Finally getting around to reviewing the EHP 186 I skied on Sunday.
Me: Check my 182 vct review for description.
Conditions: Two feet of new, light powder, on top of several feet from the past few days. End of a storm that brought 6-8 feet to Mammoth.
Mounted right on the midsole line.
Groomers: Coming off the ARG's from the day before these were very easy to ski on powder groomers. They are wide, with very little sidecut, so you definitely have to initiate the turn yourself, but they were not a big deal to handle at all on the groomed. I would not want to take them in a race course, but for the type of days I will use these negotiating groomers is no big deal.
Powder: Skied these in 2 feet of fresh light snow, mostly chair 22 at Mammoth, which was not open, but which they allowed us to hike. They had a super surfy feel, much like the ARG's from the day before, but not quite as exreme due to the traditional sidecut. The early rise tip and pin tail really do the trick of keeping the tip up, and much like the ARG, these want to be skied forward. I found that by pressuring the tongues of my boots, as if I was on a groomer I had lots of power and control. These definitely want a forward style, the more forward your stance, and the faster you go, the easier they are to turn. They knife through powder with such ease that I almost thought I was on ARG's again. The feel is very similar. In my last review I wrote that going from explosivs/pistols to ARG's was like going from skinny to fat skis, well I would say the same thing about the EHP's. If I had not skied the ARG's the day before my mind would have been completely blown. To me they felt as if they had 98% of the powder performance of the ARG's. I did not find a speed limit, the faster I went, and the more forward I was, the more control I had. I did not dig the tip, the early rise tip seems practically impossible to bury. I would actually advise one to ski powder as if you are trying to bury the tip, as this will keep you as forward as possible. I was able to make quick tail skids to adjust my line when I wanted to, these have so little sidecut that they do not lock one into a turn. They are very fun in the trees, as they turn quickly at speed without locking into a carve. At speed, they turned very easily and were very responsive, without having to load the ski, very similar the ARG. I would say they are very close to the ARG in powder performance, the difference is not much. While I did skid the tails a bit, I did not try any full powerslides, which I would have liked to test.
Chop/crud: As the snow got more cut up I got to try these in crud. Here I would say they were superior to the ARG's. The early rise tip works in cut up snow much the way it does in powder, it keeps you above it and makes everything far more effortless. Once again, the trick is to stay as forward as possible, the more you do, the more control you have and the less you will get knocked around. It really is possible to skim right over the crud, the early rise tip allowed me to ski it really aggressively, with a very forward stance. You don't have to worry about catching a tip, so you just stay forward. I did get knocked around a bit, but I don't think any more so than I would have on my CMH's or pistols. Overall, I prefer the EHP's to either of those skis for the crud I have skied so far. I should also add that compared to the ARG's, the EHP's lose far less of their performance as the snow gets more chopped up and packed down. I was able to make high speed turns through the lines below the traverse beneath chair 22, which were very cut up, with some crud bumps in places, with plenty of confidence. With the crud bumps you just blast right over them. I would not want to ski these through the troughs, the way bumps are traditionally skied, but for blasting over the tops of crud bumps they are great. I couple of times I felt the tips deflect, but not seriously enough to cause much bother. Overall, I could see some of the hardest chargers on this board, guys who think 194 squads are for pussies being bothered by the slight softness of these, but for me they were fine.
I did not get to ski these in any chutes where hop turns on firm snow would be required. I would have liked to. Overall, I think they would handle these fine, as the midsole mounting point is pretty far forward. Also, with the rise in the tip and tail, you do not have to worry as much about tip hook as you would on a traditional shape. The shorter running surface would also probably make hop turns easier, although I am just speculating. Hopefully I will get to try them out soon in these conditions. I also did not get to straightline anything, Palisades style, so I am not sure how they would work in those conditions. However, as long as it was soft and smooth these feel as if they would do well, better than ARG's certainly. As things get packed down, I might prefer the explosives for the end of the straightline, when the area below the 'sades gets pretty choppy, but these seem to be a good cross between an explosive and an ARG, in terms of performance. The advantage I assume they have over the ARG's in straightlining and technical turns is why I bought them. Your first two or three Palisades points of the day should be just fine. I did not get to hit any cliffs, with them, but hopefully that will happen soon. I imagine the early rise tip will help prevent going over the bars, and allow one to really stay forward to prevent backseat landings.
Overall: I absolutely love these, similar powder performance characteristics to an ARG, but more versatility. I should be able to ski these a couple of days after a storm, without problems, whereas an ARG is much more of a powder only option. They are certainly not an everyday ski, like a pistol, vicious, explosive, gotama, vct....However, the traditional sidecut and medium flex give them some versatility. As I said before, I could see how some of the biggest guys/hardest chargers on the board could find it not enough ski, but for me I did not find a speed limit. I cannot wait for this weekend, I will hopefully test them in some Mammoth wind buff.