As predicted in this space last year, the arrival of Kore augured the demise of traditionally made, wide-body carvers like the Monster 98 and Monster 108. Head has pared down the Monster series accordingly, reducing it the Monster 88, Monster 83 and 83X, the 83 minus...
K2 once reigned over the US market for so long its leadership practically became a cliché. The keys to its sustained success were manifold, but from a product standpoint it’s not hard to summarize: K2’s are easy to ski. Regardless of your skill level, your terrain...
No doubt K2 is tired of hearing about the success of the Blizzard Black Pearl. Just who was it that practically invented the women’s ski? Who for 20 years has insinuated women into its prototype-testing loop? Who made made-for-women skis a viable genre in the first...
Kästle isn’t what it used to be, and that’s a good thing. Not to dis the current Kästle’s ancestry, but Kästles of yore could be clumped in two camps: race skis it took a god like Zurbriggen to bend, and kooky creations that should have been euthanized in development,...
Fishermen love to spin yarns about the one that got away, which is how I’ve come to think of the Pescado, Eric Pollard’s fish-decorated, double-fin-tailed, whale-sized Powder model. I’ve been pining to hook up a pair for two seasons, but somehow I’ve never been able...
Nordica’s opportunities as a ski brand took a fundamental turn for the better when the Tecnica Group bought the Blizzard factory and shifted Nordica production over to their new, refurbished facility. Prior to this happy development, Nordica skis had endured a...
