An update!
I was in CO and skied Breck (twice), Copper, Keystone, A-Basin* (twice), and the demo list grew to:
Line Blade (tried them a second time at Keystone, and the 160 felt too short)
Armada Reliance 92 T
Blizzard Sheeva
Volkl Kenja 88
Dynastar M Pro 90
Blizzard Black Pearl 88
Salomon Stance 94
K2 Mindbender 90c (men's)
Nordica Santa Ana 98 w
...and very surprisingly, I ended up purchasing the Salomon Stance 94 in 168, which was not even on my list of skis to try. Before giving them a try, I was liking the Black Pearls fine, but the shop only had the '19 version, and I felt they had a bit of a speed limit? The shop guy (Christy's) encouraged me to try the Stance after hearing I love ripping down groomers, and I found them super stable at speed and very confidence-inspiring. Since the graphics are kind of boring, I opted for the neon green Tyrolia Attack to give it a bit of pop.
I kept switching out between the Stance and the Black Pearls while at Copper & A-Basin, and the BPs felt like flappy cardboard (?) in comparison. I did like the Sana Ana as well, but wanted the 93 ideally, and they only had it in a 158 in every Christy's location I went into (I visited 6 of them).
Part of me thinks I could use a more playful ski as well, but that may be because I am remembering how much I truly enjoyed the Sheeva... (no shop ever has it longer than 164 for me to try)! The Stance performed fine in fresh snow, but I found my legs feeling more fatigued in those conditions, and was wishing I had something like the Sheeva.
Another ski I was desperately trying to find to demo is the Faction Dictator 2.0, but no luck.
I'm afraid by this time next season, I will become a bit of a ski collector, because knowing myself, I will still be trying to demo if I see a ski available that interests me.
All this to say, demo! I would have never considered the Stance based on reviews.
*PS. I absolutely fell in love with A-Basin and am trying to make it out there at least one more time before the season ends
I feel the same way, if I'm feeling lazy the Genesis is an easier ski, but the Dictator is such a fun shot of adrenaline. Love them both. Where did you mount yours? I'm planning on moving my mount point forward - I mounted on the line (classic) but after skiing my 3.0x on progressive (1.5 cm forward), I've found I like that better. I don't need to be in such a forward, driving stance all the time and can ski more neutral if I'm on sketchier terrain. It's also less punishing.
