Powder/allmountain skis for solid carver but so-so powder skier

A snowHead

Hi!
Like most of us, I suffer from severe GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) and I'm wondering whether it might be time for new skis.

I have 2 pairs of skis, both all-around and versatile, but I noticed even my wider skis (Brahma CA 88mm) can sink quite deep on deep powder. I know that's mostly my lack of skills, but I was wondering if getting more powder-oriented skis could help me progress on powder as well (as I love powder skiing and would like to improve at it).

Also: I just got new boots with GripWalk and the bindings on my wider skis are not compatible. And I've been planning to get the new Tyrolia Protector bindings to try to protect my knees (due to ACL surgery). Also, I'm in/around Switzerland this month and might be able to score some nice deals.

Anyway, my questions are:
Do you guys think wider skis could be beneficial to make powder skiing easier or even help me progress more?
If so, are there specific models you'd recommend which are good for powder but relatively easy and also versatile (also for bumps, but mostly on-piste / carving)?
Finally, I've seen some decent "deals" (if you can even call it that) on the Stöckli Stormrider 95 (yes I'm a bit of a Stöckli, Scott and Head fanboy). Do you think that could fit the bill, or are they too demanding? And 176 or 182cm?

Thanks a lot!

Here's some background info:
- Ski 1: Stöckli Laser AX 175cm (78mm) + Salomon XM13 (my all-around-but-more-piste-oriented skis);
- Ski 2: Blizzard Brahma CA SP 180cm (88mm) + Head Mojo 15 (all-around-but-better-for-soft-snow) (note: this is the Brahma CA, the carbon version, thus lighter and less demanding than the regular Brahma);
Boots: previously Fischer Progressor 110 but last week bought a pair of Fischer RC4 130
Me: 1,85m/6"1', ~88kg/196lbs, 38yo, ACL surgery 3y ago
Level: I'd say "advanced" on slope (max Carv ski IQ 146), but on powder more like early intermediate (max Carv powder ski IQ 130-135, but usually ~120), though I really like trying powder and moguls
Style: I like everything, but as I like skiing as much as possible (and have knee issues) I'd prefer skis that are not too demanding so I don't tire my legs much (thereby decreasing the chance of injuries). I also like versatile skis because you never know where you'll end up. And I like off piste but have no avi gear or (at the moment) touring aspirations.

A snowHead

@Tropical Gaper, Brahmas aren't "wide". At all.

ACL surgery means your reconn'ed knees are stronger than your original ones so forget about the bindings.

Wider skis almost certainly would be good. Your current pair are skinny.

We acquired Mantra M7s this year and totally love them, having been on +/- Mantra type skis since 2006-ish. Really didn't like the Blizzard Anomalies.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Brahma is a great ski and I love mine. Great in mixed conditions but they aren't powder skis. Sure you can ski powder on them but 100mm is a lot easier and more fun.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Snowboarders have entered the chat…

You'll need to Register first of course.

I am no expert as I haven't tried many skis, but I now have Salomon QST98. Radius 17m and so are good on piste and great off piste in the soft stuff too. Can't comment about moguls as my knees hate them.
I'm 184/87kgs and so are my skis...well, 184 anyway, I think.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Head Kore 106 Ti

After all it is free

Thanks for the responses!

100% wider skis would help and a couple of mm either side of 100mm seems to be the magic number

If you like the Brahmas, you could think about moving up the Blizzard range. I ski on my second pair of Blizzard Bonafides (98mm waist from memory) and they're pretty much my every day ski. (I also have Volkl Racetigers, which I now only tend to use if the Bonafides are getting serviced and some cheapo Atomic X something or other 'easy' skis for when it's bone hard and the rocks are poking through.

I think the equivalent to the Bonafides now is the Anomoly 102.

Black Crows seem to be the brand atm but I've never skied them.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

@Nickski, good point, I was also quite interested in the Rustlers, especially the Rustler 9 (not really much wider than my current ones, but I think more powder-oriented and still more versatile than the Rustler 10). Have you ever tried those?

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

Thanks for the responses!

snow reports

The real question is of course what do you mean by powder? If you mean fresh dumps 30-80cm the optimum answer is as wide and rockered as possible. If you just mean general off piste then those are the answers you are getting. Then anything say 97-112mm comes into play. The skinnier you go the more days use you will get but the less fun they'll be on a truly deep day.

