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Minimal underfoot width for deep pow?

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natethegreatt
Posts: 592 - Karma: 570
Hey guys,

I've skied on the east coast my whole life with 80 underfoot width.

I moved to the German Alps and will be skiing in Germany, Austria, Italy, etc.

I dont want to make too much of a jump in underfoot width, but I need something that will perform in deep ass pow. Will 93 be wide enough or should be in the 100s?

I understand this is a subjective topic and that virtually any width "could" work in pow, but I'm just looking for some thoughts and opinions that I can base my decision off of.

Thanks all
May 6 2014 7:19AM
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natethegreatt
Posts: 592 - Karma: 570
93 mm because I'm looking at the Traveling Circus skis.

I also like the Blends at 100 mm underfoot, but am worried that Ill have trouble handling them on groomers and non pow runs and in the park.
May 6 2014 7:23AM
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S.J.W
Posts: 7609 - Karma: 31,182
Having a wider ski and carving is only a problem if you don't know how to ski to begin with. Sure initial reaction to the carve is slower but fat skis carve just aswell as skinny skis. Same with the park, the fatness will take some getting use to but they provide more stability on jumps and rails. Just don't make the mistake of buying skis for the conditions you want to ski instead of the conditions that you are actually going to ski.
May 6 2014 7:33AM
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Lemuel
Posts: 14477 - Karma: 10,515
The blend will blow the TC away in powder. Not a difficult ski to maneuver on hardpack either.
May 6 2014 7:44AM
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AlexFromTarget
Posts: 533 - Karma: 59
I wouldnt reccomend either of them for "deep" pow
May 6 2014 10:10AM
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ScrewsSoy
Posts: 24 - Karma: 76
I live in Germany and have been skiing the alps for my whole life, unless you plan on doing a lot of off piste everything in Europe is groomed and maintained. I ski K2 AMP rictors all over any mountain, off and on piste but they dont belong in the park. However they have a 90 underfoot if that helps. I have yet to come across any conditions the 90 couldn't handle!
May 6 2014 10:19AM
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natethegreatt
Posts: 592 - Karma: 570
Thanks a lot guys. All this info helps a lot
May 6 2014 11:17AM
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Twig
Posts: 6336 - Karma: 57,086
100 can handle all but the biggest of euro storms. I didn't really like Blends as a ski, but in powder they handled pretty well. TCs are pretty poor outside of the park (but tons of fun in it)
May 6 2014 11:32AM
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freeballer
Posts: 722 - Karma: 935
110mm minimum. Hell, my skinny ski is 116mm underfoot.
May 6 2014 11:42AM
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natethegreatt
Posts: 592 - Karma: 570
Twig100 can handle all but the biggest of euro storms. I didn't really like Blends as a ski, but in powder they handled pretty well. TCs are pretty poor outside of the park (but tons of fun in it)


Any particular reason you don't like Blends?
May 6 2014 1:00PM
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-wakes-
Posts: 358 - Karma: 201
what is deep pow? I ski my blends up to around 5 inches. After that I ride jjs which are 115 underfoot. If you are looking for a 6+ inch day ski id go 110 minimum.
May 6 2014 3:25PM
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John18_6
Posts: 7313 - Karma: 49,158
I've landed decent sized natural airs in 14 inches of powder on 90mm K2 recoils. Most skis can ski deep powder with the right technique- wether it's comfortable, that's debatable.
May 6 2014 4:00PM
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Twig
Posts: 6336 - Karma: 57,086
natethegreattAny particular reason you don't like Blends?


The flex pattern didn't work for me. They were good in pow for the width and ok in the park but the soft flex was so easy to overpower (I'm 5'9 and 135-140lbs for reference). A lot of people love them, lots of them are better skiers than me but they weren't a good ski for my skiing.
May 6 2014 4:55PM
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kung_powpow
Posts: 1990 - Karma: 3,669
john18061806I've landed decent sized natural airs in 14 inches of powder on 90mm K2 recoils. Most skis can ski deep powder with the right technique- wether it's comfortable, that's debatable.


You mean riding backseat the entire way down?
May 6 2014 5:59PM
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John18_6
Posts: 7313 - Karma: 49,158
dangler2470You mean riding backseat the entire way down?


precisely, it's fun to get your bernie on when you do it too. all the bitches will be all over you if you bernie in the air.
May 6 2014 8:20PM
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JuliusJ
Posts: 3778 - Karma: 2,106
I honestly wouldn't bother buying anything under 100.
May 6 2014 10:14PM
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profa_212
Posts: 8646 - Karma: 32,645
JuliusJI honestly wouldn't bother buying anything under 100.


