Powerdrive is Dynastar’s name for a 3-piece sidewall which functions as a unique damping system. Stacked on edge alongside the core, it consists of a soft inner layer, a hard center section and a dynamic outer wall. Any time a viscoelastic material, like that used in the inner piece of Powerdrive, is bonded to Titanal (center part), the resulting element will act as a natural shock absorber, so the forebody of the Intense 12, where the Powerdrive feature resides, should stay nice and quiet on hard snow.
A ski is always more than just its shape, but shape is the main reason the Dynastar Legend W 84 takes top honors for Finesse properties among women’s Frontside skis. Like all the Legends, the W 84 uses a 5-point sidecut that essentially creates a ski within a ski. The widest points at tip and tail are moved closer to the center, so the extremities aren’t connected to the sidecut in the middle that defines turn shape. This allows a ski with a 84mm waist to have a sidecut radius of 12m – less than a World Cup slalom – yet possess the surface area that helps it earn best-in-class marks for Off-Piste Performance.
Dynastar doesn’t differentiate between its men’s and women’s Legend models; goose and gander get the same ski in a 166cm and 173cm. This means no skimping on the two layers of Titanal or subtle detuning of its signature Powerdrive feature. Given the pliability Powerdrive provides, the Legend X design might be better suited to the fairer sex. Instead of a greeting an immoveable terrain feature with a stiff, coiled spring, Powerdrive reacts by flowing with it, letting the camber zone underfoot maintain the snow connection and define the turn radius. The twin Titanal layers contribute torsional rigidity, mass and vibration damping.
