14 comments on “2014-2015 Fischer Big Stix 110”

  1. Well I pulled the trigger on a these skis based, in part, on your review Jonathan. Couldn’t be happier at this point.

    I was looking for a everyday lift-serviced ski. So basically 60% in-bounds or side country powder and 40% groomers. While I am a powder hound at heart, the unfortunately reality is that you have to get to the stashes and back to the lift. I picked these (mounted w/ Knee Carbon bindings) based on a couple of reasons: (1) my experience with the original Big Stix 106 and (2) review comments basically confirming this ski would be a good fit with my skiing needs and style. The original BS’s has the air carbon chassis and the new one maintains this. There’s something about this construction just clicks with me. Tried to love a pair of Dynastar Legend Pro 106’s as my everyday ride last year and they were a complete disaster.

    This will become part of my two-ski quiver with the Big Daddys getting the nod on those “special” days. Got to ride the Salomon Rocker2/115’s for half a day in some decent “full bodied”, shin deep coastal AK powder. Put the Big Stix on for the afternoon on the excact same runs in the exact same snow – no comparision, the BS’s smoked the Rockers. The only plus factor for the Rocker2 was straightlining on the groomed runouts. Less edge contact made the skis less “squirrely” but then you have the obnoxious tip flap to deal with.

    Keep the reports comings. Would like to hear about the BS 120s someday.

  2. I didn’t get these into any 12″-18″ of fresh, or even not so fresh pow, but I did get them into some mank and chop. Basically I really liked these skis a lot. I still own the original Fischer Atua 96, and these remind me very much of my Atua’s, which I still ski as my rock ski. I grew up with that carve technique, honed on 200 cm K2 GS skis as a 6′, and 140lbs noodle.

    Having read your review, it pretty much sums up exactly what I was thinking about these skis. Although, I had no issus with the balance in the chop and crud. I guess part of that is my technique, and maybe a bit of the old Atua, just seemed to click with me. I had no issues skiing these in moguls. Certianly not as quick edge to edge as my Atuas. Nor as quick ast the Watea 106, which I think would make a good quiver pick, if you wanted to go with a bigger 115mm+ more powder specific tool.

    I think at the end of the day, what I really liked about the Big Stix 110 was that natural medium flexing, light carving, crud busting ski. For it’s size it was a great carver. IMO better than the K2 Annex 108, or the Nordica Patron 185, which had that tip flapping issue.

    I agree it does not go mach looney down the slopes like the Salomon Rocker 115, which they now call the Quest115. That is a stiffer ski, that has baiscally very little tip flap but can’t carve, or ski moguls like the Bix Stix 110.

  3. Ordered myself up a pair of Big Stix 110’s. Thanks to all this new snow we are still getting in the PNW, I’m thinking I may still get these into some Cascade cement before the season is closed out! I’ll post more once I get a chance to get these into some real pow, and put a few thousand vert into them.

  4. I could really benefit from some advice.

    I live in the North East. My typical weekly ski is 750′ vertical groomers and crud. Last year I picked up some Blizzard Magnum 8.1’s and they seem to work adequately for what we have.

    My problem is the once a year trip out west. I’m not expert, but the guys I follow are. There is pretty much no part of the mountain I won’t hike to and see if I can die trying.

    I need a ski that will work for the majority of what I might encounter. In the event we get that 3′ of powder like we got at Alta in April of 2011, then I’ll just have to deal with it. :)

    Will the Big Sticks fit the bill? I was also looking at some Hill Bill 180’s that look fun.

    Any opinions would be really helpful.
    also, I’m 5’9″ 170lbs

    • Hey John. I have a similar pattern myself, where I do a bunch of northeast skiing (Hunter, Poconos, etc) and then make a trip out west (LOVE Alta). I just demoed the Big Stix at hunter in an epic day of snow (14 inches i think) and I must say these skis can do it all. Carved up, choppy, powder, scrape, etc…and they really performed. I think they would be fine out west in deep powder, up until you get into some really crazy bowls.

    • Well, I bought em. My first day on them was on sheer ice. I took them off after a few runs, but in retrospect I should not have. I have since learned how to drive them and absolutely love them even in the crap we’ve been forced to ski this season. There is just enough camber on them to get purchase every time I need it.

      Tomorrow I go to Whistler. I hear they’re getting fresh powder every day this week. I can’t wait for the second half of my demo.

      btw I’m really happy with the 176’s. I’m not good enough for anything more than that.

      • Five days of powder on Baker and then in Whistler and I couldn’t be happier with these skis. A touch more rocker might have made a difference on the back side of Glacier and in some of the glades, but for me I’m not skiing that every day. I doubt any ski will handle everything, but for me this seems to be perfect 90% of the time.