This. I would look at something like a Sir Francis bacon, or next years Kartel 106.
May 6 2014 11:58PM
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JuliusJ
Posts: 3778 - Karma: 2,106
JuliusJI honestly wouldn't bother buying anything under 100.


For the record, I rock 117 underfoot about 80% of the year.
May 7 2014 1:12AM
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xnickGT
Posts: 79 - Karma: 263
I only ski the Alps and use K2 Kung Fujas (102). They work great on piste and I've ski'd some pretty serious powder (euro standard) and had no issues.

It's also worth mentioning I went from 82-102mm without any real issues.
May 7 2014 5:01AM
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natethegreatt
Posts: 592 - Karma: 570
Thanks for the info/opinions guys.

I went ahead and got this years Chronics because they were $299 brand new. Like I said, I've only skied 80mm, so going to 93mm shouldnt be a problem at all (^going from 80 - 102 with no problem, good to know).

I'll experiment with them in progressively deeper pow and if I end up doing enough stuff off piste I will go ahead and get a second pair of fatties.

Thanks for all the help
May 7 2014 5:32AM
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brov1
Posts: 1826 - Karma: 8,837
natethegreattThanks for the info/opinions guys.

I went ahead and got this years Chronics because they were $299 brand new. Like I said, I've only skied 80mm, so going to 93mm shouldnt be a problem at all (^going from 80 - 102 with no problem, good to know).

I'll experiment with them in progressively deeper pow and if I end up doing enough stuff off piste I will go ahead and get a second pair of fatties.

Thanks for all the help


i would have gone much wider for sure. i ride 115s every day every where every condition and ive never had more fun. chronics were probably not a good idea. they are full camber and pretty skinny. you can ride any ski in pow but the reason they even make wide skis is because they are wayyyy more fun in pow. i would have gone with a moment pb and j or on3p jmo or the blend if you dont want to step up that much. all in all i would have said go for an atomic blog or line sfb or on3p jeffery
May 7 2014 8:50AM
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natethegreatt
Posts: 592 - Karma: 570
brov1i would have gone much wider for sure. i ride 115s every day every where every condition and ive never had more fun. chronics were probably not a good idea. they are full camber and pretty skinny. you can ride any ski in pow but the reason they even make wide skis is because they are wayyyy more fun in pow. i would have gone with a moment pb and j or on3p jmo or the blend if you dont want to step up that much. all in all i would have said go for an atomic blog or line sfb or on3p jeffery



I see. Thanks for the input. Thats kind of what I was thinking - but the guy a few posts up skis the exact mountains I ski, on and off piste, and said 90s do him just fine.

I will experiment and if I need bigger skis I'll save up and buy some used fatties.

Thanks again all.
May 7 2014 8:54AM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7099 - Karma: 17,043
natethegreattI see. Thanks for the input. Thats kind of what I was thinking - but the guy a few posts up skis the exact mountains I ski, on and off piste, and said 90s do him just fine.

I will experiment and if I need bigger skis I'll save up and buy some used fatties.

Thanks again all.


If you are just getting into off piste then those skis will be ideal. Europe is lucky taht the snow is genrally pretty light so you dont need a super wide ski to float. I skied about 2 foot of powder on a 100mm ski in france and had absolutly no problems, whereas in whistler where I normally ski I would have been sinking and having to get back seat due to the higher water content in the snow.

As you inprove you may find you want to go slightly wider with more rocker but those k2's will be good to learn on and will actually ski well round the rest of the mountain.

So enjoy and in a few years maybe rent some pow skis and see if you like it.
May 7 2014 9:02AM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7099 - Karma: 17,043
tomPietrowskiIf you are just getting into off piste then those skis will be ideal. Europe is lucky taht the snow is genrally pretty light so you dont need a super wide ski to float. I skied about 2 foot of powder on a 100mm ski in france and had absolutly no problems, whereas in whistler where I normally ski I would have been sinking and having to get back seat due to the higher water content in the snow.

As you inprove you may find you want to go slightly wider with more rocker but those k2's will be good to learn on and will actually ski well round the rest of the mountain.

