Ski design: tail or no tail, BD Megawatts vs Team 130!

[telexis]

Hey Guys,

I post that on telemarktips, but it might as well fit here!

I might build a pair of skis for a school project so I am starting to think about what I could build. I already have a pair of Jak and Team 100. I love those skis. Other than that I only tried the BC100 which was light, but way too soft and the binding was always ripping out of the ski (since then, I don't believe in lightcore) and the Hippies Stink (like it).

I like to ski powder, and I think it might be fun to experiment with building one of those fat skis! I think I understand well the reverse camber/rocker thing (and I will probably integrate some into my skis)... don't think I understand the reverse sidecut (If someone could explain? But there are almost no skis like that anyway, so it might not be supergood)... but here is my biggest question for now.

Let look at the BD Megawatts with a sidecut of 153-125-130 and the Team 130 with a sidecut of 155-130-148. You can see that both skis have pretty much the same dimension at the front tip, about the same underfoot but there is 18mm difference at the tail!! What are the advantages of have almost no tail like the Megawatts? What are the advantages of having a tail almost as big as your tip in a ski like the Team 130?

And pushing the no-tail ski is the Pontoon at 160-130-120... Almost same tip and underfoot, but now 28mm less than the Team 130 at the tail!!

Anyone tried all of those skis? Why would you pick one more than the other? Is one design more specialized? Or more general?

Thanks for you help!

Alexis

[plywood]

can`t say too much regarding those skis because i`ve never ridden one of them.

the pintail/teardrop shape, whatever you want to call it, as there is on the pontoon and the megawatts is for one reason: it should make the tail sink deeper in the powder. so you don`t have to lean back that much.

but i can`t tell you whether this is good or bad... in my opinion a too narrow tail makes the tail less stable and more likely to "slip away sideways".

[bigskis]

So Here is my opinion on pin tails. The are super fun skis for charging around in powder and choppy snow however they suck on a groomer. Now that being said they were not deigned to be a groomer ski. I have skied the DPS 120 and the Megawatt both and they were both fun in the soft snow however they were a bit flexy to me. One other thing you may notice is they ski short with the long tip. I usually ski a 190 and I would want a 200 in those so keep that in mind. I was really happy with how quick they turned for there size and it was cool to ski powder really driving and not standing flat footed. The one weekness to this shape I found is if you like to take good size drops with speed the small tail is a bit scary. There is just not a whole lot there to land on.

[spencejbott]

I have had a lot of time on the Megawatts and they are fun. Ski size is all personal choice and on this site you will get a little of everything. If it is your first ski build copy your favorite ski as exact as possible because there are plenty of other variables to try (can be read as"mess up")
Good luck

[Wannabebuilder]

as far as binders ripping you need to go door tech. Go as light as you want.