Looking for Head Titan replacement

[StephanS.]

Hi everybody,

My current ski is a Head Titan 177cm (18/19) and I love this ski. Due to several reasons, I´am no searching for a similar ski.
I´am skiing in Europe, and the ski should be skied mainly on-piste as I´am looking for a new daily driver for firm snow.

Hoewever, in this dedicated ski class it´s quiet complicated for me to find a comparable ski.
The Head felt very nimble and at at the same time very stable.
It´s tight radius of 15m at 177cm in combination with the wide shovel (137mm) made carving on groomers very easy. Tip engagement was great . Depsite of this small radius, it did not ski like a slalom ski, but also made fun in medium to big radius turns.
For me the ski was not the most energetic ski, but it was always predictable.

Which ski skis most similar in your point of view? I´am searching for a ski with the same characteristic (more or less a twin)
Of course there are many 75-85mm wide ski, but all of them seem to be designed for longer turns.

Most similar ski from spec point of view might be a Blossom Whiteout (but this ones hard to get in time...)

Hope you can suport me...

Thanks and best regards
Stephan

 

[Andy Mink]

What did you not care for with the Titan? It sounds like you like it a lot.

 

[trailtrimmer]

It will be fine in Europe, or just grab a rally, it bites a hair harder

 

[TexasStout]

Head i.Rally

 

[Uncle-A]

Head i.Rally

The Rally will be a lot of fun to ski and it does bite the hard surface well, I don't know if it is more "energetic" as the OP asked about. I have skied both the Rally and the Titan, both are great skis, I can ski the Rally all day but the Titan beats me up by lunchtime. My over 70 year old legs can not keep up with the Titan all day.

 

[Brian Finch]

Look at Liberty VMT79

 

[François Pugh]

Why not upgrade? Are Lazer SXs or SCs any cheaper in Europe? (asking for a friend)

 

[Unpiste]

Why not upgrade? Are Lazer SXs or SCs any cheaper in Europe? (asking for a friend)

Those are a fair amount narrower than the Titan, but absolutely great skis.

@StephanS., I think it’s going to be hard to recommend a similar ski without knowing why you’re looking for a similar ski, rather than just using the Titan which you seem to love. The Rally is a great option. Laser AX is similar, but slightly longer radius. (Haven’t been on one, but wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it based on experience with other Stöcklis.) If you like the Titan but want something with more oomph, the i.Race could be a great option. (I have an i.Speed Pro and find it’s actually a great all-mountain ski — that is, it works great all over the mountain; it’s a race carver by construction, of course. It will let you know if you’re doing anything wrong.)

 

[StephanS.]

Frankly speaking I don´t want to got to details because I don´t want to do any company bashing. To make it short: I was not happy with Head Supershape quality. That´s the main reason why I want to try a different brand.

So this means the "on snow" feel of this ski was superb and that´s also the reason why I´am looking for the most similar ski .

Meanwhile I almost fixed to one of these three skis:

Nordica Spitfire 80 (just not sure about size 174cm or 180cm)
Rossignol Hero Elite TI plus (also can not decide between 174cm and 181cm)
Salomon SForce Bold (177cm).

The Titan in 177cm matched perfect with my kind of skiing on groomers.

Do you have any recommondations of rejections for my selection?

 

[AmyPJ]

Lots of love for the S Force Bold on Pugski.

 

[Uncle-A]

Lots of love for the S Force Bold on Pugski.

There is lots of love for the Head Titan on PUGSKI as well.

 

[cantunamunch]

There is lots of love for the Head Titan on PUGSKI as well.

And for Atomic's X9 WB and for Fischer's RC4 The Curv GT RT ...

 

[eok]

Frankly speaking I don´t want to got to details because I don´t want to do any company bashing. To make it short: I was not happy with Head Supershape quality. That´s the main reason why I want to try a different brand.

So this means the "on snow" feel of this ski was superb and that´s also the reason why I´am looking for the most similar ski .

