You can tell a lot about a ski by its immediate family. Rossi’s Hero Elite Plus Ti is closely related to the Hero Elite LT Ti and ST Ti, both legit non-FIS Race models, even though the Plus Ti’s plus-sized shape (78mm) is many mm’s more ample than the 71mm waist of the LT Ti and 68mm midriff on the SL Ti. The Hero Elite Plus Ti not only uses the same construction as its gate-bashing sibs, its sidecut radius is the same as the ST’s in the167cm size preferred by slalom specialists.
Two years ago, Rossi converted all of the Hero Elite clan to a new damping system, Line Control Technology. (LCT). Instead of using horizontal sheets of Titanal, as has been the case for decades among race models, LCT uses a vertical Ti laminate down the center of the ski so the forebody is more resistant to deflection. Torsional rigidity is softened a tad to allow the deep sidecut to engage gradually and progressively as the ski is tipped and pressured. “Stable and forgiving into the turn,” assures Scott Sahr from Aspen Ski and Board, “without compromising edge contact.”
The new Kanjo 84’s 3D Radius Sidecut is like an onboard coaching tool: the better the skier’s technique, the more often he’ll activate the Kanjo 84’s tighter turning center section. The more the skier can load the ski at the turn’s apex, the greater the rebound off the edge and across the fall line.
This level of performance “would not disappoint an advanced skier,” observes ski coach and tuning technician extraordinaire Theron Lee. “Smooth and easy turning, it’s able to carve with technique but just as happy to slarve into turns. Its fairly big sweet spot allows for a wide range of abilities, from solid intermediate level on up.”
Almost any model priced at the Kanjo 84’s $700 MSRP will satisfy the low-bar demands of intermediates. The beauty of the Kanjo 84 is it won’t overwhelm the first-time ski buyer yet has the performance ceiling of a much more expensive model. For a skier who can only get out a few times a year and is likely to spend that time on groomers, the Kanjo 84 is an outstanding value.
Tester: Elaine Furtney
The Head Kore 87W is quite simply the most versatile ski I’ve ever skied. Light, playful and maneuverable, it boasts stability and edging performance that rival that of your typical “carving” skis.
Pairing a modern tapered tip and tail with a svelte 87mm waist allows heretofore unimagined playfulness and “surfability” in this category compared to anything out there. Suddenly a relatively narrow ski can rip up the groomers on that first corduroy lap, and show you refined and forgiving manners in the end of day slush and crud. The narrower waist gives the 87 edge to edge quickness that encourages snappy short turns and lets them dance through the moguls without fear of catching tip or tail.
On a bluebird 6-8” powder day with a fortuitous early up at 7:30, I skied spongy wind-buff, fluffy pockets of light snow, wind-scoured hard snow and groomers. Through it all, the Kore 87W behaved with impeccable manners and added joy to the day. It was literally great in everything!
This ski has such a huge sweet spot I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone from the aspiring advanced skier to the dedicated expert. I used to say “when you’re not sure which ski to bring, bring the Monster 88’s.” That has now changed to the Kore 87.
Tester: Robin Barnes
Hummina, hummina, hummina. This ski made my heart go pitter-patter! When I first picked it up, I wondered if the lightness of its construction could stand up to a variety of conditions and speeds. Shame on me for doubting. It dazzled me on groomers, sliced and diced through the crud, and perhaps most astonishing was the way it deftly handled frozen corral-head bumps covered in 10 inches of heavy pow.
The Kore 93 W shows great versatility in being gentle and easy to tip and carve at lower speeds, but throw it into gear and it rips robust trenches or massacres any ungroomed condition that you throw at it. The ski is equally stunning at high edge angles or low edge angle steering, pivoting, and shmearing. At 93mm underfoot, there is really no reason to fret about which ski to bring for the day. It does it all and makes you feel like a champ doing it.
The Kore W series was adopted from the non-gender-specific Kore line with very little modification for the women’s version. Since it was a already a winner as a light weight, supremely versatile ski, Head simply moved the recommended mounting point 1cm forward for the W series, to make the front of the ski even more accessible and let the rest of the technology speak for itself in the women’s market.
The Hero Elite LT Ti isn’t a watered-down race ski, just one that’s been domesticated. It still uses the race-room fabrication called Line Control Technology (LCT) comprised of a central rib of Ti wrapped in a viscoelastic shell that keeps the ski from counterflexing. The sense of contact throughout the turn is clean and accurate with a finish that focuses on maintaining its solid snow connection.
A close inspection of its tech specs reveals a tip that’s as wide across the beam as a race slalom, with a waist and tail that are also a tad plumper than the norm for a GS race ski. Its shape helps the Hero Elite LT Ti tuck into a tighter arc than it likes to finish, so it doesn’t lose momentum as it barrels downhill. Within the fraternity of Non-FIS Race GS skis, the Hero Elite LT Ti comes closest to being a recreational cruiser, and we don’t mean that in a dismissive way. As a freeskiing tool, it holds its own against all comers.
