I recently had a tough time going through my quiver of skis deciding which single pair I should take on a trip.
I was taking my son out on a family holiday and although I would be skiing (slowly) with him most of the day, I would get a couple of hours to myself. Logically a decent piste ski with a bit of performance off piste was the appropriate choice such as a Volkl RTM 84 or Scott’ Black Majic.
Unfortunately I had neither of these but have got factory Atomic slaloms – good for short turns, but not exactly easy to skid. A pair of Factory Volkl GS, again not too easy to skid or snow plough. A more sensible choice was the Salomon Q105s in a 181 that I’d had sitting around for a year after half a day’s use.
Yes they would probably be the best choice, but I sacked that off and drilled the decision down to a pair of Salomon 115 Rocker 2s or Moment Bibby Pros, 1 cm wider. I love both of these skis, but on piste just feel the Salomon has the edge, and seeing that’s what I’d largely be skiing that would be the sensible choice.
However… I just love the Bibby! It’s absolutely solid in cut up, and really playful in the deep, it has a really nice surfy feel if you hit it right.The Salomon is also a great ski and because the tail isn’t rockered in the same way as the Bibby then I feel it can suffer more mistakes before it slaps you down.
Both are terrific — I really like the Salomon, but the heart won and the Bibbys were packed. Now, if you know anything about skis, then you might have been quite surprised to see me pottering down the blues with my son with giant spoons on my feet. In fact, one of the Italian snowboard instructors couldn’t help but smirk at me as I set off with my son down one particular run, plough swinging into the first turn.
On not too-icy pistes I could carve a bit, and because of the rocker they were easy to skid, probably a lot better than either the race skis would be, but by the end of the week I was getting some knee pain from too much angulation – I was trying to get an edge without moving the skis too far from my body at the slower speeds.
Of course in the couple of hours I had to let go each day they came into their own. Un-skied powder on a 35 degree pitch was slashed at speed. Steeper couloirs were jibbed off spines and humps. Hero turns were made under the lift in heavily cut up snow and at speeds that left everyone else behind they were solid and tracked like missiles chasing a Russian Mig.
I had the skis serviced halfway through the week as I’d hit a few rocks, the young service guys got really excited and wanted to know everything about the skis and what they skied like. It’s a crying shame they’re not available from UK outlets though there are a few shops in Europe that stock them and other skis from the Moment range.
I’d like to see them at the ski test but until there’s a UK stockist that isn’t going to happen unless I can persuade the Fall-Line testers to ‘borrow’ them and ski them back to back with next year’s skis.
I really buy into the hype on the various US review sites they are the best ‘playful charger’ with a massive sweet spot. If you’re after a pair they are at the more expensive end of the spectrum, and the 2014/15 ski was much changed, not necessarily to everyone’s approval.
However if you want a of the traditional Bibby Pro then you need the 14/15 Moment Blister Pro which is a rebadged 2013/15 Bibby Pro. Alternatively wait for 2015/16 when the Bibby Pro reverts back to the traditional design and possibly the best ever graphics. The 184 is more playful, the 190 slightly stiffer. Either way, if you’re a strong skier, I don’t think you can go wrong.
