[The test results for the Absolut Joy are from 2015 & 2016; its only changes for 2017 are cosmetic.]

Every time a ski R&D department tumbles unto a new aerospace fiber, the engineers can’t wait to see what it can do. They put it near the base; they try it by the sidewalls, they drape it over the topskin. They use it in place of titanal; they substitute it for a layer or two of fiberglass; they see if they can make an entire ski out of it. In the giddy glow of invention, they don’t always anticipate every consequence.

So we imagine it was at Head with Graphene™, the carbon that comes in one-atom thick increments. Umpteen times stronger than anything you can name, Graphene must have been received as the Messiah that will finally deliver ski makers from metal. But it appears it isn’t capable of all miracles, as the missing “e” in Absolut Joy stands for experts. The Absolut Joy is geared to the relatively low speeds and short turns of intermediates, who will probably love it if for no other reason than it looks elegant and weighs less than a guilty conscience.

Lighter women and lower skilled gals aren’t going to have the slightest qualm about these quibbles, as the Absolut Joy was made with them in mind. Within its speed range it’s agile and relatively energetic and it holds well enough on hard snow to instill confidence.