Head has so much confidence in the all-terrain capabilities of its off-trail Kore design that three years ago it discontinued its Monster series and chucked its classic, wood-and-Titanal construction, to make room for the Kore 87 in its collection.  Two years ago, the entire Kore family, including the re-christened Kore 85 W, was redesigned in several subtle ways to raise the performance bar even higher.

From a global performance perspective, Head understands that not all Kores will be treated equally.  The Kore 85 W, as the narrowest of the clan, is expected to spend a good deal of its life on groomed snow, so it’s stiffened up accordingly. Like all the Kores, the 85 W switched out the synthetic Koroyd in its innards for more Karuba and poplar laminates, improving overall feedback from the snow.

The Kore 85 W is nonetheless an off-trail ski by dint of its baseline and sidecut, so it has a special fondness for powder. A new (as of two seasons ago) Kore feature that makes it even more effortless to ski in deep snow is a chamfered top edge that lets the ski slice sideways with almost no resistance. Since all powder skiing entails some foot-swiveling, this seemingly minor change has a major impact.

For east coast skiers who seek out variable conditions, the Kore 85 W offers an ideal amalgam of quick turning chops and a baseline meant for irregular terrain, making it a perfect companion for pucker-tight tree skiing. “Loved this ski!” exulted one of Willi’s flock of female testers. “Handled well in the turns and felt like I was gliding!” “Great ski,” concurred another Willi’s woman. “It handled high speeds well, turned well and handled the crud just fine.”