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.
Every key feature of the Cham 2.0 W 87 is tuned to hit its high notes in new, or at least recent, snow. The short-radius sidecut for tight trees, the long-ski surface area for flotation, the rockered baseline to facilitate a quick swivel, are all better suited for choppy snow than groomage. It’s Paulownia core is also lightweight, so lithe lasses can push it around in heavy spring snow.
One thing that hasn’t changed about the Cham is the shape, which houses a turn-on-a-dime slalom-turn skill set inside a longer frame that assists flotation without inhibiting pivoting. This allows the Cham 2.0 97 to smudge a turn in a tight couloir or gallop headlong down the fall line with equal facility. The way its pintail rearbody is tucked in, the Cham can be counted on to readily release the turn to avoid any awkward hang-ups.
Cham 2.0 W 97 is essentially a fat ski with a slalom sidecut (14m @ 172cm) that skis shorter than it measures without resorting to smearing sideways. As with any of our Recommended models, it can cope with the monotony of groomed slopes, but these aren’t the moments it lives for.
Like its prospective owner, it would prefer to make first tracks down a pristine pasture, but if all that’s left is a mishmash of old tracks with scattered powder pockets, the Cham 2.0 W 97 will make the most of the situation.
