Speed Zone 4×4 82 Pro
The American skier’s ongoing infatuation with fat skis has so distorted our collective notion of what an all-terrain ski should look like that we no longer remember the days when the best skiers’ everyday ride was a race ski or something similar. As recently as the late 1990’s, a ski as wide as Dynastar’s Speed Zone 4×4 82 Pro would have been regarded as a powder-only behemoth.
The 20/21 4×4 is attached to the Speed Zone family, but it’s actually a separate breed. In keeping with the overall trend to lighter skis, the 4×4 82 Pro uses a multi-material core with laminated beech providing the primary structure and a band of polyurethane (PU) between the wood and the outer sidewall. The PU adds a dampening element as well as being lighter than the wood it replaces.
For a ski with a race lineage, the 4×4 82 Pro is oddly more in its element off-trail than on, as it transitions from a carve to a scrubbed turn without a hitch. Peter Glenn’s Steve Parnell was impressed by its versatility as he navigated through a melee of spring conditions at Squaw Valley. “Went from groomed to crust to powder today. This one will make your day. Made it all easy.”
A well-balanced ski with nearly equal scores for all performance criteria, it should have a broad appeal across all ages and abilities.
M-Pro 99 W
Tester: Megan Dingman
The Dynastar M-Pro 99 W is one of those skis I’m stoked to have in my quiver. Deceivingly light, Dynastar’s new hybrid core construction creates a platform that feels incredibly smooth and intuitive, is playful yet responsive, and allows you to produce incredible rebound and energy. Needless to say, it charges. It’s this rare combination that makes this ski a perfect daily driver, and hands-down my go-to ski for all types of conditions and terrain. Whether ripping groomers or skiing tight trees this ski fully gassed, quick edge-to-edge, and very predictable. I felt extremely confident when laying the ski over and getting my hip on the ground, plowing through chunder fields, or skiing light powder. The 20m radius hooks up easily and allows you to create the turn you want. Not to mention the sleek graphic: the M-Pro 99 W catches one’s eye. Pair it with Look’s new gold Pivot 15 and you have yourself a head turner. Overall, this ski delivers a smooth, easy, powerful ride that I would highly recommend to anyone who is looking to buy a new ski that looks as good as it rides.
M-Pro 90 W
Tester: Pauline Astruc
The M-PRO 90 W is an all-new woman’s freeride ski that we launched as part of Dynastar’s new M-Line collection. We’ve introduced the ski in three sizes (154, 162, and 170cm) with sidecuts specifically adapted to each size to better address the size specific needs of every type of female skier. Featuring a directional freeride shape, this is a ski that really bridges the freeride/all-mountain segments and offers fast and precise performance for advanced to expert women skiers.
We are fortunate to have our home at the foot of Mt. Blanc in Chamonix. The access to every variety of terrain and snow condition allows us to gain a strong understanding of a ski’s strengths and weaknesses. Even with a freeride ski we will generally begin development on piste as this is where every little imperfection can be felt. For the M-Pro 90 W I began on a mid-steep slope with northern exposure, slowly rolling the ski from edge to edge and then progressing on later runs until I was really skiing fast. My initial impression was that I was on a slalom ski. The instant engagement and quickness edge to edge was amazing. Later, when moving into mixed snow conditions, the combination of our Hybrid Core construction and Rocket Frame Ti insert allowed me to continue pressing the gas with a level of confidence I hadn’t really experienced before. Quick and nimble, yet strong and damp. Really the perfect combination for a fun, confident everyday ski that’s not overly demanding yet delivers strong performance and pure all-mountain versatility.
M-Pro 99
The new M-Pro series is the first new freeride series from Dynastar that isn’t a spinoff of the Cham models it rolled out nearly a decade ago. Eventually the Cham name was dropped in favor of Legend, but aside from a damping system in the forebody, the essentials of the design remained the same.
The M-Pro series bids au revoir to all that. The M-Pro 99 is tapered and rockered at both ends, but neither the baseline nor sidecut is copied from the Cham/Legend playbook. Titanal has been re-introduced, although not in full sheets. Instead, the Rocket Frame insert is concentrated in the tail and underfoot, with a thin sliver extending towards the tip. The net effect is a forebody that is ready to give in any direction married to a tail that is built to hold its course.
Dynastar knows that skiers don’t buy a 99mm-waisted ski to cruise groomers; they get one in hopes of never seeing a groomer again. The M-Pro 99’s shallow sidecut and square tail design signal a directional ski that will plane evenly through tracked-up pow. One way to think of the M-Pro 99 is as Powder ski shrunk to everyday dimensions, with a more supportive tail that will make a crisper arc on hardpack. As long as the snow has a bit of give to it, M-Pro 99 handles easily and responsively.