Tester: Robin Barnes
Hummina, hummina, hummina. This ski made my heart go pitter-patter! When I first picked it up, I wondered if the lightness of its construction could stand up to a variety of conditions and speeds. Shame on me for doubting. It dazzled me on groomers, sliced and diced through the crud, and perhaps most astonishing was the way it deftly handled frozen corral-head bumps covered in 10 inches of heavy pow.
The Kore 93W shows great versatility in being gentle and easy to tip and carve at lower speeds, but throw it into gear and it rips robust trenches or massacres any ungroomed condition that you throw at it. The ski is equally stunning at high edge angles or low edge angle steering, pivoting, and shmearing. At 93mm underfoot, there is really no reason to fret about which ski to bring for the day. It does it all and makes you feel like a champ doing it.
Head showed its genius in adapting a successful women’s line of skis with Graphene, to its non-gender specific skis. The original recipient of HEAD’s Graphene technology (and other state-of-the-art technology) was the Joy line of women’s skis. One of the coveted skis in that line was the Total Joy, and although it is a smidge narrower at 85mm waist, it’s also a ski to be enjoyed in a variety of conditions. The Total Joy would be my go-to ski recommendation for a woman who is getting used to skiing all over the mountain, skis with moderate speeds, and wants a ski to help gain confidence.
The Kore W93, however, is the ski for a skilled skier who seeks a ski that can handle the hard-charging days as well as the cruisey days. In the end, both lines of skis have thrived. The Kore W series was adopted from the non gender specific Kore line with very little modification for the women’s version. Since it was a already a winner as a light weight, hard core, supremely versatile ski, Head simply moved the recommended mounting point 1cm forward for the W series, to make the front of the ski even more accessible and let the rest of the technology speak for itself in the women’s market. As a result, the Kore W skis are simply a delight to ski.
