Message #1759

[scottpetill]

I'm 5'11" 155lbs. I like to move at medium speed on loose and soft snow/soft bumps I like to pick my way through, hitting as many *soft bumps* as possible. I prefer less than GS speeds on groomed and instead seeks the edges near trees and make a lot of medium radius turns, playinig with the snow. I also seek out chutes when they're not hard packed, but again I don't *charge* through.

I recently demo'd Dynastar 8800's at the Bird in both 168cm and 178cm. I immediately found the 168 size to ski similiarly to my Troublemakers (175cm) in terms of quickness, lightness and speed but much more stable on hard pack/run-offs and the ice grip was much better. When I ran the 178's I found them much speedier and less nimble in the bumps than the 168's. The difference was suprisingly obvious. The bigger ski really moved while the 168's stayed more in my comfort zone. I tried to ski them all through the same lines as best I could.

While the 168cm felt really nice I did not get to try them in untracked powder. Will the shorter ski perform less than ideal for me at my height/weight in the fresh? I'm thinking of purchasinig the 8800's at 168cm, though most tech's would recommend the 178's based on my height.

Thanks