The biggest downside of powder skis at busy ski resorts is they are fantastic at the beginning of the day when everything is still fresh and untouched, but when the snow gets tracked out those light powder skis can get bucked around in the soft chop. That is not an issue with the Rossignol Black Ops 118's. These are very heavy skis compared to most others in their size but that is a GOOD thing. Their weight lets me ski through that chopped up snow at high speeds since they just blow right through it instead of getting bucked around. On a powder day these skis are just as fun at 9am as they are at 2pm. Their heavy weight is offset by their fairly centered mount point, it means the swing weight is more balanced than skis mounted further back. The center mount means these skis can still turn and slash easy, it just takes a little more effort to do so. They also handle themselves fairly well (for their width) on firmer snow due to a good amount of camber underfoot. I first tried these skis out as a demo and fell in love with their performance. If you think you can handle the weight and want to have fun for the entire powder day these are the skis for you!