If you love the sensation of a firecracker-quick slalom ski, you’ll be smitten by the Head Supershape e-Speed the first time you kick it into high gear. That’s when its super-shapely sidecut shines, for at precisely 80Hz its piezo-powered Energy Management Circuit calms the whole ski down so the e-Speed can maintain continuous snow contact despite being whiplash fast edge to edge.
One arena in which the e-Speed is surprisingly adept is a mogul field, where its narrow forebody can pick a path a fat ski can’t follow. As long as the pilot keeps the e-Speed at low edge angles, it won’t oversteer, but keeps an even keel in choppy waters. Of course, bumps aren’t really its favorite flavor. The e-Speed was made for corduroy country, where its exhilarating edge grip at high angles feel unshakeable.
Head was the first major manufacturer to embrace carving skis when they were still in their infancy, and the brand has never lost its commitment to perfecting the genre. The latest embellishment to its unmatched collection of carving machines is called EMC, for Energy Management Circuit. EMC converts vibration into electric current at precisely 80Hz, so your skis settle down just when the going gets rough.
The e-Magnum is the shapeliest of all the Supershapes, with a 59mm drop between its tip and waist dimensions, creating a turn radius (13.1m @ 170cm) tighter than that of World Cup slalom. The slight early rise in its shovel behaves more like a fully cambered ski than a rockered one. It doesn’t just like to carve; it insists on it. Note that you don’t need length for stability, as the e-Magnum is built to be as quiet as a Bentley in a Mini Cooper length.
Dynastar has completely rebuilt their product line over the last two seasons, focusing on its Freeride collection last year and reconfiguring its On-Piste clan for 21/22. The constant across both the M-Line and S-Line is Dynastar’s signature hybrid core, comprised of milled PU and, in the case of the Speed 963, poplar.
The Speed 963 gets its power from a sculpted Titanal laminate that’s sidewall-to-sidewall underfoot and runs along the edge as it extends towards tip and tail. The overall sensation is one of security that doesn’t need a lot of mass to feel stable. Its deep sidecut and high taper angle makes for slalom turns that are quick both on and off the edge.
Normally, we wouldn’t assume that just because we greatly admire one model, that we’ll ipso facto feel the same about a sibling in the same model family. But we’ll make that leap of faith here for four reasons. One, the Thunderbird R15 WB – which we have skied – uses an identical construction, with just the slightest tweak to its baseline.
Two, the whole point of the TrueBlend core both models employ is to create a consistent flex that’s in perfect harmony with the baseline and sidecut. Three, both models carry the identical $1080 MSRP; if they were significantly different, it would show up in the price. And four, the T-Bird R15 WB isn’t just good, it’s great. The probability that its skinnier incarnation is excellent is excellent.
Big mountain competitor and coach Emma Whiteland was part of the K2 Alliance test team throughout the Mindbender 88Ti Alliance’s development. Here’s a digest of her report on helping create the single ski that can handle whatever is thrown in its path.
“Titanal Y-Beam construction evolved through the process of developing the desired weight and stiffness for the women’s 88Ti. Titanal is laid over the ski in a ‘Y’ shape creating the flex profile, producing precise turn initiation while allowing for easy release out of a turn and a wide variety of turn shapes. Having the metal laid out in a ‘Y’ allows for a savings of unnecessary weight while maintaining desired stiffness. The Titanal Y-Beam created for the Mindbender 88 Ti Alliance became the design that was applied to the rest of the Mindbender collection, both for men and women.”
