What new women’s ski this year was a unisex ski last year? Answer: the three smallest sizes of the Kore 93. As has been observed on these pages before, the construction requirements of an off-trail ski and a women’s ski are virtually identical. Having already created an immaculate lightweight construction, all that remained to make its highly acclaimed Kore 93 a women’s ski was to move the mounting position two cm’s ahead and add a W to its name.
By anointing the Kore 93 with a “W,” Head felt it could part ways with the Wild Joy and Great Joy. Let us pause a moment to mourn the passing of two pioneering women’s skis. The Wild Joy was remarkably supportive for its weight, an identity crisis that may have hurt its ability to attract a larger following. The Great Joy should have been the star of the original Joy series, but it’s hard to make a 98mm-waisted ski the centerpiece of a women’s collection. When we look back at this era, the Great Joy will be remembered as one greatest made-from-scratch women’s skis of all time.
Head wouldn’t have let the Great and the Wild go were it not for the fact that the Kore 93 had already proven its inherent, come-hither appeal to women. Like the unisex ski from which it was cloned, the Kore 93 W is a “big tent” ski, strong enough on edge to handle brittle corduroy with a baseline and sidecut that beg to be taken off piste so they can reveal just how helpful they can be.
“This is a great ski that handles particularly well in variable terrain,” says Allene Lemons of The Sport Loft in Salt Lake City. “Just sweet and easy for women. I think lots of levels of skiers would like it,” she suggests. Another veteran tester notes, “Compared to the Wild Joy and Great Joy it replaces, it loses some carving ability but gains forgiveness and soft snow performance. Very stable for a lightweight women’s ski.” Kirsten Soi from the Squaw Valley Ski School agrees, lauding the Kore 93 W as a “powerful ski that cuts thru the snow with ease.”
For its blessed ability to uncomplicated off-trail skiing, whether you have your AARP card or not, we award the Kore 93 W a Silver Skier Selection.
