A review by Ally Paton - Skier, White Dot enthusiast, purchaser and fellow scot!
Managed to pick up a pair of 189 Preachers from the guys at Whitedot Freeride after speaking to one of the current team skiers Ally Watson. Had a bit of an epic journey picking up skis driving for hours and eventually getting them mounted up with this seasons Marker Dukes, the day before leaving for a trip to the Les Deux Alpes and La Grave!
First impression of the skis was promising, they look well made, the graphics are good and it’s a light ski for its size. Flexing the ski the tips were not the stiffest in the world but under foot they did seem pretty solid.
Day One of the trip we woke to blue-bird and powder and one of the most epic days I have had in a good few years. The first run down was a quick blast on piste to get to a small-untouched powder field we had spotted on the lift up, this was my very first impression of the skis and one that amazed me! Fast from edge to edge, gripping very well and turning tight with no strange characteristics at all, it’s not a slalom ski by any means but the torsional stiffness for a ski of this size and turn radius made it a lot of fun. If you’re looking to go 200mph then the ski may be a bit soft, and when going straight with the skis running flat there was a very slight wobble but this is eliminated by putting a very small amount of pressure on the edges, though this is common with most wide ‘turny’ skis.
Once in the powder (must have been about knee deep) the skis came alive; having the big and slightly softer tip made the skis float well, rise up and never bog down, the big softer tip eliminates the need for rocker (in my opinion) and makes this a very versatile ski.
There are not many trees in Deux Alpes so having to turn tight wasn’t an issue and just letting the skis run was amazing, very bouncy and lively and the feel of the ski gave me a lot of confidence. There was however, a sensation that they would like to keep turning though this wasn’t difficult to sort - just don’t put so much effort into the turn and this wont be a problem!

Les Deux Alpes
Day Two; Still bluebird but strong over night winds made the conditions not quite so good, a bit wind-packed and slab-like however the skis held their own on this as well, no problems.

Les Deux Alpes
Day Three; Crossed the glacier at the top of Deux Alpes using the dukes and skins, this setup worked well making it quick and efficient. Visability was poor, we couldn’t see much apart from angry French pisters at the top of La Grave! We ended up lapping the trees which was epic in waist deep powder; [the Preacher] performs so well in these conditions, turning hard and floating the whole way through each turn. On the final section back to P1 the huge La Grave moguls became apparent, for a big ski they coped well despite scrapping a few rocks here and there. I was pleasantly surprised I had only made a few light scratches which suggests to me that the bases are strong and durable.

Les Deux Alpes
To finish the day we skid the Trifide 1 Coulior in poor visability though with epic snow, again I was grinning the whole way down!
Used the skis back at Glencoe in Scotland where I spend most of my time skiing and found them to be very good here as well. The mountain isn’t as big or spacious as the Alps so having the ability to turn tight when you need to is a very good thing. You can get a lot more from a ski like this than its stiffer counterparts on the smaller mountains so its description as all mountains is spot on.
The ski performs very well over the entire mountain and you don’t feel its size, I don’t regret choosing these skis at all.
Cheers to the guys at Whitedot Freeride for sorting out the gear in time for the trip!
[photos to come]