Head did an amazing job of positioning its Kore series as “light done right,” catching the “Lighter is Better” wave with the right message at the right time. The brand’s focus on the light part of the story was so effective it overshadowed the real point of the slogan, the “done right” bit. What makes the Kore 117 isn’t that it’s ultralight – it’s not close to being the lightest in the Powder genre – but that it’s freakishly powerful.
The deeply tapered tip acts more like a bumper than an avid turn initiator and the rounded tail is intended to release the turn as if it were a wounded sparrow. Right underfoot the sidecut is fairly straight, so the center section can be foot-steered more easily. What keeps the Kore 117 on track in choppy chunder is its overall stiffness. Thanks to Graphene’s absurd strength to weight ratio, the Kore 117 can be as resistant to twisting and bending as Head’s engineers want it to be.
For years, Kästle acted as if the women-specific ski market didn’t exist. Even its two-model LX series wasn’t made for women, per se, just for lighter skiers. If women wanted a Kästle, all they had to do was buy a shorter length, which, in Kästle’s defense, they did offer in all key models. For 20/20, Kästle has at last anointed three models as made expressly for women, of which the DX73 W is the narrowest. (The others are the DX85 W and FX96 W.)
While the DX73 W inherits the shape of the LX73 it replaces, it isn’t a replica. Each of the new model’s deviations from the old is aimed to make it a better match for more women. First, the DX73 W has no metal in its lay-up, which results in a significant loss in weight and gain in flexibility. In another weight reducing move, the wood core of the new model uses poplar in place of silver fir. The changes to the core composition make the DX73 W more responsive to a lighter skier.
Why do I bother to round up every Non-FIS Race model I can rustle, along with the talent required to rate them? Practically no one in America could give a damn about the category, much less what I have to say about it. In the modern world, there are myriad definitions of what constitutes an all-purpose ski, and not one of them fits the profile of a NFR model. Quite the opposite, in fact: race skis are used as the prime example of what an all-terrain ski isn’t.
The world has indeed gone mad. In the halcyon days of my youth, the best all-terrain skis were race skis because all the best skis were race skis. A lot has happened to race skis since I was wearing long thongs, but one thing hasn’t changed: the best of them are still miraculous all-terrain tools. The best of them, exemplified by the Völkl Racetiger SL, feel limitless.
Corty Lawrence, whose normal turn radius is on the long side, called the Racetiger SL “the most versatile of the genre, with a broad range of uses. It has a traditional Teutonic feel and demeanor, and alters turn shape/radius without a problem. Good at low speed and great at high speed,” said the son of skiing legend Andrea Mead Lawrence.
Rossignol’s 7 series began a decade ago with a model that was 115mm underfoot and abundantly rockered tip and tail. In its first incarnations it had no metal, which contributed to a loose ride on groomers but great flotation and ease in the soft snow for which it was intended. Later on in the 7 series’ long trajectory came the Super 7, which at the time meant Rossi incorporated Titanal laminates into its lay-up, making for a more stable platform. By the time the Soul 7 appears in 2013, the Super 7 shed its metal, getting its energy from a long and responsive camber pocket.
The entire 7 series stepped up in power and responsiveness when it adopted Carbon Alloy Matrix, a grid composed of carbon and basalt fibers. The Super 7 HD went through a gamut of renovations over a 3-season period that changed its baseline (less rocker), tip design (more integrated, less mass) and appearance (terrific rack appeal). What didn’t change is the Super 7 HD’s primary personality trait: a spring-like rebound that is perfectly tuned to the rhythm of a powder run.
The new Völkl Secret 102 should not be mistaken for a set of training wheels. If you don’t have the requisite technical skiing skills, the Secret 102 can sense this shortcoming the way German shepherds can smell fear. As you digest the contents of Perry Schaffner’s critique of the Secret 102, cited below, please remember she’s fresh from a collegiate racing career and is an active coach who crushes every turn as if it owed her money.
“This is a great powder/off piste ski. Really carries speed well. I skied the top in the choppy powder [at Snow Basin, UT] and it cut through it fairly well. Additionally, it was surprisingly lively on the groomed snow. Obviously a little more challenging to ski it in groomers since it is fairly wide under foot. I think this is a great ski if you mainly ski powder with some random days of groomers thrown in there.”
