Pow
In 14″ of fresh Alta pow, the Governor was more fun than I expected. Tip dive wasn’t a remote possibility in the light, fresh snow, and the ski wasn’t nearly as cumbersome as I feared. Its tails were actually very easy to throw full sideways, and in deep snow, the Governor pivoted pretty well when running bases flat to negotiate firm bumps beneath the fresh. Not as easily as the tail rockered Bibby Pro, mind you, but I have had less trouble breaking the tails free than I anticipated. And if the Governor isn’t as easy to make quick, changes of direction, it’s because of its oversized shovels, not the unrockered tails.
Having skied a bit of heavier, wet pow (and chop), it’s clear that the Governor would be a great ski for any place that receives a lot of heavy, wet snow. Open lines in Sierra cement would be a blast.
Chop (Ballroom Area, Alta)
Basically what this ski was born for: either pow at very high speed, or blowing through chop while skiing primarily down the fall line, fast. The Governor is stiff and stable, and its ash-and-aspen core quiets the ride nicely.
Will Brown pointed out in his review of the Proto-Bibby-Special-Governor that the huge shovels overwhelmed the tiny, soft tails. I can’t say that I experienced this on the production model Governor. Perhaps a bit when skiing slower in steep trees off of Taos’ Winston, but at moderate to high speeds, I have yet to feel like I’m fighting against those big shovels. (I largely give credit here to the stiffer and wider tail of the production model.)
Interlude #2: Shape—Bibby Pro vs. Governor
Having said that, and in a revelation that will shock absolutely no one: I can’t say that I prefer the big shovel and narrower tail shape of the Governor to that of the Bibby Pro.
I haven’t yet identified a situation where I would clearly choose the shape of the Governor’s shovel over that of the Bibby Pro, but maybe I’ll find one.
If we’re talking about big, fast GS turns through moguls, however, I might view the non-rockered tail of the Governor as superior to the Bibby, given the amount of effective edge that the Bibby Pro’s rockered tail sacrifices. In bumped-up, variable conditions at speed, you could argue that it’ll be easier to track better on the non-rockered tail of the Governor when you’re constantly getting bounced and knocked off line.
Taos, 1.28.13
7-10″ of fresh had dropped the day before, and, overnight, wind had buffed out most of the mountain, beautifully filling everything back in around Winston and Pollux, skier’s right of Chair 2.
On my first two runs around Winston, I was keeping my speed in check, getting a feel for what the snow and the coverage was like. At slow speeds in steep trees, while the Governors were manageable, those big shovels were pretty eager to hook up and take me across the fall line. The shovels weren’t completely overwhelming the ski as the Proto-Governor-Bibby-Special-whatevers had, but it’s just pretty natural that these shovels will want to hook up.
But point is, you can do slow turns on this ski. You will work—and you will work more than you would on the tail rockered Bibby that doesn’t have as big of a shovel—but these are not unruly. Stay on point, and these skis have a pretty big sweet spot.
Furthermore, I almost never felt like the Governor was throwing me in the back seat, which is something that I was experiencing on the DPS RPC. Yes, the Governor is pretty stiff and requires work. But I had a much easier time on the Governor than I did the day before on the RPC in the same conditions, on the same lines.
Probably the most fun I had on the Governor was skiing Reforma on fresh windbuff. The snow was great, the moguls were firm but covered well with new snow, and the Governors felt perfectly stable, quick enough when brought up to speed to negotiate any line choice, and confidence inspiring through the runout, even in relatively low visibility. (It was snowing; Taos is going off right now.)
Perhaps most noteworthy was just how smooth and predictable the tails felt when throwing any sort of power slide. In these conditions on Winston and Reforma, it was incredibly easy to either slash or feather the tails to line up a spot between trees or rocks.
Groomers
Fun. The Governor does not bend as easily—or have as much rebound—as the DPS Wailer 112RPC (a seriously fun, larger-radius carving machine); but it feels quite solid and stable. No real surprise here, given the construction differences. (See Will Brown’s review of the DPS Wailer 112RPC for a further discussion of the Governor vs. the RPC.)
I have yet to spend a lot of time on groomers on the Governor, so it’s a section I’ll update when I can. So far, the Governor has been good, but it hasn’t stood out here, like the 11/12 Line Influence 115 or the DPS RPC.
Mount Position
While I liked the Governor on the line, I decided to move them to +1cm just to control the large shovels. I wasn’t experiencing problems with the skis on the line, but I haven’t found anything that I’ve disliked about +1, either, and I’ve had these skis in a pretty broad range of conditions and terrain. So I’m very content to stay put.
Hypothetical: 186 Governor vs. 196 Governor
I haven’t skied the 196cm Governor, and I can’t imagine that I would prefer it to the 186. I mean, if we’re just going to go ski big, open lines, then sure, I’ll ski the 196 Governor. But if we’re seriously just going to ski big, open lines, then I’ll ski it in a 210. But I haven’t felt that I needed to increase the stability of the 186, and I like how (relatively) easy the 186 is to negotiate tighter spots.
