About this Review: This review is my honest opinion of the skis, which I demoed for three days in April of 2023.

My take

The Moment Deathwish Skis are hard-charging skis for advanced skiers. The performance I got out of this pair of skis was good for the spring conditions of the Eastern Sierras I rode them on. They had great edge hold and good stability. The best terrain for this ski would be steep off-piste areas with open spaces like bowls or wide chutes.

About the gear

• Model: 2023 Moment Deathwish
• Size: 184cm

About me

• Height: 6’0”
• Weight: 190lbs
• Experience: 2 years skiing, 12 years boarding

Test conditions

• When I demoed these: April 28th-30th
• Days tested: 3
• Mount position: Recommended
• Boots: 2022 Technica Cochise
• Boot Size: 27.5
• Bindings: 2022 Tyrolean Attacks
• Where I’ve used it: Kirkwood, California
• Terrain: Black and double black off-piste and blues on/off-piste

How they perform

What I was looking for

I was looking for a 108mm ski for the resort to be an all-mountain ski to fill in between my 105mm and 120mm powder skis. I have a 108mm Moment Wildcat, which I love riding, and I wanted something similar for in-bounds. Also, I wanted a ski that could handle the steep terrain and chutes on the mountain.

Why I demoed this gear

I enjoy riding Moment skis and have heard great things about the triple camber on the Deathwish ski. I looked at the Icelantic Pioneers, but with Moment being a local company, it seemed it was the easier choice (no shipping and same-day mounting), and I work with Moment a bunch, and they give me good help. The performance on the Sierra cement is better than my current skis. I would buy this ski in the future, especially if staying in the Eastern Sierras, as all Moment skis are designed and tested in this area.

What I love about them

• Speed: The Moment Deathwish Ski is a hard charger, so if someone points it straight downhill, they will fly down the mountain.
• Edge hold: The triple camber on this ski gave excellent edge hold performance. The grip the edges gave on steep terrain did not have me fearing sliding.
• Groomers: The Moment Deathwish Ski had good edge control on the groomers and was not too slow.
• Powder: The float on this was great. Spring skiing conditions existed, but I did not sink into the slush at all.
• Durability: This was a demo ski. Even with that, I could not tell others had ridden it. The topsheet was still in good condition.
• Weight: The weight of the Moment Deathwish Ski is what I would expect for a resort ski. It was not too heavy, so skiing was not difficult, but it was heavier than a touring ski, so there was no chatter and good stability.
• Stability: There was no underfoot chatter. In the right terrain, there was plenty of pop on jumps.

Issues I’ve encountered

• Turns: In powder or off-piste, initiating a turn seemed to be a bit more difficult than in other all-mountain skis. It tended to grab differently into the turn or take a bit more energy to initiate.
• Trees: Trying to weave between trees was difficult as turn initiation in powder was a bit tough. Quick changes of direction were a bit difficult.
• Carving: It was not as easy to carve on groomers and some off-piste areas as my longer race skis. The triple camber design, I believe, is made to float over the powder and crud, not the corduroy of the groomers. The quick back-and-forth carves were not initiated as easily as my Icelantic Nomads or Moment Wildcat Tour.

Favorite moment with this gear

Riding the Wall at Kirkwood Mountain in the spring this year was pretty epic on these skis. Riding along the ridge brought me to some chutes where the run drops between these big rock pillars. The cornice and rock features made this a hard drop to go through, but I could ski down super comfortably on these skis. Again, it was a great experience that the Deathwish handled with ease.

Value for the money vs. other options

The Deathwish is worth the money for an experienced rider looking for a durable and stable ski to charge downhill. I preferred this ski more on the steep off-piste terrain over the Icelantic Nomad. They handle better than a DPS ski (i.e., Pagoda 105 or 106) for the price. I believe the Nomad does a bit better job all around, on groomers and off-piste, but the off-piste performance of the Deathwish makes it a better ski for me since that is where I prefer to ride.

Final verdict

The Moment Deathwish Skis will unlock some hard-charging potential on steep terrain.