Neither will feel like a 115-125mm dedicated pow ski, but they are both exceptional in the One Oh Something class, and both will allow you to enjoy more of an inbounds pow day (which usually gets tracked out rapidly) than any of the dedicated powder boards. These are both skis that reward skiing from the middle or slightly back of middle of the arch they have lots of forgiveness in the little micro adjustments we make each second to stay balanced. At mach schnell in pow, they both have good float, and great resistance of snow snakes grabbing at you from underneath the surface. But for intuitive fun, I’d have the Q-Lab in bumps. The Cochise probably lets you pivot your way out of trouble better, if you are making good choices at the top of the bump, or the downhill spine of a canoe-shaped bump. The Q-Lab is a better tool here it is quicker, and, when you learn to live with its very strong tails and keep moving down the hill, it actually encourages better technique. Nevertheless, picking lines, absorption, pivoting, and carving were needed. No teeth were dislodged in the making of this comparison. The result is a ski that is 90% of what the Cochise can do, in conditions the Cochise is supposed to reign supreme. I have read about its alleged irregular flex pattern, and its aggressive sidecut (20.5m radius, vs 27m for the Cochise). No tip dive, no grabbiness in irregular snow, no fear. On a midweek day with no crowds and no small children to look out for, let ‘em run and enjoy the ride. Out of the trees, and into open-space crud, the Cochise is a treat. In fact, I think (for me), the 185 Cochise is better here than the 187 Bonafide it feels more nimble, more pivot-y. Despite the added camber, the 2016 Cochise felt just as maneuverable in the crud between trees in Sunlight and Snowmass as the 2012 Cochise felt in similar conditions at Kirkwood. Especially in tree-filled crud, the Cochise is a lovely combination of deflection resistance and quickness. Terrain included crud, bumps, untracked, and groomers basically, most of what you can expect to see out west on "this day didn’t suck" kind of snow days. Day 1 was at Sunlight with fresh snow and no crowds Day 2 was at Snowmass, not quite as much fresh snow, but still few crowds in the terrain we rolled through. I got to test these same day, same conditions, two days in a row.
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