Powder Review: Moment Deathwish Tour 104

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In a nutshell

The new Moment Deathwish Tour 104 brings a lot to the table, and is our top choice for spring ski touring, or any day where you might find variable snow in the backcountry.

• Length Skied: 184 cm

• Weight: 1765 g

• Stated Dimensions: 132-104-124 mm

• Stated Sidecut: 22 m

• Recommended Mount Point: -6 cm

Intro

Last week Moment Skis released their new lineup for 2023-24. There’s a few new skis here, notably, the Commander line slims down to a 102 and a 92 underfoot version, there’s the totally new Countach 110 (review coming) and finally, a Tour layup version of the Deathwish 104. There’s a strong contingent of terminally online skiers (myself included) who have been clamoring for a narrower, lighter, more mountaineering or spring skiing oriented Deathwish Tour, and Moment has answered our prayers.

Of course, keen-memoried readers will point out that Moment made a narrower Deathwish Tour for years, first as the Underworld, and later as the Deathwish Tour 106. Moment even calls that out in their copy for the new Tour 104. But, Moment has gotten a lot better at building touring skis in the intervening years. They’ve figured out cores and layups that provide a really fun mix of energy, suspension, and a generally reliable ride feel. And with the demise of the Commander Tour, there was an empty slot to fill in that 100ish underfoot role. Enter the Deathwish Tour 104.

Some folks, including several Moment athletes pressed the 179 cm version of the women’s Sierra Tour into service for their big-walk-to-questionable-skiing option. That ski shares the exact same dimensions as the new Deathwish Tour 104, but weighs about 100 g per ski less than the new DWT.

I was able to spend a bunch of human-powered time on the Deathwish Tour 104 this spring, and came away really impressed with this ski, and excited to chase down bigger objectives with it.

Length and Mount Point

At 6’1”, 200 lbs I really enjoy the regular Deathwish, and the Deathwish Tour in the 184 cm length. And I enjoyed the Deathwish 104 in that length as well, although I ultimately decided that it didn’t make a ton of sense for my skiing style and snowpack. So, I skied the 184 cm Deathwish Tour 104 and really liked it at that length.

That said, I could definitely see myself sizing down to the 179 cm version of this ski, if I was primarily using it for big objectives and long walks. It’s a really stable and reliable ski, so I think the 179 wouldn’t feel undergunned, and would save me a little bit of weight. But for an all-round touring ski, the 184 cm length is perfect. Moment is getting rid of gendered touring skis this season, so the Deathwish Tour 104 is available in five lengths, from 164-190 cm.

I really appreciate that Moment makes straight-across touring versions of their inbounds skis. So the Deathwish Tour 104 has the same dimensions and mount point (-6 cm) as the Deathwish 104. That’s 1 cm back from the recommended mount on the 112 underfoot versions of the Deathwish, and I really liked the Deathwish Tour 104 mounted at that line. If you’re really used to more center-mounted skis, sure, move it forward a centimeter, but don’t lose sleep over it. The Deathwish Tour 104 has a wonderful balance of stability and maneuverability at the recommended line.

Where does the Moment Deathwish Tour 104 shine?

There are two slots where I think the Deathwish Tour 104 fits really nicely. It’s an easy-to-get-along-with, but stable spring touring ski, and it’s a great do-it-all touring ski for folks who don’t get enough snow to justify a wider ski.

I personally fall into that first class. For most of the winter, I’d prefer to be on something wider. I mostly walk uphill to ski deep snow. But, when spring comes around, hauling the 112 mm underfoot Deathwish Tour uphill feels a little silly. I love wide skis, but they’re unnecessary when skiing two dimensional, spring snow. The 104 version feels absolutely perfect in those conditions.

In soft spring snow, on steeper terrain, the Deathwish Tour 104 reminded me why I fell in love with the regular Deathwish six years ago. It’s so easy to pivot, slide, and swivel. It feels really intuitive at lower speeds, making your way through peppery chokes, or awkward sections, and then, when you can see the fall line dropping away from you, and gravity starts to call your name, it’s ready to rage. It feels stable, and unflappable at speed, and is really easy to shut down on a dime if you need to. I’m not going to go into it in depth here, but the Deathwish Tour 104 has the same Tight/Loose magic that I described in my regular Deathwish review.

Salomon’s QST Echo 106 really stood out to me for its combination of weight and ride quality. But the Deathwish Tour 104 is playing in the same territory, while being longer, and lighter. Moment has gotten really good at making touring skis, and the Deathwish Tour’s firm snow performance is a great example of that.