So enjoy and in a few years maybe rent some pow skis and see if you like it.


chronics even not k2's. They will be alot of fun actually great all round skis
May 7 2014 9:05AM
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natethegreatt
Posts: 592 - Karma: 570
tomPietrowskichronics even not k2's. They will be alot of fun actually great all round skis


Great, thanks for the advice. I've had 4 or 5 pairs of Chronics, granted the 80mm models, but I absolutely love the skis. Glad they make them wider now.
May 7 2014 9:20AM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
I like 100-110 in deep pow honestly. I used to be all about fat skis when that started up, but a smaller ski sinks into that pow more and you get face shots rather than cruise over it like it's boot deep.
May 7 2014 12:47PM
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RubberSoul
Posts: 11249 - Karma: 14,642
- you will have NO PROBLEM moving from skinny waists to fat waists, assuming you have any control on skis. first time i skied fat skis i went from some absurdly skinny old lines (like, high 70s in the waist) to something around 110, and it was just awesome

- what on earth made you think "line traveling circus" when looking for a ski for deep pow in europe?? no offense, that's just really counter intuitive

- yes, anything will work, and people are sort of nancies about it sometimes IMO.... but if youre buying a ski specifically for pow, get something mid fat at least (above 100)
May 7 2014 1:20PM
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SmoovLikeButter
Posts: 7 - Karma: 22
try something around the 110 range. wide enough to handle their own in all snow conditions and they still grip on hardpack.
May 7 2014 3:08PM
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Lemuel
Posts: 14477 - Karma: 10,515
freeballer110mm minimum. Hell, my skinny ski is 116mm underfoot.


I agree 100% with this. 110 is the point where I notice a big difference. You sacrifice hard snow performance for soft snow performance. Skiing my lizzies feels normal. Can't even tell that they are wide while carving. But every ski I have been on >110 (one life, ghost train, one, two, some shitty ramps) were all noticeably more clumsy on hardpack. Anything mid 90's+ will do fine in powder. I skied the Rossi S3 (98 underfoot) last year and most of this year and that ski did everything (center mounted too). Best ski I have ever been on.
May 7 2014 7:06PM
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bikerocker
Posts: 1427 - Karma: 461
67 mm you weaklings.

http://youtu.be/DHYOcwKYWXs
May 7 2014 8:00PM
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Nippletron
Posts: 148 - Karma: 670
As most people have hinted towards in this thread, it comes down to your ability as a skier as well. Hell, I was riding my Salomon 1080s in really deep stuff in Austria/France/Switzerland and I was still shredding hard, however with a lot more effort put into my skiing which made it less enjoyable at times.

I managed to find a sweet spot with my Line Prophet 98s, they can handle anything and I don't sacrifice that much hardwork into them either in the pow to make it less enjoyable/more painful. However I'm looking to buy some Praxis GPOs next season (I hope people can vouch for this ski!) to make my pow skiing fun, and also able to charge through crud and pull some technical lines off. I'm currently designing my custom graphic too with these 2 artists I know, so I'll be sure to post the results when its done.

To finalize, all comes down to the skier. You might struggle in the really deep stuff, and it might be more sweating, but you can defo handle 92mm skis in the deep stuff. People tend to get 120/130s skis for the playfulness of it in my opinion, bouncing around and what not. I have never had the chance to ride a super wide ski for fun, but I still enjoy what I can do with my Prophet 98s in all conditions. Actually come to think of it, I got to demo a pair of 115 Black Crows, it wasn't the best powder day but the stuff I could find up in Val D'Isere they were fun, but I could ski just as well with my 98s.
May 7 2014 9:52PM
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jnols
Posts: 440 - Karma: 612
natethegreattThanks for the info/opinions guys.

I went ahead and got this years Chronics because they were $299 brand new. Like I said, I've only skied 80mm, so going to 93mm shouldnt be a problem at all (^going from 80 - 102 with no problem, good to know).

I'll experiment with them in progressively deeper pow and if I end up doing enough stuff off piste I will go ahead and get a second pair of fatties.

Thanks for all the help


I rode the chronics the entire year in oregon and they sucked in pow i had to be very back seat and it was a drag I skied maybe 7 pow days 5inches or more and it was misrible on those skis, still had a great time just wish i had a different ski
May 7 2014 11:20PM
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lukaturtle
Posts: 98 - Karma: 103
Everyone's going to have different opinions on what works and what doesn't. Mostly because you can make it all work.
All I'm going to say is if you haven't given fat skis a chance (over 105) then you don't know what your missing. I honestly ride 118 waist skis on hard pack and park all the time. They're slow in the park but super fun for all mountain. Give it a try.
My thin skis right now are moment pb&js (101) an I don't think it ever want to go skinnier,
May 8 2014 12:33AM
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JuliusJ
Posts: 3778 - Karma: 2,106
lukaturtleEveryone's going to have different opinions on what works and what doesn't. Mostly because you can make it all work.
All I'm going to say is if you haven't given fat skis a chance (over 105) then you don't know what your missing. I honestly ride 118 waist skis on hard pack and park all the time. They're slow in the park but super fun for all mountain. Give it a try.
My thin skis right now are moment pb&js (101) an I don't think it ever want to go skinnier,


Funny you say that, I was lookin at pb & j's for my park ski/spring slush rippin ski. OP return them and get fatter skis!!
May 8 2014 12:50AM
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onenerdykid
Posts: 6638 - Karma: 10,532
natethegreattThanks for the info/opinions guys.

