Nordica ‘s Enforcer and Enforcer Free series – now spanning six models – have garnered so much attention that hardly anyone in America even knows the Dobermann Spitfire 72 RB FDT exists. Combining a slalom-shaped shovel with a GS chassis, the Spitfire 72 knows how to attack the fall-line. Note the 20mm drop in tip-to-tail taper, indicating a ski that treats turns like protected trout: catch and release.
The Spitfire 72 isn’t meant as a learn-to-carve crutch; it demands a pilot unafraid to rail it on a high edge. The alphabet soup at the end of its name refers to the plate that’s integrated into this ski/binding system, another clear signal that posers need not apply. If you like a power-mad carver that hums at high speed, the Dobermann Spitfire RB FDT belongs in your locker.
If you love the sensation of a firecracker-quick slalom ski, you’ll be smitten by the Head Supershape e-Speed the first time you kick it into high gear. That’s when its super-shapely sidecut shines, for at precisely 80Hz its piezo-powered Energy Management Circuit calms the whole ski down so the e-Speed can maintain continuous snow contact despite being whiplash fast edge to edge.
One arena in which the e-Speed is surprisingly adept is a mogul field, where its narrow forebody can pick a path a fat ski can’t follow. As long as the pilot keeps the e-Speed at low edge angles, it won’t oversteer, but keeps an even keel in choppy waters. Of course, bumps aren’t really its favorite flavor. The e-Speed was made for corduroy country, where its exhilarating edge grip at high angles feel unshakeable.
Head was the first major manufacturer to embrace carving skis when they were still in their infancy, and the brand has never lost its commitment to perfecting the genre. The latest embellishment to its unmatched collection of carving machines is called EMC, for Energy Management Circuit. EMC converts vibration into electric current at precisely 80Hz, so your skis settle down just when the going gets rough.
The e-Magnum is the shapeliest of all the Supershapes, with a 59mm drop between its tip and waist dimensions, creating a turn radius (13.1m @ 170cm) tighter than that of World Cup slalom. The slight early rise in its shovel behaves more like a fully cambered ski than a rockered one. It doesn’t just like to carve; it insists on it. Note that you don’t need length for stability, as the e-Magnum is built to be as quiet as a Bentley in a Mini Cooper length.
Dynastar has completely rebuilt their product line over the last two seasons, focusing on its Freeride collection last year and reconfiguring its On-Piste clan for 21/22. The constant across both the M-Line and S-Line is Dynastar’s signature hybrid core, comprised of milled PU and, in the case of the Speed 963, poplar.
The Speed 963 gets its power from a sculpted Titanal laminate that’s sidewall-to-sidewall underfoot and runs along the edge as it extends towards tip and tail. The overall sensation is one of security that doesn’t need a lot of mass to feel stable. Its deep sidecut and high taper angle makes for slalom turns that are quick both on and off the edge.
Technical skis are invariably high performance, hard-snow carving models that have race ski properties and similar dimensions yet aren’t actually intended as gate skis but as hard snow toys for people who probably had race training in the misty past. In today’s...
