by Jackson Hogen | Aug 16, 2019
Line turns 25 this year, still young by old guard Euro brand standards, and still able to speak directly, eye-to-eye and bong-hit-by-bong-hit, with today’s alienated youth. Rebels define themselves by what they are not, and in the case of the slacker rebels Line rabble-rouses, the list of things they’re not into is long:
Super-carving on groomers. (Super-carving in pow is allowed and is totally awesome.)
Color-matched outfits, unless it’s ironic.
Ski lessons that involve drills.
Any other ski lessons.
(Narrow skis.)
Ski fashion.
Stories that begin, “You should have been here…”
Any racing that involves missing actual skiing.
Any waiting for anyone on a pow day.
The Man.
You get the idea.
Based on this partial list, you’d think every Line would be twin-tipped, center-mounted and only operable by someone who started shaving in the last five years. But Line is in fact sneaky technical. Most of its models are decidedly directional, use a rear-of-center mounting point and possess at least a small dose of camber underfoot. Line has been making non-twin, in-resort skis for years. If you look in the back of granddad’s ski locker you might see a pair Prophets, wonderful, easy to flex skis that used a cutout metal laminate for stability.
The spirit of the old Prophets lives on in the Supernatural series, headlined by the Supernatural 100. It’s a surfy ski with a spine of Titanal lattice that gives it adequate grip on hard snow and, more importantly, keeps it on course in set-up crud.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
Line has come a long way in its brief history without ever straying very far from home. We can’t think of another well-distributed ski brand that began life making handmade skiboards, which in case you’ve forgotten, were the super-shorties barely long enough to...
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
Fishermen love to spin yarns about the one that got away, which is how I’ve come to think of the Pescado, Eric Pollard’s fish-decorated, double-fin-tailed, whale-sized Powder model. I’ve been pining to hook up a pair for two seasons, but somehow I’ve never been able...
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
If all you knew about the Line Sick Day 114 were its waist width (114mm), sidecut radius (23.9m) and that it’s tip and tail were tapered, you’d expect it to turn with all the agility and grace of the Exxon Valdez. And you might be right if Line ladled on the Titanal, but the Sick Day 114 is unshackled by metal bonds. It retains the springiness of an all-glass ski, and lo and behold, it steers with ease of a far shapelier ski. Its tapered tip keeps it from diving into a turn at the very top, so it smears its way through turn entry before settling on an edge that rolls comfortably through rubble.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
The Finesse side of the Supernatural 100’s split personality dominates when it’s skied at low speeds, while its Power traits don’t reveal themselves unless the pilot applies the lash. The Supernatural 100’s ability to adapt to the moods of its master makes it particularly suited to the Finesse skier. Its preference for off-piste terrain is signaled by its gradual “5-Cut™” shape that’s made to drift and carve in roughly equal measures. The glass in its structure provides energy and the Titanal delivers dampening, improved edge grip and better control when churning through heavy snow that would deflect a lesser ski.
