In a head-to-head face-off between an Old School paradigm of a Big Mountain ski, represented by the Monster 108, and a New School tool that breaks all the rules, played here by the Kore 105, the upstart is the hands-down winner.

To appreciate the contrast, consider that the Monster uses a sidecut that wants to connect up in the shovel, and a wood-and-metal construction with its bloodlines in the race department. The Kore 105 uses a modern, tapered tip that wouldn’t think of hooking up too early, plus its guts haven’t a gram of metal and the slender slip of wood inside is Karuba, which you’d normally find in a mountaineering model.

The central concept behind the new Kore series is that fat skis built along traditional lines, like the Monster 108, weigh a ton, thanks to all the extra material they lug around. The trick to pulling off a crash diet is to strip away ounces without paring away all power and personality. The Kore 105’s Graphene, Koroyd and Karuba construction kicks butt yet weighs as much as an egg carton filled with butterflies.

As testament to the Kore 105’s mellow temperament, consider the overlapping testimony of two skiers who couldn’t be more different from a ski’s point of view. The amply configured Greg Whitehouse writes, “Great ski, very easy to ski with great manners but had raw power when it was called upon.” The svelte Bob Gleason opines in parallel: “Easy going, yet gives the strength you desire. A great everyday, wide-profile ski.”

The lesson of this exchange between Realskiers Test Center shop owners is that the Kore 105 is a lightweight ski that will thoroughly entertain skiers of all sizes. In powder, it’s totally intuitive, moving with a blend of gracefulness and authority.

The Kore 105 is such a well-balanced ski it could easily be presented among our Finesse Favorites. For fulfilling the promise inherent in Big Mountain skis – that they make off-trail skiing easier – we award the Kore 105 a Silver Skier Selection.