Vantage 86 C
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There are two opposing archetypes for a wide, all-terrain ski: light and smeary or beefy and more connected. Salomon had the surfy side covered with the OST 99; its new Stance 96 is meant to wrestle with wood-and-metal powerhouses like the Blizzard Bonafide and Nordica Enforcer 100.
Salomon wasn’t going to win this battle with a cap construction, so the Stance 96 uses square sidewalls. To match up with metal you have to use Titanal, so the Stances are equipped with “Twin Frame” Ti laminates. You can’t get a wood core feel without a wood core, so all the unisex Stance models have an all-poplar center.
All that said, the Stance 96 doesn’t strictly imitate the benchmark skis that it presumes to supersede. Its rockered tip works better when buffering blows against loose snow; it feels a little loose on groomers and consequently a bit late into the top of the turn. But when it’s fully laid over it grips confidently regardless of the snow surface.
The Stance 96 handles speed well, which is a good thing, as it likes to hew closely to the fall line. Its long turn shape is the product of an narrow tail that helps keep the skier oriented downhill. A rectangular cutout in the Titanal topsheet pares off a few ounces so the Stance 96 feels more agile than its girth measures.
Santa Ana 88
Tester: Brooke Froelich
First day I skied the Santa Ana 88 was for a photo/video shoot on a spring storm day with heavy snow. I was hesitant to ski with a new pair of skis under those conditions. However, the SA 88’s were super intuitive to ski. By my second turn, I forgot I was on a new model. They were stiff enough to cut through crud, and playful enough to quickly respond in powder or variable terrain. Just a SUPER all-around fun ski! For only being 88mm underfoot, I thought I might have to work a little harder in powder. Not much! I still bring this ski on powder days, and always have fun on them.
Now, is it a true powder ski? No – you’re going to get more face shots with the 88s than you will on the 110s. You’ll work a little harder in deep powder, but it will stand up to anything you encounter.
Additionally, this is HANDS DOWN my favorite pair of skis for the backcountry. The SA 88 is relatively lightweight for how responsive and solid it skis. I like a ski in the backcountry that will let me confidently hop turn in a chute, that will solidly bust through sun crust, and will be a PLEASURE to ski for the patches of powder we find along the way. If you want a one-ski quiver, the Santa Ana 88 will do ANYTHING you want her to.
Supershape e-Rally
In light of Head’s long history of making category-crushing carvers, it’s saying something to assert that the new batch of Supershapes is the best ever and that among them the e-Rally hits the sweetspot. At the first hint of recognition that its pilot wants to change direction, it dips and tugs into the turn; all it needs is a little more encouragement in the form of a tilted edge and it’s cutting a short-radius arc you couldn’t bobble if you tried. As the skier’s energy shifts to the tail at arc’s end, the e-Rally provides an earthquake-proof platform for transitioning to the next exhilarating turn.
With its 54mm-drop between tip and waist width along with two thick, end-to-end, wall-to-wall sheets of Titanal, you’d surmise the e-Rally isn’t open to suggestion about turn shape. But you’d be wrong. Sure, if you take full advantage of its sidecut you can cut a world-class slalom turn, but back off the edge angle and you can extract whatever shape you want.
A parallel point can be made about the e-Rally’s attitude about speed: it’s not mandatory to go 40 mph, but you’ll never discover the amazing effect of Head’s new Energy Management Circuit (EMC) if you don’t give it some gas. The EMC converts vibration to electric current at precisely 80Hz, so you have to generate enough shock to trigger the EMC conversion. When you have sufficient energy coursing through its system, the e-Rally becomes both calmer and more responsive, reacting to a jolt of added pressure with palpable forward propulsion.