[coldfoot]

Suppose that you're a pretty high end tele skier who finally has saved some scratch for good skis. You like to ski the steeps, trees, and anything with a good healthy fall line. Sadly, you know that at least half of the season you'll ski marginal cruddy stuff you'll still want to have fun on. You ski about 40% backcountry the rest steep front country chutes/trees. You blew the camber out of your K2 World-Piste skis in about 2 months last year, your a little bitter about it, and want a beefier ski. You weigh 160, are 6'2, and are closely eyeing the following skis:

-Volkl Mantras (cuz they're beefy & good in steeps(?))
-G3 Tickets (cuz they got good reviews(?))
-Scotty-Bobs (cuz they're bouncy and fun in the infrequent DEEP)

Your boots are T2's, you usually do 1 multiday backcountry trip and several overniters a year, always in search of turns.

What do you get? Any Ideas? Suggestions?

PS - Snow's down to about 8000ft today

[Danno]

Why just those skis? I mean, there's nothing at all similar between a Ticket and a Mantra.
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[ATP]

If you've scrimped and saved for new skis and want skis of such differing styles, you're clearly a candidate for building a quiver of two pairs of used skis.

[bobatele]

Given your varied skiing interests (like mine), i.e. BC, FC, area, overnight, multiday you need a quiver, maybe two pair. One pair for pounding in the area (bumps, etc, can be rough on skis). These could be heavy, even alpine skis mounted with tele. For BC I have found as I have gotten to be a better skier that I do not need soft skis for powder or really for anything. A stiff ski with a lot of rebound, that is adequately fat. I am a lot smaller than you and prefer very light weight gear (so I am into Goode Carbons, but I know some have complained of reliability issues with these skis in this forum, I have had no problem). I am not really familiar with the skis you cite, but would urge you to go with two pair to cover your interest (or more, but then $ are an issue).

[Eric O]

Scratch the Ticket, it's not versatile enough for your planned range of conditions. Although it can be pushed very well into rough conditions by a strong, balanced skier (with just rewards), its forte is really mach speed on groomed runs and corn. If you were 175 pounds and willing to ski the 174 ticket, I'd speak differently; but at 160 (similar to me) it's just a bit too stiff and too sidecut to be your most fun & versatile choice for an all-conditions ski.

I'd prescribe the Reverend 177. Don't mind the people saying that one ski can't handle all of the conditions you described. The Rev certainly can. A very close runner-up would be the Jak.

If there were going to be more deep and less crap in the mix, I might even bump that up to a Verdict, Anti-Piste, Sickbird, Janac, Mantra, Prohete... but when the snow will truly & realistically be all-conditions, the Reverend is mighty hard to beat. If you somehow got your hands on a pair of AK King Salmons they'd be similarly good, but they're hard to find.
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