Comparison Review 2020 Mindbender 108TI vs Mantra 102 vs QST 106

[MRNative]

Today I demoed the Salomon 188cm QST 106, the K2 186cm Mindbender 108TI, and the Volkl 184cm Mantra 102. I am going to be comparing these to the 2014-2015 Blizzard 177cm Cochise because it's been my daily driver for 4 years now.

I skied the exact same terrain with the 3 demo skis and will be going in order of the terrain I experienced.

Long story short: the Mindbender 108TI is the best out of the lot by far.

Long story long...

Specs:

Mindbender-23m turn, 136-108-125, 2150g/ski

Mantra-27m-20m-25m 3D turn, 140-102-124ish, 2050-ish g/ski. Cant find any specs that's not on the ski. Didn't remember Tail length

QST-no idea what the specs are. probably 20-22m turn, 140-142 tip, 106 underfoot, 125-127 tail. Probably 2100g/ski

Cochise-27m, 134-108-122, 2300g/ski

Pure Stability: Mindbender > Cochise > Mantra > QST. A longer 2014-2015 Cochise might've beaten the Mindbender. Don't know about the new ones.

Weight: Cochise > Mindbender > QST > Mantra

Flex: I never hand-flexed them, but I believe the overall pattern would be about the same as above. I am just going by how I felt on the ski.The QST felt like they had the strongest tails, however, and the Mindbender had the least stiff tails, which was really nice on bigger drops and landing too far in the backseat. This also could be due to the higher amount of tail rocker though, but it's still a very directional, stiff, never-gonna-see-the-park-ever ski. The shovels would probably go something like Cochise > Mindbender > Mantra > QST. The tails are probably like QST > Cochise/Mantra > Mindbender

Groomers: the snow was soft and easy to bite into. I demoed the Mantra 102 first. These felt okay on the groomers, but at speed they definitely felt like the were wiggling around a bit. Didn't like how they handled. Easy to break out of a carve. I'm not sure how I felt about the 3D turn radius. I'm not sure how it's supposed to work, but the specifications state: tip-27m, center-20m, tail-25m. Personally I just felt like the turn radius was in between the Cochise (27m) and the Mindbender (23m). Next I tried the Mindbender 108TI. These were surprising easy to carve. Very stable. Turn radius is 23m, so not too long to carve at lower speeds too. Easy to break out of a carve and stop. Very confidence inspiring. More so than the Cochise, which feel a lot more dead on groomers. When it comes to Groomers: Mindbender > QST > Cochise > Mantra. If you will be skiing slowly on groomers and not carving, I would rank the Mantra the highest, but more aggressive riders would probably agree with my comparison more.

9-12 foot Cliff: the Mantra stomped it fine. No problems here. The Mindbender felt so good on the groomer before that I hit the cliff at speed and sent it more like 11-13 feet onto a skied out landing instead of powder. Still felt fine. On the QST, I had the hardest time on the landing. Either I landed too far back, the tails are too stiff, or maybe the ski was just too long for me, or a combination of all three options, but I felt like I had less control on the landing. It was harder to immediately regain composure and ski away like a champ. When it comes to cliff drops: Mindbender > Cochise > Mantra > QST. Note that the QST being ranked lower could be just user-error.

Tight Trees, 4-6" untouched powder: the Mantra, being the lightest, had the easiest time jumping around and avoiding trees. The Mindbender had an easier time than the Cochise too. Easier to thrash around and turn unexpectedly. The QST had the hardest time. The tails would get caught up and the tips didn't like to thrash around much. Could be because its 188cm. Mantra > Mindbender > Cochise > QST

Moguls: the snow was soft. The Mantra and Mindbender performed about the same. I'd give the edge to the Mindbender for having better "suspension." The QST surprised me. It felt the best in the moguls noticeably. Easy to zipperline, easy to control speed. The Cochise hates the moguls. I tend to just straight-line them because it's so damp. QST > Mindbender > Mantra > Cochise

