BD-Verdict: Good ski fo the backcountry for sure. Like a lot of BD skis they are light and have a nice snappy response. Now that BD puts a lot of tech from the old Crossbows in all of it's skis, nearly all of the ones I've tried seem the same except for how much lean you need to get them on edge. Unfortunately, I live in the East and big pow isn't all that common. When I tried these out it was only in a few inches of freshies, so I didn't get a great tryout day. Having skied the Havocs a lot, which are a lot thinner, but have essentially the same construction, and a number of other BD skis as well, I'd say these are a pretty good choice. The Verdicts I tried were mounted up with BD 01s. Lots of power, but I think I still like the 03 better.

K2-Anti Piste: The big brother to my beloved Work Stinx. I've skied the Antis on a few occasions in some deeper stuff and to be honest, I didn't see a big difference between them and the Work Stinx. In all honesty, I weigh 270 fully dressed and ride 181s. My fat butt sinks down to the base no matter how wide the ski is. A few weeks ago I ran into a cat who was skiing on Coombas mounted up with Rottefella Cobra 8s. He told me he tried the Antis as well and couldn't tell the difference between the two skis. They have the same dimensions and almost same construction. If you gotta make a choice based on price, keep an eye on all the K2 Telemark line skis because K2 is dropping the Telemark specific line for 09-10 and you may be able to snake a sweet deal on the Anti-Piste simply because it may be going away. (Something tells me the Coomba will be the only K2 fatty-ski for next season.)

Atomic-Janak Bro: I've never really cared for Atomic's Tele/AT line. I always find Atomics a bit stiffer and thus faster. This doesn't always work well in the trees or throwing sharp, quick tele turns on the steeps. I won't say these are bad skis...far from it. However, I'd take the Verdict or the Anti-Piste before I'd take the Janek Bro.

The Altibirds are almost the same as the Sickbird and an older model and much thinner than the others on your list. I skied those a few years ago, on-piste. It's a good ski for the East or groomers, but not a real pow-ski in my opinion.

I didn't have the opportunity to try the others on your list. I could have tried the Volkls if others at one of the demos I was at weren't hogging them.

Hope this helps a bit. Good Luck!