You know it makes sense.

I have the R9

Great on piste and fine on ice. Floats enough for me in powder. I debated whether I wanted the R10, but R9 is going to be better for conditions more often in the Alps. If you want a powder ski, get something more like 110mm.

Being able to turn in powder is massively helped by a rocker profile, rather than just being about width of the ski waist.

Also, speed = float

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I now have the Rustler 10’s and love them in all conditions apart from sheet ice having really enjoyed Mantras v5, 6 & 7 over about the last ten years which were just starting to hurt my ageing knees when pushing hard. I have found the Rustler tips are softer (so they flex upon impact better than the Mantras).
I strongly suggest that you try a few skis before buying - I was convinced that the Rustler 9’s would be great, but didn’t get on with them after a morning on the 10’s.

A snowHead

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Tropical Gaper, M7, "they might be a bit more demanding though"

I can't comment. I'm not really sure what "demanding" means. I find them very easy, but I think we're pretty technical & strong recreational skiers.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

You'll need to Register first of course.

@Tropical Gaper, I don't know if it will help, but I can add a bit of my own experience with wide skis. You're bigger than me, so scale up my numbers accordingly.

For off-piste, I have a Nordica Santa Ana at 93mm, a Faction Dancer 3 at 106mm, and a Whitedot Director Carbonlite at 107mm (don't ask, I swear they breed in the corner!).

The Santa Ana is a very versatile all-mountain ski, which I often take out early-mid season when I am unsure of the conditions or the fresh off-piste is fairly thin. They are stiff and carve on the piste as well as my actual piste skis, but leave me wishing I'd made bolder choices if the powder is deep. The men's equivalent is the Nordica Enforcer.

The Dancer is also a stiff ski, but an absolute beast in late-season slush, which has made them my go-to this time of year. They're a heavier (for me, largely due to the demo binding I added), but I only need to point them in the direction of a slush mogul, and it gets out of my way! For everything else, they just bounce over the top.

For proper deep powder, I take the Directors, which are softer and lightweight with massive twin rockers. They deflect more in bumps than the Dancers, and are horrible on a hard-packed piste, but they float like a dream in deep snow. They are discontinued now, but you could find an equivalent, probably from DPS.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

I'm looking for something a bit more playful and easier to ski (especially in powder and cut up), but still able to be a reasonable carver.
I came across this, and find it interesting!
https://www.skiessentials.com/2026-ski-test/skis/2026-dynastar-m-pro-94-ti
good luck with your quest!

After all it is free

@Tropical Gaper, I have the Kore 93 and whilst I like it a lot, deep powder is definitely not its strength, especially if you aren't fully on the ball with your powder technique.
Stepping up to a much wider ski (112 Moment Deathwish in my case - not a common ski over here) was a revelation. Not having to work on float, meant I could concentrate on rhythm and flow which makes life so much easier especially when you don't get to ski deep snow regularly. The wider ski is also much more forgiving on crusty stuff. Icy piste, hmmm, not so great but manageable and in those conditions I'm not taking the wide ski anyway.

Don't be afraid to go wide.

@mgrolf, many thanks for the input! I think you (and others above) are right, at first I thought I needed skis in the low-90s but I'm starting to think low-100s might be a better option.
ChatGPT is trying to convince me to get the Rustler 10, I'll see if I can test them.
On the other hand, I found a nice deal for the Scott Pure Mission 98 Ti 184cm; will see what kind of deal I can find for the Rustlers

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@Scarlet, oh thanks, I didn't know about that topic; will keep an eye out!

snow reports

Having spent most of my skiing life on skis with a waist below 70mm, the last couple of years have been a bit of an eye opener and great fun too!

I tried quite a few "wide" skis on the PSB a few years ago and was really surprised how well skis around the 100mm mark performed on piste. I think the effective edge length helps - like a wide snowblade!

I'm a similar height and weight to you and found a very cost effective pair of Line Optic 104's (188cm) which are great on piste and perfectly decent off it. There's quite a bit of metal in the ski which gives it some power but it's reasonably heavy as a result. I also had a go on the Nordica Enforcer and Black Crow Atris which were great but a bit pricey....

