Head has so much confidence in the all-terrain capabilities of its off-trail Kore design that two years ago it discontinued its Monster series and chucked its classic, wood-and-Titanal construction, to make room for the Kore 87 in its collection.  Last year, the entire Kore family, including the re-christened Kore 85 W, was redesigned in several subtle ways to raise the performance bar even higher.

From a global performance perspective, Head understands that not all Kores will be treated equally.  The Kore 85 W, as the narrowest of the clan, is expected to spend a good deal of its life on groomed snow, so it’s stiffened up accordingly. Like all the Kores, the 85 W switched out the synthetic Koroyd in its innards for more Karuba and poplar laminates, improving overall feedback from the snow.

The Kore 85 W is nonetheless an off-trail ski by dint of its baseline and sidecut, so it has a special fondness for powder. A new (as of last year) Kore feature that makes it even more effortless to ski in deep snow is a chamfered top edge that lets the ski slice sideways with almost no resistance. Since all powder skiing entails some foot-swiveling, this seemingly minor change has a major impact.

At 85mm underfoot, the Kore 85 W goes Head-to-Head with the Total Joy, one of the original Joy models that were the first to use Graphene. (The Total Joy has been through its own changes, but that’s another story.) The Total Joy has all the traits of a traditional carving ski, including a deep sidecut that’s meant to engage a turn early and hold onto it to the end, which is not the Kore 85 W’s wheelhouse.

All three of the Mt. Rose squad who essayed the Kore 85 W came away impressed. Tara praised its lightweight, calling it “superb in the off-piste.” Meghan Ochs said, “it’s my fave of the Kore line, it had the best combination of characteristics.” Lara Hughes Allen pegged it as “responsive and fun to ski on groomers. I like a stiffer off-piste ski, so I enjoyed skiing it there, as well.”

Squaw Valley Ski School Director Elaine Furtney’s description of the best skier for the Kore 87 W of 2021 still applies to the Kore 85 W today: “This ski has such a huge sweet spot I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone from the aspiring advanced skier to the dedicated expert. It’s quite simply the most versatile ski I’ve ever skied. Light, playful and maneuverable, it boasts stability and edging performance that rival that of your typical carving skis. I used to say “when you’re not sure which ski to bring, bring the Monster 88’s.” That has now changed to the Kore 85 W.”