Poster: A snowHead
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Thought I'd post up my thoughts now that I've had a shot of my new Preachers, it was only at The Lecht but the snow was good and there was even some powder on Saturday.
Quick bit about me, I've only been skiing a couple of years but have managed to progress to doing any runs I come across (might lack a bit of style on the steeper stuff) and have started to try more off piste, hence the purchase of the preachers to replace my old prophet 90's. I was a bit nervous about the step up from 90 wide 172's to 112 wide 189's but after chatting to the guys at WD I decided to go for it.
I was definitely a bit nervous at the top of the first run, the skis seemed huge compared to what I was used to and I hadn't been on snow since March. To be honest the first run didn't do much to reassure me, they seemed clumsy and slow from edge to edge, fortunately my brother was with me and reckoned I just had to commit to the turns a bit more. We got the tow back up and and I made the effort to pick up the pace a bit and the difference was unbelievable, the preachers just came alive. They worked really well on piste, they gripped well on the hard packed sections and were really stable at speed. I'm not someone that loves to go as fast as possible but these seem to encourage you go faster and they just get better as you do.
Then we found some untracked wind blown powder, it was only boot deep but this is where I've always struggled and what I want to do more of and get better at, and I found out that all the good reviews I read of the preachers before buying were right. These things are amazing in deeper snow, and anything else we found off piste from frozen crust to tracked out powder, they just seemed to handle it all.
After two days on them I think it's safe to say that these are going to be my go to ski for the rest of the season, I just can't wait to get them on a bigger run to really let them go. So credit to the guys at WD for making a ski this good and I can't wait to try out some of their other skis. Anyone looking for an all mountain ski should seriously consider these, my only regret is that as I was lucky enough to get them as part of Dots Dozen, I didn't get a set of directors or redeemers to go with them!
Hopefully these ramblings make some sense, it's not always easy to describe skis but the preachers are awesome.
Cheers,
Jamie
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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6' and 14 1/2 stone, so not the daintiest but whatever your size I wouldn't be concerned about getting these bigger than you might normally go, I was seriously impressed by how they went on piste and hard pack, probably just as well since most of my skiing will be in Scotland!
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Jamied9,
Good review, agree on a lot of your points. Bought mine last year and have been very happy with them on the days when the snow has been fresh. I go round the place with a permanent goofy grin... they are soo much fun.
Had a day on more typical west highland re-frozen snow at the end of last season and didn't find them so great, particularly at speed. Don't get me wrong I am no racer but I just don't think on the hard stuff they are that stable or grippy. I guess it could be being so wide? Perhaps I went too short, prob coulda gone to the 189s for stability but stuck with the 179s. Also, there could be some secret Preacher technique to be unlocked, unlike on the new stuff where you just sit back and enjoy and enjoy and enjoy...can't wait for this storm to subside and get up the mountain again.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Jamied9, thanks for the review, as said on other threads we love to hear of people enjoying their Whitedots.
JaMMi, I'm 5'11" (was 6' then I got married, weight of the thumb and all that), and have been on 189's for the last couple of seasons. just dropped from 180-190lbs to 165 though and am interested to see how that affects my ability to get on top of the skis this season. Eva Walkner is only a wee slip of a lass though and she uses the 189 in WFT so I'm just gonna have to bloody man up (and tell no one) if i struggle.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Personally I think that WDF should change the name to Smilers or Laughers.
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I have my recently acquired preachers sitting in the conservatory awaiting some love then punishment. I have the 178 and am a bit worried that I should have gone large. Will keep everyone posted.
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Ad_Hynkel,
I've not tried them on anything too icy yet but some of the pistes were certainly pretty hard first thing this week, what angle have you got your edges set to? When I did some research it would seem to make a big difference. As I understand it they ship 1 degree base and 1 degree side but they handle really well with 1 base and 3 side. I was a bit nervous going this far since all my previous ski were 1/1 or 1/1.5 so I've gone for 1/2 but I reckon I'll go 1/3 next time they get a service.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Jamied9, definately recommend setting to 1/3 and trying them out, edge angle is a personal preference thing in the end though
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Okey dokey, so I did finally decide to go and practice on the Preachers in non deep powdery conditions last night.
Generally speaking things went pretty well, they did pretty well on the hard stuff (about 5cm newish dust on solid crust) and for the size really quite nimble through bumps, and moving gates; on that basis they get a big thumbs up for skis that I could use just about anywhere anytime
I did notice that I have to work harder to not get in the backseat and also not to be thrown around on choppy stuff. I am presuming that this is likely my technical failing rather than the skis, since these are the biggest skis I have and are also the only rockered ones I've skied on; are there any tips for technique adjustments to make?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Quote: |
these are the biggest skis I have and are also the only rockered ones I've skied on; are there any tips for technique adjustments to make
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Well, erm, they're not rockered! But just get fowards, edge then and get some speed up! The Preachers love been taken by the scruff of the neck, slapped around and show a good time
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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the_doc, there's enough tip on them that I'm sure a few brands i could name would happily describe them as 'piste rocker'.
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You know it makes sense.
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Just to add something relevent to this thread; Preachers are good too
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Jamied9 (and midgetbiker), thanks for suggestion. I haven't done anything with the edges so far, other than take off a few burrs but will consider a change to the angles. Could take a little while to bed in the idea of such a jump (1 to 3)... Maybe the docs advice hits it, was finding things settled down on the harder stuff (Glencoe, Thursday) when I was being more agressive.
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