The 2018 version of the Monster 98 is in all respects like the 2017 model, with one critical behavioral modification: it’s softer flexing. Considering that nothing else changes, neither shape, nor baseline, nor composition, this may not seem like enough to qualify the Monster 98 as new, but it changed the ski’s personality from stubborn to compliant, making it easier to ski and more user-friendly for a wider range of skiers. It also elevated the 2018 Monster 98 into the ranks of the Recommended.

The mere softening of the flex pattern couldn’t have made the Monster 98 a better ski if it weren’t already a damn good one. Among its bundle of admirable traits are a few features that are becoming so rare they’re endangered: a forebody that engages the snow the moment it’s tipped, a tail that’s more squared off rather than turned up and just enough rocker to rationalize calling them rockered. They sure don’t behave like typical rockered skis. They perform like race skis wearing a fat suit.

To better understand the virtues of the Monster 98, consider its construction, a classic glass and Titanal sandwich around a vertically laminated wood core, a pull-no-punches lay-up built to handle the toughest conditions. Like all of Head’s high-end skis these days, the Monster 98 also uses a dab of Graphene – carbon in its lightest, strongest form – to selectively influence its all-important flex pattern.

What makes the Monster 98 a great off-trail ski is the marriage of this rich construction to a gradual, multi-radius sidecut that tends to sink to a relatively constant level in deep snow, planing evenly through the harbor chop of old tracks. While the 2018 Monster 98 is easier to bow, it’s still not keen on slow, short turns, nor does it tolerate backseat driving. The Monster 98 expects you to be good, so be prepared to step up your game and keep forward.