No one can accuse the Head Total Joy of being a copycat model. Sixteen years ago, it debuted as the centerpiece of new series of women’s skis built from scratch, without reference to any unisex model. It was also the first time Head industrialized Graphene in a ski, a bold experiment that has paid off in spades. At this stage of the Total Joy’s evolution, Head engineers have figured out how to optimize this unique material, blending it with classic features like an all wood (Karuba-Ash) core, fiberglass and carbon laminates. It’s a heady blend: the wood gives it great snow feel, fiberglass gives it liveliness and snap, the carbon and Graphene keep the weight in check and its piezo-electric EMC damping system maintains snow contact with the same security as much stouter models.
All these goodies were baked into the Total Joy before the latest alterations were added for the 2023/24 season. The most obvious change from the Total Joys of yore is a new tip shape that shaves away 6mm, trimming the forebody and diminishing its propensity for digging in hard at the top of a turn. The Total Joy remains the most carve-centric model in the All-Mountain East pantheon, but the narrower profile improves its handling in off-trail conditions. Its slimmer silhouette opens up its sidecut radius, which in turn makes it easier to maneuver in deep snow.
Also new across the Joy collection (as of 23/24) is a softer-flexing mid-section that evenly distributes pressure along the full length of the ski. This adaptation alone is worth the price of admission if you’re an AARP member who prizes energy conservation. While the change in forebody geometry has a profound effect on performance, the most significant change in the 2023 Joy series is in the plate that connects it to its integrated Tyrolia binding.
What makes the re-design of the Joy binding platform important is that it solves a puzzle that has plagued ALL system skis: the effect of boot sole length on ramp angle. All demo-style systems have moveable toes and heels with a fixed height that remains the same whether the boot going into it is large or small. There’s no way to avoid the fact that the ramp angle between heel and toe will be shallow on long boots and steepest for the short boots most likely to be used by a woman. This does no favors to skiers at either end of the sizing spectrum.
Head’s solution is a two-piece plate that automatically accounts for the variance in toe and heel height so that the platform maintains a constant .55o ramp angle regardless of boot sole length. Now every skier gets the performance advantage of being positioned in the ideal stance to retain balance and apply force efficiently.
The binding perched atop the new plate is from Tyrolia’s Protector series that includes a separate adjustment for lateral release at the heel. Given the inherently heightened exposure of a woman’s knee to twisting forces, riding on a Protector binding offers an extra measure of protection.
All in all, the 2025 Total Joy remains unique in the brilliantly over-served Women’s All-Mountain East category. No other ski in the WAME genre is as light or as optimized for classic carving technique as the new Head Total Joy. In several respects, it’s the Kore 85 W’s polar opposite. Its mildly rockered forebody itches to find an edge, and its slimmed-down sidecut, while less radical than the old Joy, still knows how to carve. It’s ideal for an accomplished frontside skier who occasionally dabbles in off-trail pursuits.