The Monster 98 is not for the meek and mild. It looks and behaves like a Technical ski fattened up on PED’s, charging the fall line like it was chasing a purse-snatcher. Head put every weapon at its disposal into the Monster 98 – 2 sheets of Titanal, fiberglass, square sidewalls and Graphene™, the strongest material man has yet to extract from Nature – so nothing can buffet it off line.

Most manufacturers would have used Graphene to make the Monster 98 ether-light; leave it to Head instead to trim a bit of wood and glass so they could add more metal. The Monster 98 feels as solid as a semi, and about as quick to corner. Its shallow sidecut is meant to plane evenly through choppy snow, which it does admirably, but it limits the natural turn radius. Given that its cambered baseline treats a sudden swivel as a betrayal of basic principles, issuing swift judgment upon the transgressor for such apostasy, short turns can’t be had for love nor money.

However, if you want an all-terrain ski that rides a high edge with the confident aggression of a bullet train, the Monster 98 is waiting for you. The more skilled and speedy the skier, the more likely he’ll find his bliss on a Monster 98.