Open Bowl, 6-8" untracked leftover powder: The Mantra had no issues with flotation. It liked to have a neutral stance. The Mindbender did the best. It floated as well as the QST, but it could turn much easier. You could really drive the tips. The QST had a more neutral stance. The Cochise does too, and it also has the worst flotation ever for a semi-fat ski. It's practically a submarine. Mindbender > Mantra > QST > Cochise

Open Bowl, 6-8" cut-up powder, "chowder": the Mantra could blow through it well enough, but I felt like it wanted me to ski in the backseat more. The Mindbender did phenomenal, even better than the Cochise, which is known for its variable terrain domination. I could put lots of pressure on the tips and drive hard and basically carve and blow through the snow. The QST felt like the tips would hook up in all the variable terrain at any speed. I had to weight my downhill ski differently than normal and be conscientious about it. The Cochise blasts through these conditions as we all know, but I like the snappier turn radius of the Mindbender and the ability to slash off speed more easily too. Mindbender > Cochise > Mantra > QST

For all the terrain, I gave the best ski a 4 rating and the worst ski a 1 rating. The averages are as follows:

186 Mindbender 108TI: 3.67

184 Mantra 102: 2.17

188 QST 106: 2.17

177 Cochise: 2

As you can see the Mindbender outclasses the other 3 skis by a lot. The QST is might be better than the Mantra when using my criteria because I could've just messed up on the cliff drop by landing too far in the backseat, but I just didn't like how it felt on the landing. Didn't feel as easy to recover.

If you ski off-piste most of the time in soft snow, go with the Mindbender 108TI. It's the best ski I've ever tried.

If you like skiing at a relaxed, slower pace in trees and groomers, and with good all-mountain and powder capability, go with the new Mantra 102.

If you like to do moguls and groomers but still want some pretty good flotation compared to more narrow-width skis, go with the QST 106.

As for the Blizzard's directional freeride line...its dead and gone to me. The new K2 Mindbender line outclasses them in every way in my opinion.

Fans of the old Cochise, go with the Mindbender. It does everything better with lower weight and a shorter (but still long) turn radius. Plus the graphics are awesome!

Also, I only tested these skis for 90 min each on the above terrain...no ice, chutes, crusty snow, deep deep powder, etc. Never got above 50mph too.

 

[Philpug]

Tell us more about you, height, weight, age, ski preference and skiing style. Where you skied these skis?

 

[MRNative]

Tell us more about you, height, weight, age, ski preference and skiing style. Where you skied these skis?

Sure thing.

5'10," 174 pounds, 19, been skiing for 15 years now. I am a directional, more traditional type skier. I tend to go fast very often. Not a lot of tricks, lots of air though. I almost exclusively ski off-piste. Lots of chutes, bowls, etc.

Demoed at Mission Ridge. Moguls and powder runs were double black diamonds. The powder runs were side country.

 

[GregK]

Thanks for your in depth reviews!
Your descriptions of how great the Mindbender 108Ti are similar to reports from others. Tried the two narrower versions and was very impressed but they didn’t have the 108Ti there for testing. Reports from pro riders and reviewers about playing with mount points to make them even more playful.

Now people have lots of fantastic choices of playful chargers in this width range. You have the Mindbender 108Ti, the very fun and versatile Nordica Enforcer 104 Free and the about to be released Moment Wildcat 108. These skis would be more similar in comparison with their mount points and their “all mountain free ride ride/free style” feel. Not a bad ski in this bunch.

Loving my Enforcer 104 Free and hearing reports from users of the early release of the Wildcat 108 that it’s “the best ski I’ve been on in the last 10 years” and they have Bibby’s so that’s saying something. Excited to try them and the MB 108 Ti out to compare!

 

[neonorchid]

RE: ski weight

2165 & 2211 K2 Mindbender 108Ti, 186 cm (19/20)
2036 & 2064 Salomon QST 106, 188 cm (18/19)

2376 & 2393 Blizzard Cochise, 185 cm (15/16-18/19) 98 waist
2049 & 2065 Volkl Mantra M5, 177 cm (18/19) 95.9 waist

^https://blisterreview.com/skis

 

[markojp]

Interesting reviews. Odd about the 184 Mantra 102. Skied it a few weeks ago at mission, skied it fast, and had no stability issues at speed on or off piste in a bunch of new snow. Seemed able and versatile. 5'11" #205.

