Everything about the Head Worldcup Rebels i.Speed Pro yells, “Racer ready?” It’s a rhetorical question, for ready or not, once you set the i.Speed Pro in motion you are off to the races. The first clue that this is a no-posers powerhouse is its honking plate, which contributes damping, leverage and the need for total commitment by the skier on every turn. Pick up a pair and you’ll get the second striking indication that this ski might be better than you: it’s loaded with Titanal. Remember, Head is the only supplier with a license to use Graphene, the lightest, strongest material yet industrialized, so it could, theoretically, reduce the weight of the i.Speed Pro.

Instead, Head uses Graphene in this ski to manage flex distribution and loads up on Titanal for its irreplaceable ability to muffle high-speed vibrations. Whatever shock can penetrate the Titanal shield inside the i.Speed Pro will encounter KERS, arguably the most technologically advanced shock management system ever created. Piezo-electric fibers embedded in the prepreg fiberglass in the tail section are activated by the high frequency vibrations caused by running over ruts at 50mph. The piezos send their charge into a microchip (visible on the topskin) where its amplified and fired back into the glass, stiffening what was already a substantial platform.

The result of all this technology is a ski that requires commitment from its pilot, which it in turn rewards with sublime power. “This ski is the real deal,” assures Jim Schaffner, who has spent his life around the race world. “An absolutely amazing ski that is as close to a race GS as you can buy on the retail wall.”

Schaffner’s final words on the subject contain both an invitation and a warning. If you’re at home with your hip just inches off the snow, you will think the i.Speed Pro was made just for you. If the only time your hip is just off the snow is when you’re about to eat it, the i.Speed Pro will beat you like a rented mule.

While it’s folly to think this ski is well adapted to any terrain, it handles soft snow with the same contempt it holds for the hard stuff, bashing through whatever slush has the audacity to lie in its path. If you know what it means to dive into the top of the turn and let the ski catch you, you have found your match in the i.Speed Pro.