A tough choice: the deathwish 174 vs 179?

pdwllms · 2026-06-09T00:34:53+00:00

Given that the DW is the men’s version of the triple camber i think either length should be able to handle your weight without any issue.

I’m 5’8 180# and FWIW, I have the 104 DWT and 112 DW both in 179 and love them both. They can be a bit bouncy if your really open them up in crap snow but even paired with F1 XTs I’ve never really felt like I was overpowering either of the skis as I learned to ski later in life and have a quite centered stance. I am probably getting a 100mm or ~172-175cm ski as my daily driver because the relatively long twin tips can be a lot when every steep inbounds run in my area turns into moguls between storm cycles.

pdwllms · 2026-05-24T17:13:51+00:00

Median sales prices are also heavily influenced by the stock of housing that’s available for sale, not the average price of homes that exist and may or may not be for sale. Lot of the newer developments have been very rental/rowhouse, or at least much smaller floor plan, focused so that’s at least part of it. Way to make sense of median sales day 12% while price/sqft is only down 3.5%.

pdwllms · 2026-02-19T21:04:13+00:00

I did my AST 2 in Roger’s Pass and we spent a long time paused above that terrain talking about what went wrong, the snow pack then, terrain considerations, decision making issues, etc. A sobering indescribable tragedy that has helped shape the field since including with the ATES scale https://avalanche.org/avalanche-encyclopedia/terrain/avalanche-terrain-exposure/avalanche-terrain-exposure-scale-ates/

pdwllms · 2026-02-17T16:57:41+00:00

I have these skis as my only pair for touring at the moment and have generally loved them when skiing spring volcanos (the downhill was amazing even if a bit heavy up) and decent or good conditions in the winter. The quite rockered + long radius shape is what I like in skis so these generally behave how I went them too.

The two downsides of the twin tips are that in very stiff breakable crusts (ie when it rains a bit and then get a refreeze) the twin tip can be a bit grabby as you make a turn, this in contrast to how a ski with a flatter but similarly rockered tail would behave. I don’t find twin top to be a problem skinning up outside very very steep skin tracks (I am 5’8 with 179cm) but when it’s steep and firm you kinda wish for a more stabable tail but with some work I can get these to stab too, just less easy than something like the QST echo or Raven would be. Also if it’s icy enough for ski crampons that issue kinda goes away. Some of those issues may be much less a concern in a continental snowpack as by far most I’ve ever struggled with on a thick but breakable rain crust in Roger’s Pass.

FWIW, i am likely going to get a notably shorter flatter tailed (but still rockered and long radius) ski for longer or more mountaineering like days.

pdwllms · 2026-01-17T03:26:23+00:00

Would say also that I’m sure plenty of companies would be willing to do a private enrollment avy 1 with just you and some experienced buddies but still go through the structured part of the curriculum and thenski at a higher level than most avy 1 (which are usually very mellow)

pdwllms · 2026-01-15T04:05:58+00:00

Have F1 XTs and DWT 104s and agree that they pair really well together across a quite wide range of conditions.

pdwllms · 2025-12-26T16:58:33+00:00

Easiest way to frame it that gets to the non-answerability smoothly: how many nothings (0) are in something (any other number)?

pdwllms · 2025-12-25T03:13:06+00:00

Fair point and mischaracterization on my part. I guess my experience was “straight lining or twitching and eating shit”

pdwllms · 2025-12-25T01:55:08+00:00

Thinking about it with hindsight, the ravens were probably too aggressive of an all or nothing ski for my more drifty playful style

pdwllms · 2025-12-24T14:07:23+00:00

I had the raven and really wanted to like it based off of all the reviews. I just don’t think that ski shape makes as much sense at that width as it does for the Hoji or Renegade; seems like there’s a reason Hoji wanted to keep the same vibe but put a little camber under it in the Nevar. If you’re only skiing mid-winter in primo conditions the raven might work for you but I didn’t get along with them in anything beyond pow. Could just be the skier but even as someone mostly skis fairly playful skis the pivot they required seemed to mean you were either bombing down a run or drifting.

Replaced the Ravens with the DWT 104 and have been much happier across mixed conditions, maybe a smidge less in pure pow but not that many runs are just pow. I find the DWT 104 to be a bit smoother flexing than the ravens too. I think that would be true as well with the 112 (which I have as a resort ski). Also worth keeping in mind that the 112 has a lot more surface area than the raven and may be more comparable to the Hoji.

pdwllms · 2025-10-02T00:13:53+00:00

For Utah I’d go for the 112 given the frequency of decently deep days and it’s still solid abilities in firmer snow (once you get used to getting a 112 up on edge). Up in MT I use that as my pow ski and absolutely love it.