  5. Just a more recent update on these skis. I took these with me on a recent BC Powder Highway tour mid January. Unfortunately there was not a huge amount of powder on the highway, or at the ski areas when I made the drive. However, I did manage to spend some time in varied conditions, from dust on crust, dust on cream, and one day of heli-skiing in the Purcells in the trees, and open bowls. I was only once left wanting a wider ski, and that was skiing the backside of Paradise Bowl at Lake Louise, where I was on breakable wind crust. I ended up skiing these in day old cut up pow, and they were great. Tips always planning to the surface. They handle groomers incredibly well, and even in the soft bumps, they really are an easy ski, as easy as anything I can recall demoing in the 98mm waisted range. This includes my Rossi S3’s.

    The day skiing at RK Heli was on week old wind blown, and boot top heavier powder in the trees. (Area had received over a meter 5 days earlier, but 50-70mph winds over a two day period did a number on the snow.) The skis were very good in the nicely spaced trees. I like the old school pressure the tips technique, and these skis are perfect for my kind of technique. Never a worry, or issue with tip dive. In fact I would prefer to have been about .5cm to a 1cm forward of where I had my bindings set.

    We made several runs in open bowls, in the Alpine, and you would hit these rollovers, that had wind effected on top, and then drop into several inches of softish snow below. The 110’s handled the transition well. The tips do get deflected a bit, and I could hear them chatter, and bang together a couple times when conditions got choppy or firm. However, some of that is probably due to driver input too. The group I was with were skiing on similar size skis, with more tip and tail rocker, but I hung with them without issue. I don’t normally catch any air but with the guide and the group I was with encouraging me to drop some pillow lines, and off a few features, the biggest being about a 6′ feature, the skis just stomped the landing. Which gave me confidence to drop a few more features later on.

    Over all I have been very pleased with these skis. Would love to see Fisher expand this line just a bit, ala what Rossi has done with the S series, but the BigStix 110 really is a great ski for the resort skier who wants to go side country on a pow day, and then spend the afternoons playing inbounds hunting for pow stashes, and arcing beautiful GS turns on the groomers in the afternoon.

  6. This ski sounds really interesting for me. I’m 5’6″ and 160 lbs. What’s the right size for me. Would the 186 be too much, or make it maybe too limited for tight/technical lines?

    tx

  7. Bill – If you are an advanced skier, you will have no problems skiing a 186CM length. I’m only a few pounds more, and have no issues. I did a day of heli skiing, and we did two tree runs, and the BigStix turn very easily. I have spent quite a bit of time skiing trees this season. I very much prefer open bowls to trees, but find myself in the trees more than before, just because I have a lot of confidence in their capabilities in tight spaces. Did a narrow steep chute a few weeks back, and being able to do kick turns/jump turns with the light weight of these skis was refreshing.

    Switching topics to snow depth, I finally got these in conditions where I found their limits. PNW got dumped on this week, and I had these in medium to heavier waist deep pow, and struggled a bit. Resort reported 23″ over 24 hours, and you have to stay centered to slightly back to keep the tips from diving. A guy on a pair of 190cm DPS 112’s looked to be having no problems. And the guy I broke trial with was on a pair of Volkl Shiros, and was bombing down the run. I ended up toward the bottom of the run with tired legs finally getting a bit too far forward and got sideways, and went down. Maybe with fresher legs, I could have held it together but it would have been tough to have skied all day in that snow with the BigStix.

    It’s still a great ski for powder, and I have had several fantastic days skiing in 12″-18″ of lighter powder. Or even a foot of heavier wind affected snow is no issues. Just that heavier, deeper cascade cement we can get in the PNW that the BigStix tend to get bogged down in and not float as well as wider skies with a bit more rocker. It’s still a great ski though for 90% of the conditions I’ve had it in, and I have not wished for something else under foot.

  8. I keep coming back to the Big Stix as a ski I want to try. The 186 length is prefect for me and I love the idea of a fatter ski that carves. I have some reservations about the “soft” flex. My goal is to find an all around resort ski that’s going to work well everywhere, east and west. What the old Gotama or old Line Prophet 100 used to be for a lot of people.

    My daily driver is a 184 Mantra (2014) and I ski the 183 Shiro a lot as well. What I don’t have is something in between that I love. I have Katanas 184 and 183 Faction 3.zeros but I don’t love either one. The Katana kills it but just feels too harsh and stiff most of the time. I am a bigger guy and can handle it, but it doesn’t seem worth it most of the time. The 3.zero is new to me. Its a much easier ride then the Katana, but even mounted -1 from the back line it feels a little center mounted and jibby for my tastes. I like the medium-stiff flex and its increased dampness relative to the Katana. The Shiro is really really good and although it seemed short and “foldy” at first, I have figured out a way to make it work for me.

    I’m looking for a ski with the fun factor of the Shiro that’s a little more geared to hard snow. Maybe the Big Stix will fit the bill?

    Also, does anyone know how far the recommended mounting point is from true center?

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