Supershape e-Titan

Of the four Supershape models, the one that underwent the most telling transformation three years ago was the e-Titan. In previous generations, the Titan and Rally were very close in every respect. In the current Supershape family, the e-Titan has put more distance between it and its thinner sibling. 

It’s not just that the e-Titan plumped up to an 84mm waist; it also was trimmed down at tip and tail. By taking some of the shape out of the sidecut, the e-Titan became more adapted to irregular terrain and even powder, while the e-Rally remained a purebred carver.  To put it more plainly, the e-Titan is more at home in a big-bellied GS arc while the e-Rally is genetically inclined to SL turns.

Comparing the 23/24 e-Titan to the Titans of yore, the latest issue feels smoother flexing and easier to compress at less than rocket speeds. This is due in part to how Head takes advantage of Graphene’s ridiculous strength-to-weight ratio to re-distribute heavier materials so they’re not all concentrated underfoot. Reducing the core profile underfoot and making the middle of the ski softer allows it bend more fully, unleashing the e-Titan’s flawless grip.  The flex pattern is matched to the sidecut and baseline of each length to achieve a more fluid, balanced flex pattern that makes skiing feel as natural as walking. 

Head’s deep roots in race ski design has honed a keen interest and expertise in exotic damping methods, a tradition continued in the e-Titan. Gone are the previous KERS piezos in the tail of the i.Titan. Head’s new form of shock therapy, Energy Management Circuit (EMC), is located in key vibrational nodes on either side of the binding.  The EMC system is pre-set to nullify vibrations when they hit 80Hz, which you won’t hit unless you’re cooking, but if you do hit this threshold it will become an addiction. You won’t be able to stop hitting it. Jim Schaffner of Start Haus, who still attacks every run like it was race course, called the e-Titan, “Awesome! Playful yet powerful! A home run!”

RC One 82 GT

Frontside skis and World Cup, FIS-blessed race skis both allege they’re on their best behavior on hard snow. That much is true, but don’t think for a minute that they handle prepared slopes the same way. The fact is, the gulf between race skis and recreational skis made for the same (or at least, similar) surface has never been deeper or wider. Race skis don’t just require skills that 95% of the ski population don’t possess; they require physical conditioning and mental discipline absent in closer to 99% of the general population.

The Fischer RC One 82 GT is built to bridge this gap. If you want to feel like the demi-god of carving, your search is over. There’s no need to get in an exaggerated posture or press into the tips for all you’re worth; the RC One 82 GT is easily directed from a comfortable, centered stance. They behave like World Cup training wheels: you can mimic the moves of the masters without having to have their level of athleticism and skill.

Its edge grip is to die for. On a steep pitch where other Frontside specialists would flinch, the RC One 82 GT held with far less exertion. This is precisely the mission of the Frontside ski: to magnify the skier’s energy rather than drain it. The extra weight this ski hauls around helps a ton when it comes to sticking to a pencil-thin line on hardpack. Its sidecut and construction deliver an ultra-secure, short-radius turn; its shock-sucking mass and materials keep it quiet when you let it run.

Essential

When I received Rossi’s first press release about the Essential, it sounded to me more like a publicity stunt than a product pitch. Demonstrating that the technology already exists to make a ski that is 77% recyclable sounds all eco-cuddly, but my jaded brain-filter filed the announcement under “Inflated Product Puffery” and turned its attention to concocting my next podcast.

My blithe assumption that Rossignol’s new ski was designed to distract attention from the absence of any real innovation in Rossi’s 2024 collection lasted until the moment I was heading downhill on a pair.   Not only did the Essential immediately announce itself as the real deal, to celebrate its debut on snow it set off a string of firecracker slalom turns that were more accurate and responsive than any arcs issuing from any of the best all-mountain skis being made today.

Beneath its retro cosmetics, the Essential turns out to be a Non-FIS Slalom, with a sidecut and on-hill demeanor closely modeled on Rossi’s Hero Elite ST Ti (123/68/104). It’s a very interesting choice, given that presumably Rossi could have achieved a similar level of recyclability using any model in its line as the prototype. Surely, if any brand wanted to lure an American skier onto a recyclable ski, they’d be fishing with better bait if they used some sort of all-terrain model.

But Rossi’s intent with the Essential is multi-tiered. The choice of a race-caliber slalom ski makes sense if one of the goals is to show that recyclability doesn’t have to come at the cost of quality. (Like most European brands, Rossi places a premium on race-ski design.)  One of the unique angles of the Essential program is that Rossignol has offered to open-source its construction particulars, so competitors can achieve a similar level of recyclability. Every major manufacturer has a slalom race ski template in its inventory, to which the Rossi formula could presumably be applied.   

Rossi’s decision to use a slalom ski template for its groundbreaking design harkens back to pre-shaped, pre-fat days when the vast majority of all skis sold in the U.S. – when the American market was hundreds of thousands of pairs larger than it is today – were directly descended from a slalom archetype.  The short, linked turns that such a design encourages aren’t much in vogue these days, at least not on this side of the pond. The tiny waist and exaggerated silhouette of the Essential generate short, dynamic turns that are strung as tightly together as pearls in a choker.  It’s an athletic style that most weekend warriors aren’t well enough conditioned to emulate, not to mention the fact that its wasp-waisted shape doesn’t travel well off-trail, further limiting its inherent appeal.

The Essential’s wood veneer finish echoes an even earlier era when skis were made of wood and only wood.  For those of you taking notes, wood accounts for 35% of the Essential’s composition, all of it beech – considered a heavy wood in today’s market – and all of it recyclable. The rest of the Essential’s components are comprised of 35% aluminum and 7% steel, both recyclable, plus 12% plastic, 5% fine wood and 6% waste that can’t be reused.

Making a ski from recycled materials addresses one end of a ski’s lifecycle; turning a used ski back into its elemental materials lies at the other end the recycling circle. Rossignol has a plan for that, too; working in collaboration with its retail network and MTB, a developer in recycling machinery and logistics, Rossi will collect used skis and either re-purpose them, if useable, or break them down into component elements if they’re past their useful life. The consumer surrendering his or her used skis will receive some sort of reward for doing so.  Details are understandably a bit fuzzy at this stage in the project’s development.

The ultimate goal of the Essential – to spur industry-wide adoption of sourcing and recycling virtually everything that goes into a ski – is a long way off. No one ski or even one company can make much of an impact by itself. But the process of getting to that state of affairs has to begin somewhere, and Rossignol has taken an important first step in that direction.

As a lifelong product nerd, it’s particularly satisfying to see Rossi deploy as its role model an elite slalom ski, echoing a bygone era when skis like the teal-green 4S K were perennial top sellers.  At the end of the day, buying a ski that supports a worthy cause provides salve for the soul, but no one is going to ski it very often if it isn’t also a great ski. By making its prototype a race ski, Rossi has assured top-tier performance, as its Race Department could build a recreational-level slalom ski with its eyes closed, so to speak. Sure enough, the Essential is stunning on snow. Old School slalom skiers will recognize its behavioral profile the moment they put it in motion, recycling sensations that may have lain dormant for decades.

Like any good race ski, the Essential doesn’t come cheap, but its $1049.95 price tag does include a Rossi SPX 12 binding.