Fischer puts all its top-shelf technology into the new Ranger 115 XTi: Air Tec Ti, an intricately milled-out wood core with Titanium reinforcement; Carbon Nose, a carbon fiber weave up front that lessens swingweight; and Aeroshape, the dome-shaped top that helps the ski slash sideways in deep snow. Despite all the weight-saving tech, the Ranger XTi remains a granite-solid ski predisposed to big turns, behaving like a GS ski on PED’s.
The Dictator 4.0 isn’t the lightest ski in the category, but it feels exceptionally feathery on the snow. With a square tail that’s an endangered species among Powder skis, the Dictator 4.0 stays connected to the turn until it’s pulled off the assignment. This gives it a sense of connectedness on-trail that eludes others of the Powder persuasion.
The most notable feature of the new K2 Catamaran is its asymmetric tip profile. As the Catamaran is a twin-tip, naturally the tail is likewise asymmetric. In action, the uphill ski engages less with the snow. The asymmetric effect is somewhat mitigated by the Catamaran’s full Powder rocker that keeps its ends off the snow.
The contrast between how the Pinnacle 118 looks and how it skis is striking. It looks like another big barge of a Powder ski, but it handles like an acrobatic All-Mountain model. Unlike most Powder skis that prefer to bank off a wall of snow on their bases, the Pinnacle 118 will hold a carved turn with only its edge in the snow. Because its edge grips so well and its core isn’t too torsionally rigid, the Pinnacle 118 skis feels quicker edge to edge than other skis with its XXXL dimensions.
Some skis just aim for the next turn; Head’s Kore 117 aims for the bottom of the mountain. If skis were golf clubs, the Kore 117 would be an illegal driver. Head may have finally found the combination of materials that delivers the damping and torsional stiffness that only Titanal has provided up to now. Crud is powerless to deter the Kore 117’s dominating will. On hard snow, the Kore 117 begs to be laid over. The tapered tip isn’t much interested in this condition, but the rest of the ski grabs the snow like Gorilla glue.