Head didn’t invent the shaped ski, but when the Carving Revolution was in its infancy it was the first major brand to commit to the concept with its Cyber series. Over the last quarter century its commitment hasn’t wavered, consistently offering several skis in its collection with curvaceous sidecuts. For the last decade, the focus of Head’s non-race carving models has been the Supershape series, a family that remains intact in 21/22, returning intact the incarnations introduced just last year.
In light of its history of making category-crushing carvers, it’s saying something to assert that the latest batch of Supershapes is the best ever and that among them the e-Rally hits the sweetspot. At the first hint of recognition that its pilot wants to change direction, it dips and tugs into the turn; all it needs is a little more encouragement in the form of a tilted edge and it’s cutting a short-radius arc you couldn’t bobble if you tried. As the skier’s energy shifts to the tail, the e-Rally provides an earthquake-proof platform for transitioning to the next exhilarating turn.
With its 54mm-drop between tip and waist width along with two thick, end-to-end, wall-to-wall sheets of Titanal, you’d surmise the e-Rally isn’t open to suggestion about turn shape. But you’d be wrong. Sure, if you take full advantage of its sidecut you can cut a world-class slalom turn, but back off the edge angle and you can extract whatever shape you want.
Of the four Supershape models, the one that underwent the most telling transformation last season was the e-Titan. In previous generations, the Titan and Rally were very close in every respect. Last year, the e-Titan put more distance between it and its thinner sibling.
It’s not just that the e-Titan plumped up to an 84mm waist; it also was trimmed down at tip and tail. By taking some of the shape out of the sidecut, the e-Titan became more adapted to irregular terrain and even powder, while the e-Rally remained a purebred carver. To put it more plainly, the e-Titan is more at home in a big-bellied GS arc while the e-Rally is genetically inclined to SL turns.
Comparing the 21/22 e-Titan to the Titans of yore, the latest issue feels smoother flexing and easier to compress at less than rocket speeds. This is due in part to how Head takes advantage of Graphene’s ridiculous strength-to-weight ratio to re-distribute heavier materials so they’re not all concentrated underfoot. Reducing the core profile underfoot and making the middle of the ski softer allows it bend more fully, unleashing the e-Titan’s flawless grip. The flex pattern is matched to the sidecut and baseline of each length to achieve a more fluid, balanced flex pattern that makes skiing feel as natural as walking.
How can a ski as narrow-waisted as the Kore 87 come across as the most versatile ski in its wide-body family? After all, the Kore collection is 100% an off-trail creation; its avatar should be the new Kore 111, not this string bean.
The improbable polyvalence of the Kore 87 is partly explained by a sleight of hand Head pulled off in the make-up of the narrowest Kore models in the 21/22 line. Taking advantage of Graphene’s ability to affect flex without a commensurate effect on mass, Head beefed up the Kore 87 to account for the certainty that it will spend much of its life on groomers. Its power quotient might have gone up a tick this year with the substitution of poplar and Karuba for Koroyd, which subtly enhanced its feedback on hard snow.
The improvements made to the Kore’s capacities on hard snow don’t seem to have diminished its inherent talent for off-trail travel. This is when the Kore 87 shines, for they can be moved around on a whim. The sidecut is fairly straight underfoot, so it’s simple to swivel, an action made even more greasy by a new, beveled top edge that slices sideways without resistance. But the primary contributor to the Kore 87’s ease of operation off-trail is its ethereal light weight. An energy reserve that would otherwise sputter out before noon can last until tea time.
The Stance 84’s most stunning achievement isn’t its podium finish among our Finesse Favorites, or even its elite, on-trail performance; the headline story about Salomon’s new Stance 84 is its off-the-charts value. The Stance 84 is slotted to sell at $499; there’s a slew of models slated to retail at $699 or more that can’t hold a candle to it.
There’s always a reason why a modestly priced model punches above its weight. In the case of the Stance 84, it’s because Salomon trimmed its most expensive elements without eliminating them altogether. The Stance 84 retains a single topsheet of Titanal, with the distinctive Stance cut-out in its forebody filled with carbon instead of Salomon’s signature super-fiber, C/FX. It turns out to be more than enough to keep the Stance 84 calm on edge when it’s rocking the groomed terrain it prefers.
Unlike most hard-snow oriented carvers, the Stance 84 doesn’t have a built-in bias for a complete, cross-hill turn finish. Instead, its comparatively narrow tail relaxes its grip right after the turn transition, maintaining the momentum that makes cruising groomers effortless. The forebody remains supple and easy to curl into a series of short turns that cross-cross the fall line.
The 21/22 version of the 4×4 is attached to the Speed family, but it’s actually a separate breed. In keeping with the overall trend to lighter skis, the 4×4 963 uses a multi-material core with laminated beech providing the primary structure and a band of polyurethane (PU) between the wood and the outer sidewall. The PU adds a dampening element as well as being lighter than the wood it replaces. To preserve stability on edge, a section of Titanal anchors the midsection.
For a ski with a race lineage, the 4×4 963 is oddly more in its element off-trail than on, as it transitions from a carve to a scrubbed turn without a hitch. Peter Glenn’s Steve Parnell was impressed by its versatility as he navigated through a melee of spring conditions at Squaw Valley. “Went from groomed to crust to powder today. This one will make your day. Made it all easy.”
The Speed 4×4 963 is a system ski, meaning it comes with its own Look SPX 12 binding. A well-balanced ski with nearly equal scores for all performance criteria, it should have a broad appeal across all ages and abilities. As this generous age bracket includes those with an AARP card, we again award the 4×4 963 a Silver Skier Selection.