Meanwhile I almost fixed to one of these three skis:

Nordica Spitfire 80 (just not sure about size 174cm or 180cm)
Rossignol Hero Elite TI plus (also can not decide between 174cm and 181cm)
Salomon SForce Bold (177cm).

The Titan in 177cm matched perfect with my kind of skiing on groomers.

Do you have any recommondations of rejections for my selection?

I really wish you'd give some specifics on the quality problems you experienced.

I have both the 16/17 iRallys and 18/19 iTitans. Both ski great. No quality issues with iRallys. But I experienced major quality issues with my iTitans.

I originally purchased the 17/18 iTitans in the spring of 2018. But - upon inspecting the skis after delivery - discovered the sidewall & edges were delaminated mid-ski (both skis!). Plus: the printed ski dimension graphics on the topsheet were for the iRally (I measured the skis & confirmed the proper iTitan mesurements). Apparently, other folks had these problems with the 17/18 iTitans.

Anyway, I did a warranty claim on them and Head shipped me a new pair of newer 18/19 iTitans several months later. Sadly, upon close inspection of the replacement iTitans, I discovered top sheet delamination at the tail of one ski. Delam was ~3" long for the entire width of the ski from the aluminum tail-piece forward. Being pretty pissed, disappointed - and not wanting to do yet another lengthy (and costly) warranty claim - I just repaired the delam myself. I've skied them them & love them... but I do worry if I'm going have more delamination issues in the future.

Lastly, I really liked the textured topsheet that Head used on their Supershapes from 15/16 to 17/18 as it seemed to resist & hide scuffs/scratches very well. The topsheets they started using in 18/19 don't seem as effective in this regard, thus I'm not a fan of them.

 

[Chef23]

I find the top sheets on the Head skis to be fragile. I like the way they ski but they get banged up easily.

I love the Salomon SForce Blast but they will be more work than the Titans. I haven't heard skied the Bolds but they are supposed to be a little more forgiving.

 

[DocGKR]

My Rossignol Hero Elite plus Ti are my favorite on-piste, all mountain resort ski as noted in several previous threads, including: https://www.pugski.com/threads/a-tale-of-two-racer-ish-skis.15691/#post-366574

For me, the Rossi definitely offers a higher level of performance than the Rally or Titan, but not as intense as the i.Race.

If you are around 6 ft, 200 lbs or larger definitely go with the 181cm Rossi, if more compact you might want to go with the 174cm.

I have toyed with the Nordica Spitfire 80, but it is not quite as fun or versatile as the Rossi, especially in bumps; have not tried the S Force Bold. The Stockli AR might serve your needs; the Liberty V76 and V82 are also worth considering.

 

[GB_Ski]

@DocGKR Have you tried Hero MT? I wanted a slalom like skis for pure front size hard snow. MT looks like it has a narrower width and firmer flex.

 

[DocGKR]

Did not try the Rossi MT; I do have the Rossi 165 FIS SL and they are a blast to free ski--much more versatile than I ever expected.

For what you are describing, you might look at a shorter i.Race, a Stockli SC or WRT, the narrower Nordica RB's, or even an Atomic X9.

 

[GB_Ski]

Did not try the Rossi MT; I do have the Rossi 165 FIS SL and they are a blast to free ski--much more versatile than I ever expected.

For what you are describing, you might look at a shorter i.Race, a Stockli SC or WRT, the narrower Nordica RB's, or even an Atomic X9.

X9 was too burly for me. My legs were jello by lunch. i.Race is on my list, I do worry about them being very technical and unforgiving.

 

[DocGKR]

For me, the i.Race are much more precise and demanding than the Rossi Elite Ti, i.Rally, or Liberty V76.

 

[GB_Ski]

Got ya. I'll avoid i.Race at this point. I'll slowly work up to that level of skis. I have Liberty V76 which I like, but I think they are a bit soft. My shop has MT and REACT R8 HP on consignment, just need to figure out which one I should go with.