Ever since Dynastar introduced the Cham series what seems like several centuries ago, the brand has moved metal in and out its model matrix, trying to find the right fit for its 5-point sidecut design. It first offered a metal-laden option for the flagship Cham 97 and its bigger bros, the Cham 107 and even the Champ 117. It soon became apparent that all that massive material in a 117 was overkill, and gradually metal also disappeared from the 107mm-width and, in due course, the 97 as well.
When Dynastar resurrected a modified Cham baseline and sidecut in the form of the Legend X and Legend W series, to keep the wider skis’ weight down it cut the metal out of the 106 and reduced it to an insert in the 96. The 88 had the perfect dimensions to handle the weight of two sheets of Titanal without feeling like an oil tanker to turn. The added heft and unique damping qualities of this aluminum alloy keep the Legend W88 calm on both boilerplate groomers and bothersome crud.
The Legend W88 is a Power ski that accessible to Finesse skiers. It relatively short contact area makes it easy to foot-steer, it has sufficient width to float and drift in powder and it a technical skier should tip it on edge, she’ll have the support of Titanal to keep her carving on a clean trajectory.
One of my ardently held beliefs about ski design, for which I have no statistical support, is that every model family has a star, a width at which all its other design parameters are optimized. For example, in Salomon’s QST collection, it’s the 106; in Kästle’s MX family, it’s the 84, and in Dynastar’s 4-model Legend W series, it’s the 96.
What makes the W 96 the belle of the ball? The Legend W series is directly descended from Dynastar’s Cham clan, an early adopter of the 5-point sidecut. The 5-point sidecut keeps the tip and tail from engaging with the cambered zone underfoot, effectively keeping them out of the turning business and helping the skis to roll over terrain rather than digging into it. This shape was made expressly for Big Mountain skiing; it’s at its best when it’s wide, and a waist around 96mm is about as broad as it can be without feeling sluggish.
Dynastar draws no distinction between its men’s Legend X and women’s Legend W models, except that the men’s are predominantly black and the women’s white. The same construction that works well for guys is gangbusters for gals. Petite skiers are teed up for success by a 13m sidecut radius – a short radius to match a shorter skier – tucked inside a relative behemoth in terms of surface area. These contrasting traits give the Legend W 96 surprising agility for its girth and gobs of flotation for off-trail environs. The lighter weight is less fatiguing and makes Legend W 96 ideal for the advanced skier transitioning to a wide ski for the first time.
