There’s a revival going on at Dynastar, and the Legend X96 is leading the charge. Dynastar has a long history of making burly skis that appeal to fall-line assailants like their erstwhile standard bearer, Jeremy Nobis. This time Dynastar has taken a different tack. Rather than trying to attract the biggest bad-asses on the hill – a limited cast in the best of times – the French brand that still makes their skis just down the road from Chamonix has opted to weave the Legend X collection from more forgiving cloth.
The skier who belongs on the Legend X 96 knows that off-trail skiing isn’t about beating the clock or beating the mountain or beating anything. It should be about joy, and joy shouldn’t be hard. It should be smooth, graceful and, as much as possible, effortless.
The forebody of the Legend X 96 acts as one large buffer zone composed of several ingredients. The signature feature is called Powerdrive, a multilayer sidewall that uses TPU, Paulownia and ABS in a vertical sandwich. The reinforced sidewall remains separate from the laminates in the central core, which can move more easily in relationship to one another. This allows the forebody to follow terrain rather than banging off of it, creating a sense of connection that is, in the words of Sturtevant’s of Sun Valley’s Peter Nestor, “predictable, comfortable and confidence inspiring.”
Bob Gleason of Boot Doctors echoes Nestor’s enthusiasm with an extended metaphor: “[It] glides as gently as the froth on a cappuccino, but holds like a double shot of espresso. In this grouping, this is the smoothest ride. It has a lighter touch than some it the other standouts in this genre. It contends with the top skis of the year.”
The 5-point sidecut first popularized by the Cham series that the Legends replace remains a central feature of the new series. The net effect of moving the fore and aft contact points closer to the ski’s center is the ski can cut a tighter radius turn than its dimensions would suggest is possible. For its ready response to turning stimuli and its calm demeanor in all conditions, we are pleased to award the Legend X96 a Silver Skier Selection.