2025 Head Supershape e-Magnum

Faithful followers of Realskiers’ ski selection methodology will notice that, strictly speaking, the Head Supershape e-Magnum doesn’t belong in the Frontside genre. Its 72mm waistline plants the Magnum - appropriately - in the Technical genre, where you’ll find the last remnants of the Carving category that once dominated sales in this country. I’ve overlooked this heresy because the Magnum has two Frontside siblings - the e-Rally and e-Titan - that are stars in the Frontside firmament; it didn’t seem right to review them without including the e-Magnum, which arguably is the best of the brood. What elevates the Magnum above its brethren is its affinity for short, slingshot edge sets that are as secure as they are whiplash quick. You use the same skill set racers develop by dancing through a forest of slalom gates, repurposed to create your own line on the fly.  It’s like riding a rollercoaster at Disneyland; you know you can charge with abandon because there’s no chance you’ll go off the rails. This is a form of exhilaration you can’t extract from a fat ski, which tend to be as lively as a wet noodle. While short turns are its special sauce, the e-Magnum can be coaxed into elongating its arcs at its rider’s behest.  The tip width on all the 2025 Supershapes has been whittled down a few mm’s, so the new e-Magnum isn’t as fixated on short turns as its only diet, without mitigating its ability to latch onto the tippy top of a turn.  While it’s inherently quick on and off the edge, the e-Magnum is never nervous, it’s piezoelectric dampening system muffling vibrations and maintaining intimate snow contact until you stomp on the edge, loading up the Crossforce Carbon laminates in its guts so the ski springs across the fall line.  By replacing a section of Titanal in the ski’s midsection with crisscrossed carbon, the latest Magnum is both lighter and livelier than prior generations.