Looking for powder ski input

[evan]

Have any of you ladies tried the Volkl Aura, Volkl Gotama or the Salomon Teneighty Gun?
I'm a 5'5" 122 Ib 46 yr old female, expert skier but due to age/fittness level not super strong. I'm looking to buy a powder ski for skiing in Jackson Hole, I have a pair of all-around skis.
Would the Gotama in 168cm be too much ski for me?
What lengths should I consider in each of these?
Eva

 

[volklgirl]

There has been mucho discussion on the Aura and suitability of lengths. A search in the Gear and Gear Review forums should bring up tons of info. (Go back to the main listing in each forum and there will be a button in the top right of the purple bar just above the threads that says "Search This Forum". Type in your search words and hit "Go")

 

[evan]

reply

Yes, I did do a search before posting this. However I did not see a comparison of the auras vs gotamas or guns. Would be interested if anybody has skied both the auras and gotamas and maybe guns.

 

[altagirl]

I've skied Mantras and Gotamas, but not the Aura. (The Mantra is the unisex version of the Aura.) Basically, I would consider the Aura/Mantra more of an all-mountain style powder ski. Like it will work fine in powder, but carves extremely well for a fatter ski. The Gotama has less sidecut and is wider, and is therefore more of a powder specific ski. (Though it does just fine on groomed, particularly if you're making large radius turns.)

I haven't tried the Gun - I'm much more of a Volkl fan these days. It does have a different construction than the Volkls, so I'd expect it to feel different, but it's a personal preference thing if you'd like something like that or not.

 

[Quiver Queen]

How about taking a look at the Head Sweet Fat Thangs (123-88-116)? I'm totally pleased with mine and looking forward to using them @ Jackson. I spoke to a guy that had previously skied the Salomon Pocket Rockets (used to be Jackson's favorite ski) and original 1080's, and he wasn't that ecstatic about the Guns, but thought maybe the Thrusters would've been more fun.

 

[Gloria]

Unless the dims have significantly changed on the 1080's I think they would be too close to your all mountain ski in general. You might want to look at the ski that replaced the pocket rocket if you want to consider something in Salomons line.

 

[alta_gal83]

I skied on the 1080 Gun for ~3 seasons at Alta/Snowbird and had a lot of fun on them at Jackson last Spring. However, just to verify, are you talking the 1080 Gun or the 1080 Gun LAB? The Lab is fatter ....

Anyway, like I said, I had a lot of fun on the Gun's, I just simply destroyed them in last year's nonexistent snow. I'm 5'4, skied the 164s and I'm a very strong skier. Overall, the ski is kind of like skiing a plank at first -- very little sidecut -- so learning to steer them is semi-daunting at first (I thought) but easy to pick up. Once I got the squirrely-ness (is that a word) under control, I had a blast! They plow through powder and crud with ease and were fun to rail on groomers, but people don't like skiing behind you when you do that -- the Gun's have a HUGE back-spray. The week I had them at Jackson was in the Spring, so the Hobacks were interesting. Soft in the morning, crud by midday, cement by afternoon. But in all those conditions, I wasn't having problems getting through anything on the Guns.

 

[evan]

I believe the new 1080 Gun is the updated version of last years 1080 Gun LAB. I'm leaning towards the Volkl Gotama. Would Gotama in 168cm be too much ski for somebody 5'5" 122 Ib 46 yrs old???

 

[altagirl]

I believe the new 1080 Gun is the updated version of last years 1080 Gun LAB. I'm leaning towards the Volkl Gotama. Would Gotama in 168cm be too much ski for somebody 5'5" 122 Ib 46 yrs old???

I don't think so. I'm 5'8" and I'm on the 183 Gotamas. I know several women on the 176s, and they're in your height range but 2 of the 3 weigh more (the third might weigh less, but she's just a goddess on skis). So I'd think the 168 sounds like what I'd guess at your weight. Obviously, the only way to know for sure is to demo, though.

 

[pinto]

.... The week I had them at Jackson was in the Spring, so the Hobacks were interesting. Soft in the morning, crud by midday, cement by afternoon...

You mean, "soft at the top, crud in the middle, and cement at the bottom"?! I've never skied a run that had more variable conditions condensed into a mere 10 minutes. (Of couse, it happens throughout the day, too, as you say. I just can't believe how fast it can change over there.)

And to answer the OP's question, I would think 168 would be just fine.