Supershape i.Speed
[This retread review pertains to a prior iteration of the e-Supershape Speed in the 2021 collection. The new iteration shares many of its predecessor’s attributes, which is why the latter is included here.]
The Head Supershape i.Speed should be called the i.Quick, for while it probably isn’t the fastest ski, it’s certainly the quickest edge-to-edge, superiority it’s itching to flaunt. Point the i.Speed down the fall line, tilt, pressure and repeat. You expect it to make short-radius turns at the expense of all others, but the i.Speed only executes its tightest turns when raked up to a high edge. Relax the edge angle and you’ll discover the i.Speed’s stability in a long-radius arc is underrated.
Head uses Graphene, carbon in a matrix one-atom thick, to manage flex distribution. In the i.Speed, this means applying Graphene to the ski’s midsection so the reinforced center doesn’t have to be so thick. By apportioning more material to the tip and tail, the flex is not only rounder, it’s achievable with less pressure. This is one reason the i.Speed makes a better mogul manipulator than you might expect for ski with so much shape: the tip conforms to sudden terrain changes and the tail won’t wilt under any circumstances.
V-Shape 10
The obvious point about the V-Shape 10’s LYT Tech design is it’s much lighter than the norm among men’s Frontside models. But the big trick in LYT Tech’s bag is how it uses Graphene to change one of a ski’s most fundamental features, its core profile.
Through all the disruptive design changes that have roiled the ski world in the past 30 years – shaped skis, fat skis, rockered baselines – you could always count on a ski being thicker in the middle and thinner at the ends. But Graphene’s ability to affect stiffness without affecting mass allows Head to toy with flex distribution in unique ways. The V-Shape 10 is made thinner through the middle so it can be loaded with less exertion, a major differentiator between it and, say, a Supershape e-Titan.
The V-Shape 10 is a system ski, meaning it comes with its own binding, but there’s an optional component that isn’t included in the price but is certainly part of the package: Head’s LYT Tech boots, the Nexo series. While not strictly speaking an integrated system, Head’s ultralight boot/ski combo is the first of its kind. If you like the idea of a luxury carving kit that weighs no more than a whisper, consider going all-in and matching the V-Shape 10 with a Nexo Lyt boot.
V82
Two years ago 3 brands introduced high-end models with vertical laminates made from metal or carbon. Liberty’s version, with two aluminum ribs trisecting the bamboo/poplar core, earned the highest scores from our panelists. Last season, Liberty added a third metal strut to the men’s V-series models it introduced the prior year. Liberty’s Vertical Metal Technology (VMT) is as effective a system for maintaining snow contact as any extant, short of loading the ski up with every dampening agent known to man. Theron Lee of Bobo’s succinctly describes how it feels: “damp but not dead.”
One reason the V82 skis so well is that the metal ribs don’t work alone. Two 1cm-wide swathes of carbon straddle the center strut, poured PU sidewalls have a calming effect on the edges they rest on and a carbon base layer adds bonus buffering. The result is very close to race-ski grip without having each run feel like a workout. If one word could characterize what it feels like to take a spin on the V82 it would be “natural.” There’s nothing to adapt to, nothing to figure out.