Even though the new Dynastar Legend X 88 is the only ski in its series with two sheets of perforated Titanal around its poplar core, it still doesn’t ski like a Power ski. Its behavior is more in line with the rest of the Legend X family, all of which excel at Finesse properties. It’s as though the essentially forgiving qualities of Powerdrive, the Legend X signature feature, override metal’s usual tendency to stifle rebound energy. Powerdrive consists of a 3-part sidewall that frees the laminates in the core to shear so the ski follows terrain it would otherwise bounce off.

As applied to the Legend X 88, Powerdrive helps the ski manage the transition from groomers, where the Legend X 88 is reluctantly competent, to off-trail conditions where rough terrain is the norm and the Legend X 88 is in its element. Its 5-point sidecut provides the flotation of a longer ski with a sidecut that only services its midsection. This makes the Legend X 88 innately quicker edge to edge than its dimensions would usually dictate, so it feels more nimble than the norm for a ski of its girth and construction.