What can we say about last year’s result for this ski except, we blew it? Why we missed the Power Instinct’s immaculate connection to the snow, how we overlooked its smooth as DQ flow, is as impenetrable as the Bermuda Triangle.

This year’s jury was unequivocal: the Power Instinct Ti Pro belongs on the Power podium. Its everything-including-the-kitchen-sink construction isn’t impressed with any snow condition found on this planet, tearing into terrain like piranha with edges. A wide circle of skier types is able to steer it, in part because it adds a dab of Graphene™ – how do you measure a material reduced to atoms? – through the midsection of the ski, making the tip and tail more pressure-sensitive.

The result is a ski that bows compliantly, particularly if driven at the higher revs it prefers to inhabit. If the Power Instinct has a limitation, its one common to the genre: it’s not as interested in conforming to off-trail terrain as trying to dynamite it out of the way.

It bears mention that the price of the Power Instinct includes a matching Tyrolia binding; to level the pricing playing field, the Stöckli Laser AX with binding is $1,469, and the Kästle MX84 is $1,499. The Power Instinct is teed up to retail at $799. We’re not implying the Stöckli and Kästle aren’t worth their asking price; we’re trying to direct your attention to an awesome ski at a relatively fetching price.

As for why all this enthusiasm was bottled up last year, I’d compare the phenomenon to crop circles, Stonehenge and why whales beach themselves. I’d have better luck trying to explain string theory.