I went ahead and got this years Chronics because they were $299 brand new. Like I said, I've only skied 80mm, so going to 93mm shouldnt be a problem at all (^going from 80 - 102 with no problem, good to know).

I'll experiment with them in progressively deeper pow and if I end up doing enough stuff off piste I will go ahead and get a second pair of fatties.

Thanks for all the help


OP - I ski the same/similar areas to where you will be. As mentioned in an earlier post, the Easter Alps (while awesome) do not get blasted with mega deep pow days. Knee deep days for sure are common, but this is not Alta or Baker. While I think a 100mm waisted ski is one of the most versatile widths, you will have no problem on the 93mm ski you bought. If it is puking over 1m, then you can rent legit pow sticks for the day. But for the snow/terrain you will be in, you will be totally fine and have a ski wider than 90% of the population ;)
May 8 2014 6:02AM
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natethegreatt
Posts: 592 - Karma: 570
onenerdykidOP - I ski the same/similar areas to where you will be. As mentioned in an earlier post, the Easter Alps (while awesome) do not get blasted with mega deep pow days. Knee deep days for sure are common, but this is not Alta or Baker. While I think a 100mm waisted ski is one of the most versatile widths, you will have no problem on the 93mm ski you bought. If it is puking over 1m, then you can rent legit pow sticks for the day. But for the snow/terrain you will be in, you will be totally fine and have a ski wider than 90% of the population ;)


Thanks for the post! I'm def keeping the Chronics - if I end up wanting to ski deep deep powder I'll save up for pow skis or, like you said, rent them for the day. I'm not an expert but I think 93 will be very versatile - even in deep pow, ill just have to backseat it.
May 8 2014 10:08AM
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C-Wal
Posts: 185 - Karma: 1,370
I was taking my Halo II's off piste in the alps this year, they did nicely as they are 94 underfoot plus they are very rockered so would float well in maybe a foot of snow. Anything deeper and you would have to work the ski a lot more which is why I would recommend something 100+, will make skiing pow much easier if thats what you are after?
May 8 2014 10:22AM
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kung_powpow
Posts: 1990 - Karma: 3,669
natethegreattThanks for the post! I'm def keeping the Chronics - if I end up wanting to ski deep deep powder I'll save up for pow skis or, like you said, rent them for the day. I'm not an expert but I think 93 will be very versatile - even in deep pow, ill just have to backseat it.


They'll work in deep pow, you'll be backseat alot at slower speeds and have to work harder. I skied 92 waist Moment Reno rockers for 6 days in 2ft+ of fresh and it was pretty difficult to keep on top. Tons of face shots though and leaning back started to hurt my legs after awhile so I've since bought some bent chetlers
May 8 2014 10:22AM
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BigScaryLarry
Posts: 1448 - Karma: 2,732
i went from 83 under foot and bought a pair of one lifes for pow and they are 113 underfoot. i could still rid them fine on groomers. crazy ass rocker and stiffness was kinda hard to get used to but i would recommend something that wide for out there cuz you will probably be skiing a bunch o pow
May 8 2014 10:42AM
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BigScaryLarry
Posts: 1448 - Karma: 2,732
i went from 83 under foot and bought a pair of one lifes for pow and they are 113 underfoot. i could still rid them fine on groomers. crazy ass rocker and stiffness was kinda hard to get used to but i would recommend something that wide for out there cuz you will probably be skiing a bunch o pow
May 8 2014 10:43AM
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wasatch_rat
Posts: 1771 - Karma: 2,937
the sir francis bacon is one of the most fun skis i have ever used even on ice and thats 108 underfoot. its a lot easier to rip fat skis on hardpack than to rip skinny skis in pow.
May 8 2014 1:38PM
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Dr_Mantis
Posts: 64 - Karma: 86
I only had bent chetlers half of the season, and it was fun as fuck. (123 underfoot)
May 8 2014 10:24PM
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