Dear Readers, please welcome back to the top of the AME Finesse podium, the Kore 93 from Head. Three years ago, we anointed the Kore 93 as our All-Mountain East Ski of the Year, a title it richly deserved. In the intervening years, it slipped a tad in our tallies as testers’ attention turned to newer and shinier toys. This year, a modest modification to midsection gave a few of our testers an excuse to revisit the Kore 93; upon further review, we can reconfirm it’s not just the lightest ski in the genre, it’s also one of the very best at any weight.

It’s rare in the little ski world for one brand to have a materials edge over the field, as almost all key components come from a few, well-known sources. But Head acquired a license to use the Nobel Prize-winning material Graphene™, which it first deployed in its tennis division and soon after introduced the Joy line of women’s models, the first skis to use Graphene as their primary structural element and the only line of women’s models created from scratch, without using a single unisex model as a template.

It took a few years for Head engineers to get around to creating the off-trail Kore series; by that time, they already knew a lot about how best to use it. (When you’re the only brand using a new material, there aren’t any precedents to follow.) The boffo success of the Kore series changed Head’s presence in the off-trail, freeride sector overnight. Can you name a single model it displaced in the Head line? I didn’t think so.

The reason the market hasn’t been awash in lightweight skis since the dawn of time is because mass is part of what makes a ski damp, or able to absorb vibration.  Lighter weight formulae have been tried for decades, always with the lamentable downside that they couldn’t hold an edge any better than Florence Foster Jenkins could hold a note.

Then along came the Kore 93, shattering preconceptions about a lightweight ski’s ability to perform at an elite level. The Kore 93 was universally praised the moment it hit the market. The 21/22 incarnation is better than ever, with a few subtle changes that together give the new Kore 93 superior snow feel.

Part of this is due to a core that has cut out the honeycomb Koroyd component, so the center of the ski is all wood, a mix of poplar and Karuba.  Graphene remains the difference-maker, as Head can move it around the ski to change flex with virtually no effect on mass. Head tweaked its Graphene distribution across the Kore line this year, so that narrower models like the Kore 93 have more bite on the firm snow they’ll be on half their lives, while fatties like the new Kore 111 get an extra dose of drift and deflection.

Along with the new flex pattern and more wood in its guts, all the Kores changed their size run, so length selection can be more targeted. The 21/22 Kore 93 comes in six sizes, from a teensy 156cm to a beastly 191cm.  Capping the changes across the Kore collection is a chamfered top edge with two welcome benefits: the ski can be foot-steered laterally with less resistance and the top surface is less likely to be damaged above the edge, where it’s most vulnerable to wear and tear.

I was blessed to hop on a new Kore 93 just moments after dismounting a Kore 111. The conditions were hacked-up, wind-affected powder, nearly ideal conditions for measuring any ski’s off-trail chops. I was prepared for it to be very good; I didn’t expect it to knock my socks off.

Of course, the Kore 93 couldn’t match the flotation of the Kore 111, but it was otherwise so quick and stable I didn’t mind being a bit more in the snow than on it. Unlike the fatter ski, the Kore 93 was tight-radius friendly at all times, a real bonus in the trees where sudden cornering is critical. Back on the open trail, the Kore 93 was simplicity itself to guide from pillow to pillow in the track-riven slope.

I’d say the transition to the groom was seamless, as if there were no transition at all. At some point, you stop noticing how light the Kore 93 is and just enjoy the ride. There’s nothing to adapt to; you just ski. It’s the epitome of forgiveness and ease, the qualities for which it earned its highest marks.

The Kore 93’s fab Finesse qualities make it one of the few elite skis that can address the needs of all skiers, regardless of ability.  It’s able to serve skiers of all stripes because of its accurate and extensive size selection. Head is well aware that the skier buying a 156cmm has a different bundle of needs and expectations from the guy who belongs on a 191cm, so the Kore 93 is calibrated by size to reflect this reality.

Because it’s a great choice for all skiers, with a particular expertise is energy preservation, we award the rejuvenated Kore 93 a Silver Skier Selection.