'd almost say go bacons. Unless you want a really wide ski, which is what I prefer. The bacons will be much more nimble on the hardpack for sure but I gotta say I was blown away by the opus on hardpack. It actually handles groomers even better than last years bacons and has that "go anywhere do anything" feel. I actually think that for me, if they were say a 190, I wouldn't like them. It's important to tell ya that back in the day when I was competing on moguls I rode a 190 dynastar and for all mountain/backcountry I rode a 205 atomic. So I'm no stranger to long skis. Back then I wasn't doing the kind of things I'm doing now though and there is no way I'd go over 185 at this point. Ive owned alot of skis over the years and have more than a few pairs hangin out in the basement. The opus is still the longest I currently own. I really think the big push for length as of late is a little unfounded in a lot of respects. IMO if you can't land something on a 172 that you can on a 191, you have zero business attempting said feature. Here is what I would suggest, if you can at your local shop, lay one down and put your boot on it as close to mounting position as possible. (with your foot in the boot of course and eyeball the midsole line with the boots midsole line best ya can.) You should be able to get at least some idea of whether or not it appears long enough for ya.

thanks for the advice, yeah i live in park city, ut so i'm not opposed to getting something more powder oriented than all mountain...  i just want to have something that CAN go switch in powder where the armada tsts which i was all set on getting have no rocker in the tail and aren't known to be good switch anywhere

The armada JJ however does. If your lookin strictly pow, that ski eeks out the opus but for versatility the opus eeks out the JJ. I'm a fan of tighter turn radius' anyway so I'd say opus but some folks swear by the JJ. They're both the top rated pow skis this year though so either way ya can't go wrong.

Haha if you are talking about being top rated by freeskier then that is complete crap. Not one of their reviews is based on the top ski just the most advertising $$

Hmmm. I've seen that elsewhere as well but can you honestly tell me what ski is better than the opus or JJ?

You are looking at two amazing skis, I have a pair of JJ that I use as my all mountain and backcountry ski, I have the duke on there, this year I will be using the Opus strickly fo the mtn, and mounting a pair of Jesters on them.  If  you feel like you need a little more surface area without sacrificing the quick turn radius check out the AKJJ, it's 120mm under foot, the Opus is 118mm under foot and the regular JJ is 115mm.  The AKJJ also is a 195cm in length being a little taller you may enjoy this, I'm 5'11" same weight as you so I use the 185JJ and Opus.  The AKJJ is a sick ski!  Check it out

http://www.coloradofreeskier.com/product_detail.cfm?CatID=98&PID=3176

yeah man thanks i've seen this same opinion in other threads.  I have not seen a ton of support for rossis on here and everybody I know raves about them. 

I've read about the Opus being really good on firm stuff and I'd like a ski that is great everywhere that skis like the armada tst but is rockered in tail as well so JJ i think is the way to go.  I'll look at that and AKJJ and Opus and pick one and ski it.  I'll have fks 18s wides ideally on them.

okay i still haven't made up my mind and now the 189 K2 obseth is on the list...  thoughts?   opus, jj, obseths?   skied with a friend today at solitude who had the 185 jjs and he said he loved them and it was his first day on them...

also, where do you guys mount on your pow skis?

we dont advertise in Freeskier. Legit review. As far as the initial question, length comes down to preference but the facts are there is way more (20% more) effective edge than other comparable models. thanks!

where u at mountainviper?

What do you mean? Mount? I'm right on the midsole line if that's what your asking. I wouldn't mount anywhere else cause its perfect. Any further forward and it would ski like a forward of center mount and any further back and you'd lose that center mount feel.

I work at a ski shop and a few of the guys are upset they can't get there hands on the opus, it looks sick, and apparently is great ski overall too. IMO i think the opus has the best graphics in any pow ski i've seen, but graphics arent that important

Not to thread jack here but I'm 6'5" and 185 (thin for my height) and I looovve the looks of the opus and it seems to be a great ski, would anyone say that it'd be a good ski for me or should I go back to looking into the bentchelters, AKJJ's, rocker 2's, or something like that. I want bibby pro's since they look dope and the 2 ski mags that I got gear reviews in say they are super dope but nobody around here has them.