 

[neonorchid]

Of these reviews I'm interested in the Mantra 102 and Mindbender 108ti. Would be inclined to try the K2 MB 108ti first since the Volkl Mantra 102 would have more overlap with my Volkl 90eight's ... possible replacement, IDK, they've been working well this season.

 

[Ron]

were you on the outgoing QST's or the new version which was significantly improved for 2020?

 

[Philpug]

I liked all three of these skis for different reasons and I could see owning all three again for different reasons. The Salomon does have a new shape this year but the big change is replacing the Koroyd with cork tha along with a new layup changes a finesse 106 to a charger. The Mantra 102 is indeed the Mantra that lovers of the 96 and 98mm Mantra were waiting for, even the skiers who loved the old Katana. The Mindbender 108Ti is the game changer that K2 has been looking for years...every Mindbender I was able to get on is also that game changer.

 

[markojp]

The Enforcer 104 was the great fun ride of the powder day test for me.

 

[Ken_R]

I liked all three of these skis for different reasons and I could see owning all three again for different reasons. The Salomon does have a new shape this year but the big change is replacing the Koroyd with cork tha along with a new layup changes a finesse 106 to a charger. The Mantra 102 is indeed the Mantra that lovers of the 96 and 98mm Mantra were waiting for, even the skiers who loved the old Katana. The Mindbender 108Ti is the game changer that K2 has been looking for years...every Mindbender I was able to get on is also that game changer.

I though that the new QST 106 (188cm) was darn near perfect resort powder ski for Colorado. It even handled heavier powder and chow very well.

I have yet to demo the other 2 skis but judging from the comments I think I would love them as well.

 

[MRNative]

were you on the outgoing QST's or the new version which was significantly improved for 2020?

The 2020 model. I hadn't used this years model to compare or the 181 length which I might've liked better because of the long tails on the 188.

 

[Scotty I.]

@Philpug - You mentioned in your discussions about the MB99ti that the 177 provided you with plenty of stability without sizing up. For us guys between sizes, do you feel that the 108ti in 179 provides that same level of stability?

 

[Ron]

@Philpug - You mentioned in your discussions about the MB99ti that the 177 provided you with plenty of stability without sizing up. For us guys between sizes, do you feel that the 108ti in 179 provides that same level of stability?

fwiw, I am 6' 170 I felt the MB's in the 177 skied too short. they were OK, but if you are used to skiing a 184-186 ski with this amount of rocker, I would strongly suggest demoing both lengths. I didnt ski the 108 BTW, I have that on my list.

 

[Philpug]

@Philpug - You mentioned in your discussions about the MB99ti that the 177 provided you with plenty of stability without sizing up. For us guys between sizes, do you feel that the 108ti in 179 provides that same level of stability?

I skied the 108Ti in the 185 and thought that was right.

 

[markojp]

MB 108 really is completely different than the 90/99's. It's more like a Rustler sort of ski.

 

[Philpug]

MB 108 really is completely different than the 90/99's. It's more like a Rustler sort of ski.

As with the 116.

 

[MRNative]

MB 108 really is completely different than the 90/99's. It's more like a Rustler sort of ski.

Hm that's interesting. I didn't get a chance to try the 90/99s. I still felt like the MB 108 was very stable though. But it was also over 2" inches taller than me

 

[Ron]

Sounds like a must try to me !

 

[MRNative]

Interesting reviews. Odd about the 184 Mantra 102. Skied it a few weeks ago at mission, skied it fast, and had no stability issues at speed on or off piste in a bunch of new snow. Seemed able and versatile. 5'11" #205.

I found it odd too. As somebody else said maybe the tune was bad, but I'm not sure. I'd have to get on it more. Or maybe I was weighting the downhill ski too much. I've found with flimsier powder skis if I weight it too much it'll get all noodlely like the Mantra 102 did for me. But then again the Mantra is supposed to be a stiff directional ski.