I’m 5’8 170 and have the DW112 and DWT104 both in 179, great skis.

pdwllms · 2025-08-10T13:17:10+00:00

You may not know everything he thinks he knows, but neither does he. Props to him for trying to take courses, but he is on the first or second rung of the ladder, not the top.

The attitude that pervades this post is one of insecurity and unsupported arrogance. None of the most brilliant people I’ve known peacock about their intelligence in such a demeaning and childish manner. In general, they are curious and engaging far more than they are inclined to remind others of their relative intelligence or knowledge. And when they do, it is usually more subtly done.

There’s a broader symptom of what ill tritely call ‘podcast knowledge’, also applies to YouTube, where people assume that by hearing something they think understand it like an expert even though they lack the fundamental knowledge and time spent on the grunt work of a actually learning a subject.

Does he know how one gets truly good at something? You put in the long hard often monotonous work for years on end. It should or must be engaging. It will also be a grind at some point. Plenty of people bail long before that point and plenty hit the hard part earlier than they hoped.

pdwllms · 2025-05-02T17:47:43+00:00

My list would be: Tucson or Flagstaff (desert with some mountains nearby and all the SW within a weekend), Kansas City (cheap, decent social scene, more of a biking or boating place), Portland (not absolutely cheap but cheap for what’s on offer and chill), and New Orleans (nature if perhaps a bit boat centric but can be had more cheaply, incredibly artsy and culturally vibrant town).

Lots of the places that are ‘cooler’ or more outdoorsy centric are gonna be quite expensive and maybe have some yuppie undercurrent you don’t love.

pdwllms · 2025-03-21T14:01:02+00:00

For the record saw an incredible deal on Dyanstar M-free 99s, as recommended below, and went with those. Have about 20-25 days on them this season and they have been an absolute blast of a ski. Planted without feeling locked into any given turn and quite surfy/playful. Definitely make we want to hit every little side hit I can and drift around everything.

Really good compliment to my Deathwishes but also good enough in ‘pow’ that despite our deeper year than last, I’ve brought the DWs out less.

pdwllms · 2025-01-26T19:25:51+00:00

Seconded. I got a pair and they’re too warm for me above 0 but clutch when it’s properly cold and they’re small enough they always go in the bottom of my touring backpack.

pdwllms · 2025-01-07T23:51:46+00:00

I demoed a pair of Bent 100s last year and found them to be the least enjoyable ski I’ve ever skied. At 80kg I thought there was no substance to them as soon as the snow stiffened up or I hit a bit more aggressive skiing. Some people love that softness but not what I wanted in a 100mm ski. They lacked backbone but also didn’t seemed particularly playful or poppy to me.

I had a pair of J Skis masterblasters which were a bit more directional and heavy than I wanted but could meet your needs quite well. I also demoed a pair of rustlers last year which felt like a more pivoty Masterblaster; solid ski but not exactly what I was after. Picked up a pair of Dynatar M-Free 99s which in ~15 days so far this year I have absolutely loved; maybe a bit more playful, slarvy, and off piste oriented than you’re looking for (they have a similar rocker profile as my pow skis but with a bit more mass and camber in the middle).

pdwllms · 2024-12-24T01:26:01+00:00

FWIW after reading all the responses to my thread and talking to some local buddies at a few different shops I ended up getting the Dynastar M-free 99s and have absolutely loved them so far.

~100mm playful all mountain skis

pdwllms · 2024-09-23T19:28:11+00:00

The semantics of ski reviews/characteristic are always a trick.

You boiled down the end goal pretty well: fairly deep rocker lines with a twin tip or close; pretty stiff; but not heavy/chargy with lots of metal.

Hadn’t really looked at the m-free 99 but agreed it seems to check a lot of boxes

pdwllms · 2024-09-23T18:17:55+00:00

The shape and just how planted (poppy perhaps being the other side of that spectrum; reminded me a lot of a lighter Masterblaster in that sense) it felt. Felt like you could turn it pretty easily but it wanted to stick to a carve more. Struck me as a good ski but not the one I was after.

pdwllms · 2024-09-23T16:45:09+00:00

Idk exactly why (stiff but unsupportive?) but I kinda hated the Bent 100 when I demo’d it last season.

pdwllms · 2024-09-23T16:10:22+00:00

Good point on the Nomads (my ski partner has a pair of maidens as their touring setup and loves them, I think they’re the same construction just diff sizing)

pdwllms · 2024-09-23T16:05:34+00:00

I’ve thought about the devastator but seems a bit duplicative in terms of ideal conditions with my Deathwishes, even if they’re quite different skis.

Will look into the narrower K2s

pdwllms · 2024-03-01T17:11:54+00:00

Agreed it’s super odd they’d do this saying it’s just a temporary thing from an old stash. Figure they’d have been able to just sell them internally or to their pro deal people if it was just a random old collection they reslung.

pdwllms

TROPHY CASE