I have an old pair of K2 Axis XP Pros from 8 years ago now and I’m getting clobbered in the moguls. So what’s a person to do? Upgrade skis of course 🙂

The conventional wisdom is that a mogul specific ski is narrow and also very flexible at the tips and tails. Short too. Like the Volkl Revolution. But if you don’t want a specific ski, then a compromise is a midfat that isn’t as stiff as my Volkl Gotamas (or as wide) or my Volkl Six Stars.

Sturtevants recommended two, the Fischer Watea 78 and the Blizzard IQ 8.1, both the same width as the Axis, but way shorter and much fatter. So I am trying 167 and 172s vs. the 178s.

The Watea is very light and flickable, so it doesn’t have lots of metal. It is a 70/30 and it is better in soft, super fun in moguls and good for intermediates. Epicski.com has a good comparison to the Atomic Nomad Blackeyes. Watea is more for soft snow and more forgiving on those VW size rock hard bumps. The ones that are comparable are the nordica Nitroub and the Dynastar Legend 8000. Sierra Jimsays that the Watea 84 is terrific and the 78 reminds him of the very good Dynastar Legend 8000. Citizenski.com says the Watea 78 is better for groomed while 84s are good for out of bounds, but less good on bumps, so that’s the usual tradeoff. 92/100 from skireviews.co.uk. Sierraskis.com reports that it is good on groomers, but at high speed its not as good. Best for the 70/30 skier who is looking for improved performance in moguls. Not for experts as it is a softer flex.

Now the Blizzard 8.1 from Epicski shows that it is very quick to turn. Citizenski.com says at 81mm, this si a good all mountain ski with 81mm waist. It is a good general purpose intermediate ski.

I’m Rich & Co.

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