Ski tested: 2018 Head Kore 117 (189 length, 117 mm underfoot, turn radius ca. 24m.
One sentence review: This ski will defy your expectations; yet it nails the “resort powder ski formula”.
First, thanks to BlueZone Sports in Truckee for a chance to take out their demo pair. For the past 7-8 years my powder ski was the original DPS Wailer 112rp, which along with the Rossi S7, defined the resort powder category in its day. An ideal “resort powder” ski should excel in untracked powder, but still hold its mettle when resort slopes get cut up. Lately the “powder” phase at Squaw rarely lasts beyond the first 45 minutes, so the “resort” part of the performance has become a critical component. This shift, coupled with the graceful aging of the Wailers, made me look for a new powder ski.
This is what I want from my powder ski:
Design and shape. This is critical for understanding how this ski works. First the design has a pretty substantial shovel with a very gradual tapered tip, with surprisingly moderate amount of splay. The tail in contrast does not have much taper at all and only very moderate amount of splay. This geometry has a very interesting effect in that it places you relatively close to the center of the ski on firm surface and as snow get deeper and more of the shovel starts to engage, the effective mounting point shifts backwards, increasing the float. The top sheets are minimalist, and downright classy. Well-done Head.
Flex and weight. Much has been said about his stiff this ski is. There is no denying that, it flexes pretty burly, but the flex is even.
The ski is light, even with demo bindings. It is not quite close to the DPS Pure construction, but it feels approaching that territory.
Skiing impressions. I actually tested the ski at Mammoth, so the snow was a mix of wind buffed snow, groomers and about boot-deep fresh powder that became cut up in due course. This is where surprises started. First of all, the ski is very well damped for not having any metal and for bing this light. It is not as dead-quiet as my Kastle HP, but not many skis are. Second, they are very well behaved on there groomers. The edge hold is very decent, and the edging is quite quick for a 117mm ski. The only element where they are substandard are dynamic carving turns where you are trying to actively drive the shovel into the turn. The short effective shovel up front and stiff flex work again you in this situation. Steer from the center by tipping the skis rather than than pressuring the shovels works much better. In cut-up snow 117 width glides over the small stuff, and the stiff flex allows it to punch through where it needs to punch. My Wailers always feel like they have a relatively short wheelbase in crud, the Heads feel that they ski their length. Powder is no surprises, any 117mm ski will float well, but light weight and the aforementioned tip-tail taper asymmetry combine to work better than average. DPS W1122RP always wants to bang out short powder turns, I feel that the Heads like to run a bit wider. I didn’t do any real glade skiing, but in whatever tree tracks I had on that day the Heads felt quick enough. Steeps: Again, Kore 117 skis its true length, which is an asset in steep terrain. Light weight coupled with long wheelbase feels very secure and yet nimble enough to feel confident. I was afraid that with this steep flex they will be hard to turn, but I found them quiet easy, even skiing steep-ish chutes at Mammoth. I didn’t get into really tight terrain like you would get into at Squaw, but overall, I had a blast. I still think Wailers will be a bit easier in really tight spaces, just because of the huge amount of tip-tail rocker they have.
Compared to Wailer 112rp. The key difference with the W112RP was that on that ski I always bring a second pair of all-mountain skis and usually switch to them by 11am. I can ski the Kore all day, long after all powder is cut up, so it lives up to the “resort powder” classification. Another different is that Wailers wants to bang out as many powder turns as they can. Kores are much more neutral and prefer medium radius turns, subtly encouraging you too go faster. At the same time, they don’t lock you into one radius, I was able to ski asymmetric turns to drift across the slope very naturally. Both the Wailer and Kore are very well balanced skis (unlike the Rossi Super 7 series which has floppy tips and tails connected to relatively stiff body, making it ski for me like a short plank with floppy wings). If it makes any sense, Wailers skis powder like a slalom ski, and Kore feel more “GS-sy”. In powder, Wailers plane primarily from their shape, the tip splay is so large and soft enough that it pulls you up (and into the turn) almost immediately, Kore floats primarily from the mounting point. That trait of the Kore reminds me of a ski I once had and liked a lot, the Dynastar Huge Trouble. Keep in mind that even with this trait, Kore is not a pintail design, the tail is there, and it is very functional.
Mounting point. Much has been said about the mounting point of the Kore series. Blister reviewers recommend mounting at +1, the Blue Zone demo pair was mounted at -1 (to my surprise, but I since heard that Phil recommends Kores at -1). Luckily, the demo binding allowed me to play with mounting point a bit. I don’t think -1 makes a lot of sense unless you ski only deep powder day after day. +1 mount is interesting. It makes the skis much much quicker and shorter in feel. The turn initiation becomes pretty intuitive. However there was a run where I tried to chase someone who is a ripping good skier over a nice wind-packed powder field and I felt that I was going "over the handlebars". Even though it was arguably a tough test because the snow was not deep enough to engage the full shovels, this is something I would never want to feel in my powder ski, so I moved the binding back a click to the "recommended" position and never looked back. Keep in mind that at 27.5 mondo I am right in the middle of the typical boot sole length for that rage of length in skis, so I tend to end up on the “recommended” line for most of the skis.
Bottom line: I purchased a pair off Kore 117 in 189 and I am mounting it at the recommended line. It will be my new powder end of the quiver.
Here is Kore in its native environment:
One sentence review: This ski will defy your expectations; yet it nails the “resort powder ski formula”.
