Dynastar has been making steroidal GS skis going back to the era of the Acryglass, as if anything other than undiluted power would disappoint their faithful.  The Course Pro is squarely in this tradition, a competition GS ski in every way but its non-FIS sidecut radius.  It is neither gentle nor meekly submissive, and makes no apologies for its attitude; as Corty from Footloose put it, “this ski needs to be driven.”

The Course Pro comes with the R21 race plate that can be set in a rigid or floating position, but neither position changes the Course Pro’s predisposition for big turns at high edge angles.  If it isn’t being raked over and pushed, the Pro is like a race car on pit row, chomping at the bit to get back on track. You have to be able to load the ski with your feet as far from your centerline as you can manage (think Inspector Gadget legs) to ignite its rebound potential, but when you put the pieces together – speed, total commitment to the turn, and force – boing! You’re across the fall line in a flash.

As we said, Dynastar likes to make stout skis. Posers need not apply.

The Omeglass Pro provides further proof that the modern race slalom is a more versatile and tractable talent than its one-dimensional cousin (in this case, the Course Pro) from the giant slalom branch of the family. It still oozes race-ready aptitude, but the Omeglass isn’t dependent on endless slingshot turns as its only means of motion.  Naturally it requires speed to motivate it – they’re called race skis for a reason – but once you run some energy through it, the Omeglass Pro will cut into New Hampshire granite.

If you’re heading off-piste, the Omeglass would just as soon you went with someone else.  This ski isn’t meant to float or, God forbid, smear its way downhill. It’s a tool for the talented, all gassed up and ready to rip short turns from sunrise ‘til Taps.

The Powertrack 84 isn’t aiming at the already accomplished skier who has been there, done that, but instead seeks to provide succor for those still climbing the skills ladder.  As a game improvement product, the Powertrack 84 is spot on.  It bows readily into a round arc in the low speed range and holds its own at moderate speed as long as the snow surface is forgiving.  Its supple flex follows terrain well, so first-time mogul skiers will find the challenging condition less menacing. Because it comes around so easily under gentle pressure, it’s a hero ski on the groom where it’s great fun to grow on.  Also available with the SPX 12 binding for $800 (MSRP).

If your plan is to ski 30 to 40 days this season and make your big move up the ability ladder, the Glory 84 probably isn’t your ski.  If you tell yourself the same thing every year and end up going 3 to 4 times instead, maybe the Glory 84 is your model after all.

The Glory 84 is in its glory on groomers making the sort of medium-radius turns that intermediate women resort to when in their comfort zone.  As long as speed is kept in check, it’s no sweat to change turn shapes, but if you drop the reins and spur it into high speed, the Glory 84 will remind you that you’re getting in over your head.  The Glory 84 is meant to be a mellow ride for the gal who just wants an easy-going partner for her kind of carefree recreation.

A predictable and powerful ski with a rockered baseline and tapered extremities to elevate its off-piste expertise, the Powertrack 89 is a significant upgrade over the Outland model it replaced last year.  With two sheets of Titanal in its makeup, it shears through slop unperturbed and despite its elongated tip it’s no slouch as a carving implement. Remarkably quick for a ski with the Powertrack 89’s 17.5m turn radius (179cm), it doesn’t require the enticement of blazing speed to make it manageable.  “It’s super versatile at any speed,” alleged Theron Lee from Bobo’s, who lauded the Powertrack 89 for its blend of agility and smoothness.

Our panel preferred the Powertrack 89 to the dearly departed Cham 87, particularly in the off-trail conditions the latter was ostensibly prepared for.  Outfitting it with its own binding system that includes the Fluid X plate should enhance the Powertrack 89’s effectiveness as a cruiser.

The Cham W 2.0 87 is a tempting option for the woman who wants to break the bonds of groomed terrain and try her hand at the more varied menu that awaits the off-trail skier. The new Cham 2.0 baseline connects more ski to the snow for greater security in all conditions, but the ski would still rather be taken off piste than fed a steady diet of groomers.  The Cham W 2.0 87 has plenty of surface area to float a lightweight lass in all but the deepest dumps, and its tidy sidecut radius encourages the short turns needed to maintain control in the twisted corridors of trees and couloirs.

