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Individual Review Long-Term Test: 2016 Head Strong Instinct Ti

Gerry Rhoades

mtcyclist rippin' again
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563
Location
Billings, MT
This is the beginning of a long term review of the 2016 Head Strong Instinct Ti. I demoed this ski at Copper Mountain last season and was immediately hooked. It was light, quick, had good edge grip and was softer than my Nordica FA 84 EDTs. The radius for the Head is 14.2 vs 17 for the FA. The FA has a tiny amount of early rise while the Head has what their marketing department has deemed “All Ride Rocker.” The Head at 170cm skis a bit shorter than the FA at 168cm.

I went to Red Lodge Mountain today to make some runs on the Head and get used to it. Since I plan to take it with me December 11-13 to Big Sky for the Northern Rocky Mountain PSIA fall clinic getting acquainted with the ski seemed a good idea. There are currently only a couple runs open at RLM, all green and all groomed. The Head was fun. I made everything from short slow turns to high speed GS turns and it never complained, it just did what I told it to do. Turning was almost effortless. It has a pretty big sweet spot and I think it would be a good ski for an advancing intermediate who can make parallel turns and it would also be very good as a teaching ski. The ski seems to adjust to the quality of input it gets, the better you ski it the better it responds. I think it might have a speed limit but until I can get on a longer run with a more consistent gradient I can't really tell. I had it up to 39mph (according to ski tracks) arcing GS turns and it felt pretty solid, although certainly not as solid as the Fire Arrows, but I never expected that it would.

To be continued when I can get into more variable conditions, hopefully at Big Sky.
 

Jake M

AKA Gunnerbob
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near Toronto, Ontario
Thanks for the writeup.

My question: to anyone in the know, how does this 83mm ski compare to the Monster 83? Head tends to describe the difference as the M83 more "all mountain", while the Strong Instinct is more "frontside". I'm not sure I buy that marketing-push for the consumer. It appears both are well cambered, very slight tip rise, similar construction, and contain the "OMG! Graphene!!11!one!!" (on a side note, if graphene is one atom thick, how would a ski company actual incorporate a one-atom thick substance??!! Gimme a break).

In any event, that's my Friday rant. But seriously, if the Instinct is "frontside" and the M83 is (marginally) "all mountain", what characteristics EXACTLY determines that in the context of these fine Head skis? Anyone skied both and can comment on the differences?

Much thanks.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Gerry Rhoades

Gerry Rhoades

mtcyclist rippin' again
Industry Insider
Joined
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Posts
563
Location
Billings, MT
I have no idea what the answer is, but as soon as I can get into something other than just groomed snow I plan to find out. Maybe next weekend at Big Sky. Unfortunately Head has maybe the most user unfriendly website in the industry.and they provide very limited information on a lot of their skis.:nono:
 

markojp

mtn rep for the gear on my feet
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Their website will probably be used in design class case studies as a complete failure. Amazing that people were paid for that mess.

Monster 83... Think power instinct ti.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Gerry Rhoades

Gerry Rhoades

mtcyclist rippin' again
Industry Insider
Joined
Nov 9, 2015
Posts
563
Location
Billings, MT
Monster 83 is on my list for Copper Mountain. I tried the Power Instinct Ti last season and didn't like it much but they gave me the wrong length and I didn't notice right away. I'll probably try it again.
 
Thread Starter
TS
Gerry Rhoades

Gerry Rhoades

mtcyclist rippin' again
Industry Insider
Joined
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Posts
563
Location
Billings, MT
So, last Saturday, December 12, I skied all morning at Big Sky on the Strong Instinct Ti but got derailed not long after lunch. But, in the morning we were doing a lot of drills that involved sideslips and turn initiations on Elk Park Ridge, probably five or six runs. There were some small bumps and 4-6" of cut-up powder along the sides of the run. The ski performed very well on the groomed run, the edge grip was good but there is a headwall just above the Thunder Wolf lift and late in the morning it was getting pretty icey due to the traffic. The ski didn't hold as well there but it was adequate. When I ventured off into the bumps and powder on the sides of the run the ski was solid. The bumps were absurdly easy, even for me, but the ski snaked through them effortlessly and the same with the powder. Once I can get back on skis I will try them in more serious bumps and deeper powder, if i can find some. But so far, I think this is a great ski and at $600, including bindings, its a good value for someone who's at least in the middle of the intermediate range and wants a relatively narrow ski that is quite versatile.

The question has been asked about the difference between this ski and the Monster 83. It is more than the Monster is a flat ski and Instinct is a system ski. The Monster has a wood core and while the Instinct has a synthetic(foam) core That I believe is the main difference. The sidewalls are also different but i don't yet understand what the difference is. According to Head both skis are for intermediate to advanced skiers.
 

markojp

mtn rep for the gear on my feet
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PNW aka SEA
Power Instinct Ti is the corollary for the Monster 83.... oops, already said it above. Thanks for the nice review of the strong instinct.
 
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Gerry Rhoades

Gerry Rhoades

mtcyclist rippin' again
Industry Insider
Joined
Nov 9, 2015
Posts
563
Location
Billings, MT
Went to Bridger Bowl today, 310 miles round trip. But it was so worth it. Actual snow and no worries about core shots. I skied Soul Riders mostly but did three runs on the Instincts to see how they'd perform in 4-6" of old powder, almost mashed potatoes, sun crust, trees, and a rock hard groomer. They haven't been tuned since the season began and they were kind of marginal on the rock hard groomer. They were great in everything else. The soft snow in the trees was only about 6" but the skis responded well. The sun crust initially threw me off a bit because I wasn't expecting it, but the skis had no trouble with it. The amount of rocker on these seems just right. It's a winner. YMMV
 

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