This season I was lucky enough to head to Japan and got a pair of Line Vision 120's (189cm) as the side cut is the same as the Optics but they are much lighter and not as stiff. I put some shifts on them as a touring option, mainly for getting more lift-served options. They are also excellent and, while they are not great on hard snow, I would choose them for any off piste, even if the day was 50/50! I really like them!

Go wide, you won't regret it snowHead

Agreed with most here, you're talking about a powder ski for big dumps, so talk of all mountain and versatility seem pretty contrary to that.

That said, my go to ski for anything other than a solid piste day is a set of Armada ARVs in 106. I am around 105kg so float isn't really a thing for me on them, but they have got me through some Japan trips. They will get me around on a hardback day too, but not quite so fun as something that's 70mm and turny.

For a ski that is part of your quiver exclusively for powderv(or even an 80/20 split) then I wouldn't really be going narrower unless you're a featherweight

You know it makes sense.

@Klammy, indeed I see some nice deals for the Optics (€379 185cm), reviews look interesting as well, I'll have a better look at these, thanks!

@SnoodyMcFlude, did you get the regular ARVs or the Ti version?

The thing with versatility is that, living far from the mountains, it's not always possible to bring 2 pairs on a trip; and powder days/runs are few and far between, so finding a compromise in a slightly "narrower" ski that'll keep you 90% satisfied throughout the entire trip might make more sense than going for a dedicated powder ski which won't be as fun (or will be very hard) when the pow is gone.
Maybe if I decide to expand my quiver to 3, or - who knows - move to the Alps, then it might make more sense to get something around 115mm.

Anyway, I just rented a Rustler 10 today (they only had it in 180cm, though 186 would probably suit me better). Really liked it! Took some getting used to as it's the widest ski I've ever tried, but my main "fears" quickly vanished: it performs very well on slope (VERY grippy even on ice, almost too grippy).
And then of course, on slush, corn and all variable conditions, that's where they shine; sadly no powder but undoubtedly it'd be a huge step up from my current 88mm.
Was supposed to test the Rustler 9 as well but that didn't work out.

I'll try to get a pair (186cm), it's just surprisingly hard to find at the moment. Otherwise I'll keep checking the models you guys suggested, and see if I can test (or just blindly order depending on the deal) something in the 100-105mm range. Which is quite a step up (about 10mm) from what I had in mind when I started this topic, so huge thanks for all the input!!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@Tropical Gaper, regular ARV. They are my one ski choice unless I'm heading somewhere like the Dollies where I know piste cruising will be order of the day

A snowHead

A snowHead

Buy the Rustler 10’s

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Scarlet, for sure, I even asked them about it at the shop (which bevel they use etc), but I do service my own skis regularly so I expect no issues there! Then again I admit those Rustlers were probably gripping more than my own skis haha, I was trying to skid some turns on ice but the skis just said "nope"; it was either slicing or machine-gun leg

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Buy the Rustler 10's!

180 is fine.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Just in case anyone with a similar dilemma stumbles upon this thread, a small plot twist: the Rustler 10's are hard to find in my length at the moment so I started considering fully caving to the G.A.S. and going for a 3-ski quiver.

Already got the Stöckli Laser AX (78mm)
Seriously considering getting a Scott Sea 108, which has good reviews and is apparently "friendly" for those with less freeriding experience (and for which there are good deals at the moment). More "properly" powder-oriented as many here suggested (but still versatile).
And then possibly something in between which can handle a bit of everything, like 88-96mm, maybe a Rustler 9 or Atomic Maverick, maybe even keep the Brahma CA; will see which deals I can find (and I accept suggestions of course).

Many thanks again for all comments!

You'll need to Register first of course.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

3 skis for us; Armada Antimatter, Nordica Unleashed, Blizzard Canvas, all available around 100mm, 110mm, 120mm, take your pick. Modern freeride skis, fun, playful and capable on piste.

After all it is free

Isn't the Antimatter mostly the Declivity in a new dress?

Were the Declivity as good?

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

I spent an week in one of Tirolean glacier on new Salomon 94, really enjoyed them, great carver on soft snow on piste and good offpiste skis for the pow in the Alps rarely gets too deep. Also I placed Tyrolia Attack Hybrid binding, and spent 2-3 hours skitouring from the lifts.

Help!!

Powder/allmountain skis for solid carver but so-so powder skier

snowHeads Forum Index >>> Equipment Reviews/Questions