Any ski called Sick Day sounds like a slacker, but the Sick Day 114 shows up for every turn. It may not execute each turn the way The Man would prefer, but whether by smearing the turn or sticking it, the Sick Day 114 gets it done. To keep its well-rockered tips and tails from flapping like pajamas on a clothesline, Line has stiffened them up and increased security attributable to a new core made of alternating stringers of maple and Paulownia.
When Kästle chose Head to be its partner in production, it was a wise investment that continues to reap dividends. Just imagine all the experience in Head’s Race Department, all the different iterations of a wood/fiberglass/Titanal construction it has concocted, just in the last few seasons, in order to service its international stable of stars. When Kästle elected to revitalize its RX12 series this year with new SL and GS models, the team with which it collaborated not only could build anything it wanted, it probably already had.
The new core created for the Enforcer 110 (and Enforcer Pro) embodies several more clever ideas. The central core uses a relatively thin laminate of poplar, beech and balsa around a channel of foam that it sheaths in top and bottom sheets of .4mm Titanium. To compensate for the added weight of metal, the Enforcer 110 core replaces heavy glass layers with laminates of carbon fiber prepreg. The resulting structure weighs no more than the Patron, the model the Enforcer 110 replaces in the Nordica line, despite sporting two sheets of Ti the Patron lacked. Quite the coup.
While it’s possible to quibble over the MX89’s Finesse score, there’s no equivocating when it comes to its Power rating. It’s clearly the most carve-centric ski in its class, responding to a high edge angle by tearing a new aperture into whatever terrain it encounters on its bull-rush to the bottom. Skiers who can execute turns with a lot of upper/lower body separation will indeed find the MX89 relaxing because the ride is so secure the skier doesn’t have to work as hard to maintain a clean trajectory.
No question the Navigator 80 is softer than its burlier kin, but that’s hardly a demerit to the skier who just wants an everyday tool that lets him dine from the all-the-groomers-you-can-eat menu. What’s groomed in the AM is often bumped up by afternoon, when the Navigator 80 can bend its way around bumps with aplomb. While the Navigator 80 is perfectly attuned to the Finesse skier who prefers to ski in an upright stance, it’s ready to tip into big, laid-over arcs whenever duty calls. For its unbeatable ease of operation, accurate steering and category-killing value, the Navigator 80 is a Realskiers Silver Skier Selection.