When the Head Monster series debuted prior to the 2015/16 season, it was the off-trail half of a larger family that consisted of Instinct system skis (i.e., with an integrated binding included in the set) in the narrower widths and the (flat) Monsters in the wider incarnations. The Monster 83 was the same ski as the Power Instinct Ti Pro, sans binding. Among its wider Monster mates (the 88, 98 and 108), the scrawny 83 looked like an afterthought.

Fast forwarding to the present day, the Monster 108 and 98 are MIA, their Old School, GS-style construction was out of step with a market that wanted its fat skis to be light and loose. The Kore models that replaced them are such market darlings Head literally cannot make enough of them to meet demand. Memory of the fattest Monsters is fading fast.

Because all the Monsters, and especially the 83, were constructed like elite carving skis (or detuned race skis, take your pick), the 83 Ti is still a great fit for its category while its wider kin – always anachronisms in their respective genres – are extinct. In recent years, Head has tinkered with the 83 Ti’s tip shape and contact point, but it didn’t change its attitude or aptitude one bit. It still skis unmistakably like a wood-and-metal ski, even if Graphene is part of its formula. In this lay-up, the Graphene isn’t used as much for its infinitesimal mass as for its ability to soften the flex at tip and tail relative to the middle.

Once upon a time, all Monsters had the same MSRP, which made some sense as all were made from the same recipe. Now that the aging Monsters have lost most of their sales mojo to the ascendant Kore series, Head has ratcheted up the 83 Ti’s cost/value relationship by lowering its price. No other ski with this rich a construction sells for so few simoleans.