Head did an amazing job of positioning its Kore series as “light done right,” catching the “Lighter is Better” wave with the right message at the right time. The brand’s focus on the light part of the story was so effective it overshadowed the real point of the slogan, the “done right” bit. What makes the Kore 117 isn’t that it’s ultralight – it’s not close to being the lightest in the Powder genre – but that it’s freakishly powerful.
The deeply tapered tip acts more like a bumper than an avid turn initiator and the rounded tail is intended to release the turn as if it were a wounded sparrow. Right underfoot the sidecut is fairly straight, so the center section can be foot-steered more easily. What keeps the Kore 117 on track in choppy chunder is its overall stiffness. Thanks to Graphene’s absurd strength to weight ratio, the Kore 117 can be as resistant to twisting and bending as Head’s engineers want it to be.
[While there has been a slight shift in scores due to new data, both the Supershape i.Speed and this review are unchanged from last year.]
The Head Supershape i.Speed should be called the i.Quick, for while it probably isn’t the fastest ski, it’s certainly the quickest edge-to-edge, superiority it’s itching to flaunt. Point the i.Speed down the fall line, tilt, pressure and repeat. You expect it to make short-radius turns at the expense of all others, but the i.Speed only executes its tightest turns when raked up to a high edge. Relax the edge angle and you’ll discover the i.Speed’s stability in a long-radius arc is underrated.
Head uses Graphene, carbon in a matrix one-atom thick, to manage flex distribution. In the i.Speed, this means applying Graphene to the ski’s midsection so the reinforced center doesn’t have to be so thick. By apportioning more material to the tip and tail, the flex is not only rounder, it’s achievable with less pressure. This is one reason the i.Speed makes a better mogul manipulator than you might expect for ski with so much shape: the tip conforms to sudden terrain changes and the tail won’t wilt under any circumstances.
[While there has been a slight shift in scores due to new data, both Supershape i.Magnum and this review are unchanged from last year.]
Head was the first major manufacturer to embrace carving skis when they were still in their infancy, and the brand has never lost its commitment to perfecting the genre. The Supershape series is an unmatched collection of carving machines, and the i.Magnum is the shapeliest of them all, with a 59mm drop between its tip and waist dimensions, creating a turn radius (13.1m @ 170cm) tighter than that of World Cup slalom.
The slight early rise in its shovel is shallower than the same feature on the i.Rally or i.Titan, so the i.Magnum behaves more like a fully cambered ski than a rockered one. It doesn’t just like to carve; it insists on it. If you want to moderate its mongoose-quick reflexes, consider getting it in a longer length; if you’d prefer to accentuate its short-turn expertise, stick with the shorter length you’d normally use for a Technical ski.
Note that you don’t need length for stability as the i.Magnum is built to be as quiet as a Bentley in a Mini Cooper length. “A strong carver,” confirms California Ski Company’s Paul Jacobs. “Prefers short turns rather than long radius turns. Grippy, with excellent rebound.”
Everything about the Head Worldcup Rebels i.Speed Pro yells, “Racer ready?” It’s a rhetorical question, for ready or not, once you set the i.Speed Pro in motion you are off to the races. The first clue that this is a no-posers powerhouse is its honking plate, which contributes damping, leverage and the need for total commitment by the skier on every turn. Pick up a pair and you’ll get the second striking indication that this ski might be better than you: it’s loaded with Titanal. Remember, Head is the only supplier with a license to use Graphene, the lightest, strongest material yet industrialized, so it could, theoretically, reduce the weight of the i.Speed Pro.
Instead, Head uses Graphene in this ski to manage flex distribution and loads up on Titanal for its irreplaceable ability to muffle high-speed vibrations. Whatever shock can penetrate the Titanal shield inside the i.Speed Pro will encounter KERS, arguably the most technologically advanced shock management system ever created. Piezo-electric fibers embedded in the prepreg fiberglass in the tail section are activated by the high frequency vibrations caused by running over ruts at 50mph. The piezos send their charge into a microchip (visible on the topskin) where its amplified and fired back into the glass, stiffening what was already a substantial platform.
