Manufacturer Info:

Product of the TRG crew (MSRP):

$-650 

Usage Class:

BC ski, touring, AT, tele set-ups

Summary:   I've had these skis for a while & have not completed the review.  To be fair this is a tough ski for me to rate.  I am really not certain what the best use for them is in the east (ice) coast.  I am digging them out again to compile some thoughts here. 

Pre-Skiing Impression:  My understanding is that these are a been around the block pair of "stiff" from PM Gear's early stock.  These are the 188cm version w/ the original baby blue top sheet.  I was amazed at how lite wt they were.  Quite a deal lighter than any other ski this size.  I was puzzled to find a place for them in the quiver ( more on that later ). 

The quality of the ski is another story:  the topsheet is rather polished & professional looking.  Nice touch to the skis.  Other than that, it was disappointing.  The bases are concave in areas & convex in others.  Sidewalls are uneven & have been repaired.  The edges are solid, yet not true due to the warping of the skis. 

Of interest as well is the camber.......skis together, there is almost > 4-5 inches of camber.  This had me worried due to my lack of lbs.

When attempting to wax them up, they were just a pain in the rear.  Wax did not want to go into the plastic style bases.  Trying to scrap w/ the wavy bases was just as fun.

Test Conditions:

Mostly backcountry & hike for turns stuff.  Plan to veture more on the mtn w/ them.  have skied them to date on dust on crust to 12" pow-pow

Test Results: 

 Pending full report.

Analogies: this ski is like...nothing i've ever been on.  very lite & almost not there sensation

After Skiing These, I Want To...   become an earn your turns purist

Self-Description of Skiing Style, Ability, Experience, Preferences (be honest)

All mtn carving skier with a racing influence

 

Addl info:

 Took these out again today & really think I have it nailed down now.  Currently these have the 7tm tele binding on them.  I think this is the best possible match for this ski.  W/ the 7tm, you have a bomber tele binding.  I like them b/c they allow you to choose what to do w/ your style.  I had alpine bindings on these for a while & found the ski to be bland......not a great turner & a mismatch for the lite wt of the ski.  There are much better alpine boards out there.

 Back to the ski w/ the 7tm: I prefer to fusion w/ this setup.  Parallel turns, hi/low tele turns, carve/smear, & hucking.  This is where the ski really shines........ it is a great fall line, powder, in-out of bounds ski.  W/ a tele binding hiking or skinning for a stash is a breeze.  The camber I was worried about was no prob, even w/ low knee dropping & skating.   The lightness of the boards allowed you to rip up crud & wind blown stuff & because the ski only wants to follow the fall line, it is stable hopping/plopping over good size stuff w/ ease.  With speed the ski stays confident & lets you point them & run drops/trees w/ no fear.  Weird how a lite ski bombs..........nice

 Back on the trail I was less impressed.  Did not really want to turn via a carve(i'm a turner) & sorta washed out unless the outside leg was excessively tipped on a high angle.  Again the ski stuck to the fall line.   Smearing was ok, but the ski just wanted to drift.....yeap: DOWN

Overall: great ski if you really do more than lift served.  If you are a lift served skier in the east I would look elsewhere. 

 Side note: a buddy of mine is a avy patoller in UT.  She breaks track every am & huck bombs.  I tried to give them to her, but she was worried about the 188 length. I think the think the 179 would be percert for her!

Back in '08, I was a little confused about the Bro.  As time has shown, the Bro original & more are still around for '12.  I felt i had some unfinished business w/ this ski & when the chance presented, I picked up another pair.

I know PM gear had some QC issues, but I was shocked by the quality of this new pair.  Gone are the mismatched, warped plastic bases of uneven excessive camber.  These are straight, light & of superb construction.

 

I will also do them proper this time w/ a bomber alpine binder.  Last pair I mounted w/ a whoop demo to let everyone hop on them.  They were better tele, but will now get a FKS or MFX metal binding!

 

review 2.0 pending

 

 

12/11 2.0 Bro review: back in '08, this ski was really problematic for me. I really wanted to like the ski. Trouble was that it just was not very good. I tried it tele & alpine & ended up passing the ski along. It was the on ski that even in a straight line had troubles. 4 years later... A couple of thing were different: the quality of this pair was much better, I was on a non- demo binding ( I really feel demos are a disservice ) & Full Tilt hooked me up w boots for the season & there were no lifters on them. The time on these was far from great, yet I hammered these for a series of days & really found why the cult follows these. If you load the ski up & let it ride... Smooth GS turns are the result. I was quite supported by the ski at stupid fast speeds. The round edges did not even impact on a loaded turn. Key to success was a little different technique (and the low stack ht of the binding): at the completion of a high speed turn, retract more than you would on a race ski. The guys are fat@ 99mm & the ski will not let you topple over w such ease as a 65 mm ski. This does 2 things for you, it allows you to engage the skis on a high point in the new turn & set the edge early.... This allows the 125 tip & ?fattness of the ski to load w snow underneath. With this technique, even packed power.. Eh Killington crud felt like soft freshies. In shorter slower turns, this is where set up is key.... Be low on the ski: boots & bindings. Being nearly directly on the ski makes for easier pivoting. If you are not used to the short swing turns on a 188 cm.... Think about back in the day circa '94. The bros effortlessly cruise this way & are über light for trees & bumps. These snaked thru te tight spots well & were easy to ski at lower speeds. In a time where skis are supposed to pave a singular purpose & we're all supposed to have a quiver for ever conceivable turn shape / style , it is easy to see why PM Gear has retained this model. I believe the 173 version is their most popular ski. This ski lived up to the cult following- if I were a ski bum, these would be my ride. Interesting note: I found the flex on these to be medium in nature, others who have handled this pair found them to be rather stiff. This may be why my bias for these skis favored arching high speed GS. The progressive nature of the flex was there for certain. I have passed these along to the crew for further testing, I understand Northern Ski Works got them into fierce shape w a tune & hotboxing. I can't wait to hear what other have to say about them!