Personally, I would never need the 196 at Taos or Alta or Niseko, but I could happily ski the 196 in certain sections of Las Leñas. Still, there are enough tight entrances and exits there (and in Jackson) that I’ll stick with the 186.
Mostly, I think I’m finding a soft spot in my heart for ~186cm-ish stiff skis with a substantial, even flex pattern.
For me, the Governor definitely felt easier to maneuver in tight spaces and big bumps than the narrower 193 Cochise. (The 185 Cochise, however, is definitely an easier ski to manage than the Governor.) At 5’10”, 180 lbs., if a ski is built stiff, I don’t need it in a 196.
Having said all that…
Four Types Of People Who Should Strongly Consider The Governor
1) If you’ve ever skied the Bibby Pro and felt that it isn’t enough ski, consider the Governor.
2) If you’ve ever skied the Rossignol Squad 7 and wished that you had more ski (stiffer, no tail rocker, more effective edge), consider the Governor.
3) If you think the 187 Moment Belafonte is the greatest thing ever (we wouldn’t call you crazy), and you want to get something wider, with no tail rocker, but that isn’t softer than the Belafonte (like the Moment Jaguar Shark), consider the Governor.
4) If you wish the Bibby Pro were longer, and, more specifically, if you wish the Rossignol Squad 7 was longer, then the 196cm Governor is your ski.
Bottom Line
While the Governor hasn’t supplanted my love of the 190cm Bibby Pro, the more I ski it, the more I really like it.
If you’re a very strong skier (physically strong, not necessarily technically precise—though that will help) looking for a ski to rip up variable conditions but that you can still actually turn, the Governor could be the ticket.
And if you wish that either the Bibby Pro or the Rossignol Squad 7 either (1) came in a longer length, or (2) didn’t have tail rocker, then I’ve found your ski, end of story.
NEXT PAGE: ROCKER PROFILE PICS
Nice! I’ve been waiting for this one and just so happened to click over to your site this morning and presto! Good stuff…makes me glad I got the Bibby but nervous I got it in the 184 vs. 190 (5’10” 170#) and 187 Belafonte my other ski.
Great review.
c
Thanks, Chris. The 184 vs. 190 Bibby isn’t always an easy call, and depends a lot on how much time you’re spending in tight spaces, vs. how hard you’re charging through variable snow. Pros and cons to each.
You guys are awesome . Can you compare the 2011-2012 line influence 115 to the Governor, I picked up a pair of the Lines after reading your rave reviews of it and found it to be one of the best skis I have ever skied, It rips everywhere, shines on groomers and crud, but found in anything over knee deep powder the tails are a little more work to break loose because of the lack of rocker, still float great just not as fun as a tail rockered ski. So how does the Governor do on groomers and as a one ski quiver?
Thanks, Willie! I’m still not sure ANY ~115mm ski is as much fun on groomers as the 11/12 Influence 115; I need to get more time on groomers on the Governor, but so far, it hasn’t blown my mind. Not bad by any stretch, but not in the running for “Best-Ever?” in the way that the 11/12 115 is.
The Governor is also more ski than the 115. Better crud buster than the 115, but I really don’t see taking out the Governor every single day. As a 1 ski quiver, I’d take the 115, unless my first priority was crud busting and pow, and I was okay to sacrifice some groomer performance and work a good bit in bumps.
Thanks again for the great site. I’ve been skiing the rossignol sickle based on Blister’s review, which have been great. They pretty much do everything; however, I’m thinking about getting a second ski for those really deep days (mt baker/whistler is where I ski). I demoed the 184 bibby pros last year but didn’t like how much the tails released when trying to carve through a turn. Maybe the longer 190 would have been better. But now with the Governor, I’m thinking it or the Squad seven would be good options. Just looking at them in the shop, the wide shovels scare me a little bit as far as being “hooky” compared to the bibby pro 190 in thick chop. Could you give me your opinion which would perform the best in thick PNW powder and crud?
Thanks, AG. I wish I could do a straight up Governor vs. Squad comparison, but I haven’t skied the Squad in nearly a year, so I need to be careful. FWIW, I preferred the Bibby on groomers to the Squad, so don’t expect a significant gain in that area if you go with a Squad.
As for thick chop, I understand your hesitation about the bigger shovels, but the Governor is stiff enough in the tip that I haven’t found it to be an issue, nor did I find it to be an issue with the Squad. Are they better in chop than the 190 Bibby? I’m not prepared to say that, and it might be a different strokes for different folks sort of thing.
Bottom line: too close for me to call right now about which would be better in PNW pow and crud. I think the Governor would be excellent in it, as would the Squad. Might come down to whether you want tail rocker (Squad) or not (Governor).
