OK, here it goes... I'm certainly not an expert, but I've owned a pair of K2 Bombers for almost 10 years. (185) They're fast, and although there's some shape/curvature, there not anywhere near as shapely as the newer models.

But I'm taking a trip out west to Tahoe this month. I reckon the powder should be much more than I'm used to. Many times when I ski powder here in the east, my boot comes loose.

I'm afraid of taking my beloved bombers out west. Should I rent or invest in a wider ski?

Hmmm. Figure $35-40/day for rentals on something really decent, demo-quality that is. Say you ski for 6 days, that comes to $240 or so, poss. less.

You -might- be able to score a Volant Chubb or 1080 or Volant FB or K2 PE or Volkl V-Pro/Dogen/AX4 or older Rossi B2/XX for less than that but not much less. And you're buying a pig in a poke.

Now you say "Many times when I ski powder here in the east, my boot comes loose."

a) Check that your bindings and boots are clear of snow when you click in. One little teensy wedge of compressed whitestuff can play havoc with release settings.

(1996 bindings???)

b) This can happen when the skier tries to muscle a tip-diving ski into the same turn behavior he might see on hardpack. The stereotype for this would be the top-to-bottom jump turner. Powder skiing is much more relaxed than this. Check some of Crush's threads on this board.

(PS disregard non-Tahoe powder ski reviews. Tahoe snow is MUCH different from Utah snow).

boot loose issues - I've come to adjust the DIN setting when skiing in thicker snow. Otherwise, when lifting my ski to turn, my boot will simply pop out while skiing in powder.

What type/cut/shape would be best in Tahoe?

thanks for the help.

Philip, that lifting sounds like a lot of work and a bit dangerous.

Will you have any lessons on modern (Y2K and newer) gear before the trip?

Comprex is right. You sould at least demo a bunch to see what you're comfortable with and then invest! You should always have a good selection of skis in your quiver!!! =D

I bought a set of Salomon 1080s and they are awesome in powder and they work well on groomers too. You should defninitely check these guys out. Plus I like the fact that they are twin tips. I've found myself going backwards on a number of occasions not by choice so I figure if I'm going to end up backwards anyway I might as well have skis that are rigged for it!

If your boot is coming loose, that's not good -- I would suspect either your setting is too low, or the binding tension needs to be adjusted.

I am demoing some mid-fats this weekend. That's what I would recommend since you can use them in powder out west and on groomed out east. Skis like the Elan M666, Head Monster 77, Dynastar 8000 are good examples.

Craig