So, if you are looking for a firmer snow, more spring-oriented touring ski, the Deathwish Tour 104 is a great choice, especially if you’ve skied and enjoyed some flavor of Deathwish in the past. It’s my personal top choice for skiing spring lines in good style.

And, for folks who don’t get as much snow, or prefer not to do their touring on a 112 mm ski, the DWT 104 could be a great do-it-all touring ski. I didn’t get to spend time in deep, fresh snow this spring, but I skied the regular Deathwish 104 on some deep days, and since it shares the same shape and profile, I feel safe making some predictions.

I think the Deathwish Tour 104 will be a good do-it-all touring ski for a lot of people. No, it won’t have quite the float and playful personality in truly deep snow as the Deathwish Tour 112, but in everything short of that, it will be quicker, more nimble, and more powerful. That’s a potent combination. The Deathwish Tour 104 is a really predictable touring ski. It’s easy to get used to, and then it reacts reliably in every situation I’ve found so far. It’s easy to ski without thinking, and that’s really valuable in a touring ski.

How does it compare to the skis it’s in conversation with?

Moment includes this line in their description of the regular Deathwish 104: “Let’s make one thing clear: the Deathwish 104 is not just a Deathwish 112 with 8 millimeters shaved off the sides. It has a completely different core, layup, sidecut—even a different mounting point than the 112, all of which are intended to deliver a more driveable experience when you’re on top of the snow versus down in it.”

That paragraph applies equally to the Deathwish Tour 104. It’s not just a narrower, lighter Deathwish Tour. For starters, it’s not really that much lighter. According to Moment’s stated weights, it only shaves 5 g per ski. So it’s not just a “more efficient” Deathwish Tour, instead, it’s something else. It’s a quicker, more nimble, more optimized for firm snow option. I think that makes choosing between it and Moment’s other touring skis relatively easy. Want triple camber optimized for firmer snow performance? Here’s your huckleberry.

The Salomon QST Echo 106 is going to be an important reference ski for any new touring skis in this width range for the next few years. So here’s how the Deathwish Tour 104 compares.

I think I can get more out of the Deathwish Tour 104, in softer, lighter boots, than I can out of the QST Echo. In my experience, the two skis have similar top ends, and are both fun to ski with a more aggressive, playful style. But, when things are tight, and the snow is bad, I’m skiing over exposure, and I’m bemoaning my choice of thousand-gram boots, I’d rather be on the Deathwish Tour 104. It’s easier to “survival ski.” I can slide it through turns easier, shut down speed in truly crappy snow better, and it just generally requires a little less input to do what I want.

That’s no dig at the Echo, and I’m sure some skiers will have a different experience than I do with these two skis. For me though, when things start going pear-shaped, I’d rather be on the Deathwish Tour 104. I wouldn’t be sad on the Echo, I’d just be happier on the 104.

What compromises does the Deathwish Tour 104 make?

Sorry Moment folks, here’s where Cy gets annoying. Moment could make lighter skis. They don’t, probably because they prioritize durability and ride quality more than chasing stats. But, a truly competitive weighted ski mountaineering ski in this class would be really cool. Make a limited edition 1400 g ski in the 179 cm DWT 104 shape and mold, and I’d buy it, full price.

For the average consumer, I think Moment absolutely nailed it with the Deathwish Tour 104. But, for those of us considering skiing a 179 cm Sierra Tour, experimenting with skimo race bindings, and generally being dorks, it would be really cool to have a truly light, made in the US, playfully-shaped touring ski. I ski enough days where I don’t need the Deathwish Tour 104’s full capability and top end because I’m skiing consequential terrain carefully, but I would really appreciate the extra energy a lighter ski would leave in my tank.

Second: this is not a compromise the Deathwish Tour 104 makes, but it is one I think many of its owners will be tempted to make. Don’t put heavy bindings on this ski. I think Moment’s excellent new Voyager binding (review coming this fall) is the biggest binding one should put on this ski. Maaaybe M-Werks Kingpins, but even that’s a stretch. Don’t even think about Shift or Cast.

Stop ruining light skis with big clunky bindings! Put those 50/50 bindings on a regular Deathwish or Deathwish 104. They’re plenty light to tour on, and they’ll make you a lot more happy inbounds. I loved the Voyagers on the Deathwish Tour 104, but I’ll probably transition to an even lighter binding since for my spring ski mountaineering I don’t need the elasticity and release adjustability that the Voyager provides.

What would a perfect day on the Deathwish Tour 104 look like?

Headlamps on at the car, sun rises as you skin through the trees, walk all day to an objective with unknown snow conditions, but plenty of vert. Step into your bindings, shake out the fear tremors, and drop in, doing your best to ski something scary in good style, confident that the Deathwish Tour 104 will hold up no matter how bad the snow is.