The Cham 2.0 97 is unequivocally superior to iteration 1.0.  Gone are the metal laminates that made it temperamental and the abrupt front rocker that kept the tip from conforming to the rest of the turn. The Cham 2.0 97 still behaves like a fast-twitch slalom ski trapped in a longer, wider body, but it rolls more smoothly on and off the edge whether it’s on trail or off road, with more even pressure distribution from tip to tail.

The Cham 2.0 97 remains a strong ski for an accomplished skier, it’s just had its rough edges filed off.  “It eats up the mountain,” assures The Boot Doctors’ Bob Gleason.  “You can push it hard in the open spaces, yet it displays finesse when in tight spots,” describing a ski that will carve cleanly when given room or smudge everything sideways when room runs out.

“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” goes the old adage. The Cham W 2.0 97 makes this point even if you stand it on its head, since it seems to replicate the make-up of the men’s Cham 2.0 97 yet it was the women’s first-generation Cham that served as the model for Cham 2.0, not the other way round.

If you unraveled the opening paragraph, you know Cham 2.0, with its Paulownia core and metal-free metabolism, is the stepchild of Cham 1.0’s women’s models.  Nature wouldn’t have followed this course if the Cham W 97 weren’t already a hit with the misses, so the upgrade to the more gradual rocker line of series 2.0 should only add to this model’s mystique. “Much more smooth than the current 97 HM,” confirmed Galena Gleason of Telluride’s The Boot Doctors, referencing the 2015 model without the 2.0 baseline.

Our test panel has always been partial to the High Mountain, metal-less version of the original Cham 107.  For 2016, Dynastar has eliminated the metal option all together and with Cham 2.0 has re-formulated the forebody to make the rocker line less extreme, changes we heartily endorse.

The abrupt curvature of Cham 1.0 made the tip feel disengaged from the business of turning, but the more consistent baseline of Cham 2.0 brings the total ski into harmony. “The subtle changes Dynastar made are really noticeable,” wrote Greg from Footloose.  “It carves or skids with a consistent, stable feel; strong, without being a tank.”

Indeed the trick in this genre is creating a tool that feels easy and maneuverable despite being 107mm underfoot.  This is the Cham 2.0 107’s strong suit, for its lightweight construction, tapered tip and tucked-in tail allow the new 107 to ski shorter and consequently with greater agility than most Big Mountain skis.

“Smooth as a Caribbean current,” coos The Boot Doctors’ Bob. “It blends the characteristics of performance better than other big skis. It also finishes a turn much better than the earlier version,” is the good doctor’s diagnosis.

Any women’s ski with a 107cm waist is a lot of timber underneath a not-so-heavy load.  When the women’s ski is a virtual clone of the men’s model, as is the case with the Cham W 2.0 107, it’s essential the chassis it’s copying isn’t built like a locomotive.  Dynastar realized a year ago that its widest Chams didn’t need Titanal laminates to hold their own in the daily battle against choppy, 3D snow, so they put down the pioneer Cham 107 and coronated their High Mountain version as the king of the category.  All that was left was to apply a “W” to the shorter lengths, and voilà, instant Cham 2.0 107.   The new baseline and forebody shape represent, in the words of Galena Gleason, who has tested every Cham in Christendom since the dawn of Cham 1.0, “great improvements.”

Dynastar takes justifiable pride in producing one of the highest testosterone production powder skis on the planet, but even they had to admit the Cham 127 took aggro over the edge. They’ve dialed things back a bit with the Cham 2.0 117, but don’t think for une seconde that the French have suddenly lost their sack.

The Cham 2.0 117 was the first in the Cham series to undergo the 2.0 operation that lessens the severity of the front rocker so the whole ski connects with the snow.  It’s a significant tweak that improves both the user-friendliness and power quotient of the Cham 2.0 117.

When they cut the waist of the Cham 127 by 1cm, Dynastar gave the tail an even more savage trim, with the net result that the original’s 22m radius remains intact in the trimmer Cham 2.0 117.  This means the 117, while quicker to the edge, is also quicker off it, so it’s never going to wander too far off the fall line unless you throw it sideways, a move it’s always up for.  In all, the Cham 2.0 117 exhibits a near perfect balance between Power and Finesse properties.