First, thanks to BlueZone Sports in Truckee for a chance to take out their demo pair. For the past 7-8 years my powder ski was the original DPS Wailer 112rp, which along with the Rossi S7, defined the resort powder category in its day. An ideal “resort powder” ski should excel in untracked powder, but still hold its mettle when resort slopes get cut up. Lately the “powder” phase at Squaw rarely lasts beyond the first 45 minutes, so the “resort” part of the performance has become a critical component. This shift, coupled with the graceful aging of the Wailers, made me look for a new powder ski.
This is what I want from my powder ski:
- Good float. First tracks at Squaw are a treat that you have to fight for, so you need all the help you can get to stay afloat and ahead of the guy who is breathing down your neck.
- Decently light weight. No matter how well you plan, you still have to occasionally throw your skis sideways in the trees of in crud. Di it a few more times with a heavy ski and you get tired and will be forced to retire at lunch.
- Stability and dampness. That has to do with skiing past those golden 45 minutes.
Design and shape. This is critical for understanding how this ski works. First the design has a pretty substantial shovel with a very gradual tapered tip, with surprisingly moderate amount of splay. The tail in contrast does not have much taper at all and only very moderate amount of splay. This geometry has a very interesting effect in that it places you relatively close to the center of the ski on firm surface and as snow get deeper and more of the shovel starts to engage, the effective mounting point shifts backwards, increasing the float. The top sheets are minimalist, and downright classy. Well-done Head.
Flex and weight. Much has been said about his stiff this ski is. There is no denying that, it flexes pretty burly, but the flex is even.
The ski is light, even with demo bindings. It is not quite close to the DPS Pure construction, but it feels approaching that territory.
Skiing impressions. I actually tested the ski at Mammoth, so the snow was a mix of wind buffed snow, groomers and about boot-deep fresh powder that became cut up in due course. This is where surprises started. First of all, the ski is very well damped for not having any metal and for bing this light. It is not as dead-quiet as my Kastle HP, but not many skis are. Second, they are very well behaved on there groomers. The edge hold is very decent, and the edging is quite quick for a 117mm ski. The only element where they are substandard are dynamic carving turns where you are trying to actively drive the shovel into the turn. The short effective shovel up front and stiff flex work again you in this situation. Steer from the center by tipping the skis rather than than pressuring the shovels works much better. In cut-up snow 117 width glides over the small stuff, and the stiff flex allows it to punch through where it needs to punch. My Wailers always feel like they have a relatively short wheelbase in crud, the Heads feel that they ski their length. Powder is no surprises, any 117mm ski will float well, but light weight and the aforementioned tip-tail taper asymmetry combine to work better than average. DPS W1122RP always wants to bang out short powder turns, I feel that the Heads like to run a bit wider. I didn’t do any real glade skiing, but in whatever tree tracks I had on that day the Heads felt quick enough. Steeps: Again, Kore 117 skis its true length, which is an asset in steep terrain. Light weight coupled with long wheelbase feels very secure and yet nimble enough to feel confident. I was afraid that with this steep flex they will be hard to turn, but I found them quiet easy, even skiing steep-ish chutes at Mammoth. I didn’t get into really tight terrain like you would get into at Squaw, but overall, I had a blast. I still think Wailers will be a bit easier in really tight spaces, just because of the huge amount of tip-tail rocker they have.
Compared to Wailer 112rp. The key difference with the W112RP was that on that ski I always bring a second pair of all-mountain skis and usually switch to them by 11am. I can ski the Kore all day, long after all powder is cut up, so it lives up to the “resort powder” classification. Another different is that Wailers wants to bang out as many powder turns as they can. Kores are much more neutral and prefer medium radius turns, subtly encouraging you too go faster. At the same time, they don’t lock you into one radius, I was able to ski asymmetric turns to drift across the slope very naturally. Both the Wailer and Kore are very well balanced skis (unlike the Rossi Super 7 series which has floppy tips and tails connected to relatively stiff body, making it ski for me like a short plank with floppy wings). If it makes any sense, Wailers skis powder like a slalom ski, and Kore feel more “GS-sy”. In powder, Wailers plane primarily from their shape, the tip splay is so large and soft enough that it pulls you up (and into the turn) almost immediately, Kore floats primarily from the mounting point. That trait of the Kore reminds me of a ski I once had and liked a lot, the Dynastar Huge Trouble. Keep in mind that even with this trait, Kore is not a pintail design, the tail is there, and it is very functional.
Mounting point. Much has been said about the mounting point of the Kore series. Blister reviewers recommend mounting at +1, the Blue Zone demo pair was mounted at -1 (to my surprise, but I since heard that Phil recommends Kores at -1). Luckily, the demo binding allowed me to play with mounting point a bit. I don’t think -1 makes a lot of sense unless you ski only deep powder day after day. +1 mount is interesting. It makes the skis much much quicker and shorter in feel. The turn initiation becomes pretty intuitive. However there was a run where I tried to chase someone who is a ripping good skier over a nice wind-packed powder field and I felt that I was going "over the handlebars". Even though it was arguably a tough test because the snow was not deep enough to engage the full shovels, this is something I would never want to feel in my powder ski, so I moved the binding back a click to the "recommended" position and never looked back. Keep in mind that at 27.5 mondo I am right in the middle of the typical boot sole length for that rage of length in skis, so I tend to end up on the “recommended” line for most of the skis.
Bottom line: I purchased a pair off Kore 117 in 189 and I am mounting it at the recommended line. It will be my new powder end of the quiver.
Here is Kore in its native environment:
