Forgive me, Dear Readers, for I have sinned. I’ve included the Liberty evolv 90w here without knowing, deep-down, how women will feel about its latest incarnation. You see, last year Liberty added a third alu strut to its innovative Vertical Metal Technology core, which requires a certain amount of energy to deflect. I’m sure Liberty understands that any skier, regardless of gender, has to be able to bend a ski to extract its best behavior. Still, I hate to render judgment based on suspicions alone.
But I’m going to, anyway. The prior generation’s carving prowess, to which the fabulous Kim Beekman alludes, below, was already first-rate, and the unisex 22/23 evolv 90 is one of the brightest stars in this year’s pantheon of All-Mountain East models. There’s every reason to suspect the new evolv 90w will perform like an elite carving ski trapped in an all-mountain model’s body.
Both the Sheeva 9 and the Black Pearl 88 are descendants of a line of off-trail parents; the template for the Pearl was the Brahma, the little brother of the mighty Cochise and Bodacious; the model for the Sheeva 9 was the Rustler 9, a spin-off of the Rustler 10 and 11. To better understand the nuances that distinguish the Pearl 88 from the Sheeva 9, it helps to understand the families they come from.
Distilled to its essence, the Pearl 88 has a smidgeon more aptitude for hard-snow skiing. Its Flipcore construction allows the forebody to join the rest of the ski on edge once it’s tipped and pressured, so the skier has the sense of riding the entire ski and not just a section of it. The front of the Sheeva 9 is made to be looser, to intentionally forego early connection to a fully carved turn. That it still feels solid throughout is a testament to the security imparted by a trimmed down top laminate of Titanal.
“Great balanced ski,” says Jolee from Footloose, who put the Sheeva 9 through its paces at Mammoth Mountain. “It does great turning on groomers but also charging through the choppy snow.”
Like a fairy tale princess, the Salomon QST Lux 92 was born in humble circumstances, endured an awkward adolescence and gradually transformed into a raving beauty. You see, the first edition of the Lux 92 was clearly intended for intermediates, first-time buyers and bargain hunters, as it sold for $499 and didn’t share much of the high-tech construction of its wider siblings, the Lumen and Stella. The latest Lux 92 has top-of-the-line features, including a full-length allotment of C/FX, the carbon and flax amalgam that provides the principal structural support for all the QST’s. Also onboard is a Titanal plate underfoot that improves stability throughout its mid-section.
The QST series is a unisex family, so the Lux 92 received the same bundle of upgrades as the “men’s” 2023 QST 92. Part of the 2023 package is a segment of injected ABS underfoot that boosts edge pressure in this critical zone. The combined effect of all these embellishments is an elevation in performance that makes the new Lux 92 one of the top performers in the genre. It isn’t $499 anymore, nor should it be, as its performance range now runs from the basement to the penthouse.
The Head Kore 91 W is either the best women’s ski for off-trail skiing, or the best off-trail ski for women, take your pick. Don’t detect a difference? Neither do we. The properties that make the Kore 91 W a great women’s ski and those that make it ideally suited for off-piste conditions are the same.
No matter which side of this equation you’re on, the Kore 91 W got a shot in the arm last year when Head incorporated several new elements into the Kore design. First, it redecorated the interior, tearing out artificial Koroyd honeycomb and replacing it with its blended Karuba/poplar wood core. The switch to all-wood makes a difference in the feedback the skier receives from the snow, so the ski feels supportive but not fussy about how it’s handled.
Whether you’re taking your first strides into the sidecountry – or perhaps the backcountry? – or you earned your off-trail stripes long ago, the Kore 91 W is a gas to have along for the ride. You’ll be amazed by the amount of energy you can save by skiing the right ski off-trail. The Kore 91 W reigns supreme in this department. For its many energy-saving attributes, we award the Kore 91 W a Silver Skier Selection.
