Concealed behind Line’s devil-may-care attitude is a serious ski maker who manufacturers more traditional, cambered, directional models than they do center-mounted twin tips. Its Supernatural and Sick Day series are actually old-fashioned in their wood and fiberglass constructions, with just a touch of tip and tail rocker to qualify as off-trail tools.
The simplicity of the Supernatural 100’s construction contributes to its playful attitude and easy-steering properties. As a cambered, glass ski, the Supernatural 100 pops out of the turn even in powder, giving it a lively but controlled rebound that carries the skier into the next turn. (Note its highest technical score is for Rebound/turn finish, an unusual result that highlights this ski’s special property.)
Most ski manufacturers wouldn’t regard “fun” as a technical term, but it’s a precise appellation for Line, as it fits both the personality of the brand and the attitude of the more carve-y of its all-mountain collections, the Supernatural series.
The Supernatural 92 gets its unapologetically playful personality from a cambered baseline that gives its mostly glass structure a spring-like quality that pounces turn to turn. There’s just enough metal laid down the ski’s middle to give it more grip on hard snow without dulling its agility. This combination of shape and structure creates a ski that’s surprisingly comfortable whether driven with a feather-light touch or a lead foot.
In brief, it’s a beauty. Built on the bones of the MX84, it’s covered in carbon, enough to absorb shocks measuring 7.0 on the Richter scale. The only other ski in its league in this department is the Stöckli Laser AX, our top Power pick. The power pumped out by the MX Limited is like that of a placid river: it seems to move calmly and effortlessly while it’s cutting its way through solid stone.
The most prominent impression left by the Venturi 95 is of smoothness that remains unruffled no matter where it’s led. It holds an edge even when there’s no surface to edge into. When all semblance of softness has been pounded away, the Venturi 95 doesn’t bat an eye but continues to spool off medium-radius arcs as easily as a Vegas dealer spins out cards.
The Venturi 95 pulls off this neat trick by using a proprietary design that adheres a matrix of shock-sucking elastomer covered in a fiberglass shell to both the tip and tail. This feature is to shock what black holes are to light.
