by Jackson Hogen | Aug 29, 2020
If Salomon’s brand identity over the past forty years could be summarized in a single word, it would be “innovation.” The driver behind its history of successful new product introductions is a corporate culture grounded in extensive Research and Development (R&D). Salomon’s Annecy Design Center continues to launch breakthrough products capable of disrupting a market, such as the Shift binding.
The same relentless devotion to R&D that made the Shift possible spurred Salomon to re-design the QST 106 two seasons in a row. The list of last year’s changes may sound like a handful of minor alterations, but together they turbo-boosted the QST 106’s 19/20 Power score and its 19/20 Finesse score shot even higher.
I confess I’ve been maintaining a soft-snow-days only liaison with a QST 106 since we first met, so my bias in its favor is engrained. I’m now seeing a 181cm 106, which strikes me as the perfect blend of flotation for soft snow and grip on hard snow. Instead of dreading the latter, I find the QST 106 to be so natural and imbued with fluid fortitude that I stop noticing its width and simply ski. Even as the rpm’s ascend it stays the course, laying down long turns as if to the manner born.
Because of its brilliant balance between Power and Finesse virtues, we again award the QST 106 a Silver Skier Selection.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 29, 2020
Two visible features give the best of the Mindbenders, headlined by the 108 Ti, their signature look and associated behavior, Titanal Y-Beam and PowerWall. Ti Y-Beam is, as the name suggests, a slingshot-shaped yoke of Titanal that fortifies the tail and perimeter of the forebody. PowerWall elevates the midsection to amplify pressure over the camber pocket and direct more force to the edge. The tapered tip is allowed to distort as it shoulders its way ahead in tracked-up crud without affecting the tranquil ride behind it.
The Mindbender 108 Ti tries to win the war against crud by caressing it instead of crushing it. To execute a truly tight radius turn requires overruling its roughly 30m-sidecut radius and foot swiveling a flat ski, a move the Mindbender 108Ti has down pat.
It takes only one section of uncut powder to realize that this unsullied canvas is where the Mindbender 108Ti would prefer to display its artistry. Remarkably, its soft, rockered forebody allows the 108Ti to conform to gnarly bumps as if they were only a minor inconvenience. Because it isn’t torsionally rigid throughout, the Mindbender 108Ti doesn’t feel as wide as it measures. In soft snow it feels comfortable enough to be an everyday ski, but that’s asking a lot of a ski that likes powder as much as you do.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 29, 2020
You can feel the power percolating under the hood of the Mantra 102 before you have it out of first gear. Even though it’s “only” 102mm underfoot, it feels more substantial. At slow speeds, its triple-radius sidecut (long-short-long) encourages the Mantra 102 to stay close to the fall line so it can pick up enough inertia to show its other moves.
Once you’ve shown it you care by injecting speed into its veins, the Mantra 102 becomes more compliant. Even though it’s double rockered, its Titanal Frame design, which puts more mass around the tip and tail, keeps nearly the full length of the ski engaged. While not exactly nimble – its lowest score is for short turns – it doesn’t have to be, for whatever lies in its path better get out of its way or face extinction.
This “Mantra über alles” attitude is unusual in a Big Mountain genre where Finesse skis are in the majority. The Mantra 102 has as much interest in floating over new snow as a bathysphere, and would rather pummel a patch of soft snow than caress it.
If you’d had difficulty finding a Big Mountain ski that’s able to support your mass and your mojo, your search has ended. I’m sure that someone whose nickname is Bruiser will use the Mantra 102 as his everyday ski, but its glory is a wide-open crud field where it can cut loose like an extra-large GS race ski with anger issues.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 29, 2020
Tester: Kim Reichhelm
Testing powder skis is a real treat, but it’s also a real job. The K2 Alliance team of testers takes the same test run over and over again to find the skis that rise to the top consistently. The team varies significantly in our ski style, age, size and aggressiveness. The variety in our ski styles helps us find the best overall ski design for the customer. Our mission is to design skis that are high performance and complement our individual style, regardless of our stance and aggressiveness.
When the morning snow report is over five inches of fresh, the Mindbender 106C is my ski of choice. As is the case with the 90C, the 106C features Spectral Braid™, a combination of carbon and fiberglass woven at an angle around the aspen core. This first of its kind construction gives the 106C versatility, stability and control. It’s amazingly quick edge-to-edge and super stable in variable conditions. The 106C has the perfect amount of float for the freshies in the morning yet continues to be forgiving and fun as the day goes on. Be warned this is not a sissy’s ski. Demo this ski in different lengths before you buy. A little bit shorter might be a better call if you are not super strong or aggressive.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 29, 2020
This season Dynastar debuts the most significant changes to its core collection of Freeride skis since the Chamonix valley brand launched the first version of the Cham design in 2012. The new Freeride family has three branches: M-Pro, four flat-tailed all-terrain models; M-Tour, a 99mm backcountry board; and M-Free, a pair of twin-tips made to surf big lines on big mountains. The emerging stars of the 20/21 line are the M-Pro 99 and the subject of this review, the M-Free 108, which bedazzled the few lucky enough to essay it last winter.
No question that the M-Free 108 is built to butter around in deep powder. It uses a shallow sidecut to minimize sinkage, along with tapered tips and tails that shorten the platform underfoot. This makes it a brilliant drifter that can be swiveled in a phone booth (remember those?). Its hybrid core uses poplar down the center and a swath of PU on either side to dampen the ride without impinging its lively response to pressure.
Theron Lee, a longtime Dynastar fan, found the M-Free 108 to be “very damp and smooth but with great rebound. Easy to turn and stable at speed. Very playful yet has plenty of power. Skis kinda short.” Every behavior cited by Lee can be traced to the M-Free 108’s abbreviated but responsive center section buffered by twin-tipped extremities that are tapered and rockered out of the way.