I heard next year’s version is coming in at 142-116-128. Can u confirm this and if this is true, how do you think it will change the performance you eloquently pontificated above. Thanks again for the insightful review.
Thanks, Tom. And yes, those are the stated dimensions of the 13/14 Governor. On paper, I like that they’ve reduced the width of the shovel, something Will Brown wrote about well in his Bibby Special review. I like this year’s version – the tail is much better – but the narrower shovel may balance out this ski even more. Hope to find out soon!
Thanks Jonathan. Did they mention the radius on the 13-14 governor? I recall this year’s 186 being relatively short (early twenties). But I gather much of that radius was gained from going from 150 in the tip to 116 in the waist. Is next year’s high twenties?
For this season’s Governor, the 186 and 196 Governor are listed as 20 meters & 23 meters respectively. For 13/14, it’s 24 meters in the 186, 26 meters in the 196.
This years Moment Governor has a 20m radius on 186CM and 23m on the 196CM ski, at least that’s what Moment’s website states
Thanks for catching that slip, Adam. I updated my answer above accordingly.
I skied the Squad 7 and loved how it railed on groomers and the stability but I wish that the tips were a bit more stiff! I was thinking this was basically a Squad 7 with stiffer tips. I ski in the PNW and see too much wet heavy crud! I want a ski to destroy crud yet rail on groomers!
Squad with stiffer tips isn’t the worst way to think of the Governor. The Governor excels in heavy crud. As noted in my review, I need to ski it more on groomers – it by no means was bad, but it didn’t blow my mind; neither did the Squad: fine for a ski that big, but it did not “rail.” And the tail of the Governor is certainly more conducive to finishing turns and holding an edge than the tail rockered Squad.
Will there be a 2nd look at the governor to see how it does on groomers? Would the Squad 7, or Governor compare to the rocker 2 115?
I can definitely get an update soon on the Governor’s groomer performance, Adam. I haven’t skied the 115 yet, but I don’t expect either the Squad or the Governor to feel all that similar. But I’ll have to wait to confirm.
Any experience so far with next year’s (13/14) governor?
I’ve got a set of the 196 on the way to complement my 196 specials (they’re a bit beat up). I’m curious to hear other opinions on the changes to the ski for the coming year.
Sadly, no. Waiting on Moment for the moment…
Hi Jonathan,
I would like to hear your input as fas as a ski recommendation. Im 41, 5′ 9″ 165-170 lb, skied since 5, mix it up…some groomers, trees, pow, off piste, mostly Tahoe, with a CO or Utah trip here and there. No bumps, jumps, no skiing backwards or stuff like that. I have some Rossi B2’s that are about 5 years old (that was my first parabolic, shaped ski). Then I bought some 11/12 Bibby Pro 184’s for last season. The Bibby Pro’s are amazing in powder, but I can’t say I prefer them on groomers. I still ski my B2’s when it comes to non Pow days…like much of this season! Any suggestions for another all mountain one ski quiver? Belafonte? Line Influence? Rossi Sickle? Tahoe?
Thanks,
Dave
Hi, David – All might make sense for you, but I can’t offer something more helpful beyond reading those reviews and deciding which sounds like the best fit for you. Happy to try to answer specific questions, though. If groomer performance is a high priority, the 11/12 Influence 115 is certainly the best of the bunch. (And you’ve looked at our One-Ski Quiver Awards, right?)
Thanks Jonathan. Yeah I was reading your reviews of the 11/12 Influence and the 12/13. And I have looked at all the one ski quiver awards. Hmmmm…since I love the Bibby’s for pow days, have my old Rossi’s as a backup/rock ski, maybe ill look for something that just carves up the groomers. Any suggestions for that? Just a straight no pow day, groomer, speed ski? Again, thanks for all the reviews, they are great to read!
nice review!
just a simple question: what would be THE best ski for chopped up snow/powder and crud?
thanks,
Kevin
And how would it compare to the Squad 7?
What if you think the 192 belafonte is the greatest thing ever? 186 or 196? Is it at all possible one could use the 196 functionally as a BC ski…or is it just too long?
If you like the 192 Belafonte then 196 Governor for sure; the 196 gov is definitely a more manageable ski than the 192 Belafonte and I’d expect the 186 to feel too short.
If you’re OK with the weight and skiing semi-open terrain it could be a good BC ski.
Great reviews all around this site (just discovered you guys). Any updates so far on the 13-14 Governors? How much of a difference is there between those and the ones you’ve reviewed here? I can see some of last year’s for a much cheaper price.
Hey guys my govs are approaching 120 days and are really starting to disintegrate. I initially bought them just for charging powder and packed powder but I liked em so much they have really turned into my daily drivers. I see that they’re making another run of my same model although they’re only available on the website for full price. I was wondering if there are any skis that you would consider similar in performance. Thanks guys you kill it!