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Individual Review Head Monster 88 184cm

Ken_R

Living the Dream
Skier
Joined
Feb 10, 2016
Posts
5,775
Location
Denver, CO
I demoed today the 2016 Head Monster 88 in 184cm length. Again, like the Bonafide I though it was going to be too much ski but it wasn't. It is an awesome ski. Easy to ski and pretty versatile (not as versatile as the Bonafide but more stable). The Monster 88 rips. It is a ski I could trust no matter what. Shallow refrozen crud, no problem, Bumps, no problem, soft slush, no problem, hard groomers, no problem. I could go fast and not worry about loosing control due to the ski jumping around or vibrating too much. It felt solid but still easy to shut down at anytime when needed. I could load up the front and the ski just railed. I could vary my turn radii no problem. Overall it was a great day at Vail to test the Head. Hard, refrozen groomers, slush down low, wind affected snow up high and everything in between. This ski was solid. Really loved it and it reduced my fatigue. I felt fresh all day.

Between this and the Bonafide for those resort days when it has not snowed in days and the snow has been cooked It is a hard call. The Bonafide was a tad softer and had much more tip rocker so it should do better when encountering deeper and softer snow but the Head was just so stable but maybe not as exciting as the Bonafide. Tough tough call between those two for me. The tip on the Head did feel more composed on the rough stuff. Hummm.

[ I am 6'-2" and weight 185 lb. I am an advanced level skier and ski all over the mountain (Colorado and New Mexico). Max speeds about 40mph average around 20.]

On a side note this ski had the Tyrolia Attack Demo bindings as well and they felt good.
 

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