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Individual Review Long-Term Review: 2018 Head Kore 93

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Philpug

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Is the Kore 93 a ski you buy to size or size up?
I skied it in the 180 and was happy with that, @markojp sized up. It depends how aggressive you are and how you are setting up your quiver.
 

markojp

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I skied the 180 in both the 93 and 105... It felt short for me, and it's going to be a quiver ski, so there you go. I don't really know what my ski style is.
 

Ken_R

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Is the factory recommended mounting point more progressive (forward) on the Kore 93 than on the Monster 88?
 
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Is the factory recommended mounting point more progressive (forward) on the Kore 93 than on the Monster 88?
By more pregressive, do you mean is it correct?I would say yes.
 

Trubinio

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After reading everything on the Kore 93 I have successfully convinced myself this might be the right ski for me.... no chance to try it though, as it is sold out in almost all of Europe. Do you guys think the ski and size 180 would be a good fit for me (166 pounds, 5'11'') as a former skier who after ten years is just making the jump back from snowboarding? I want to use it as a one ski quiver for pretty much anything, from groomers to tracked snow, powder, and hopefully in the long term for some touring. I'm slightly worried that it might be too much of a ski for me with a length of 180cm, as I've only used short and narrow skis since returning to skiing, or that I might have issues on colder and icier days. On the other hand, the Kore sounds like a ski I could definitely progress with.
 

Ken_R

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After reading everything on the Kore 93 I have successfully convinced myself this might be the right ski for me.... no chance to try it though, as it is sold out in almost all of Europe. Do you guys think the ski and size 180 would be a good fit for me (166 pounds, 5'11'') as a former skier who after ten years is just making the jump back from snowboarding? I want to use it as a one ski quiver for pretty much anything, from groomers to tracked snow, powder, and hopefully in the long term for some touring. I'm slightly worried that it might be too much of a ski for me with a length of 180cm, as I've only used short and narrow skis since returning to skiing, or that I might have issues on colder and icier days. On the other hand, the Kore sounds like a ski I could definitely progress with.

I demoed the 180cm and it should be really good for you. Easy ski to ski and very versatile. Even at my weight (6'-2" 185 lb) it worked well. I prefer burlier skis and I do own the Monster 88 in 184cm which I love but I still enjoyed the Kore.
 

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I've got the Kore 93 and like it, but it seems to accumulate a lot of snow on the top of it (perhaps because it is missing the top sheet). Has anyone else had this experience, and is there anything (like wax) that could be applied to the top of the skis to make them a little more snow resistant?
 
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I've got the Kore 93 and like it, but it seems to accumulate a lot of snow on the top of it (perhaps because it is missing the top sheet). Has anyone else had this experience, and is there anything (like wax) that could be applied to the top of the skis to make them a little more snow resistant?
It really depends more on the snow and the temp...I have had this happen with every type of ski...and snow.
 

ATLSkier

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It really depends more on the snow and the temp...I have had this happen with every type of ski...and snow.
True, but it seems like I have it a lot more with these skis than other skis I've owned, and I always seem to have more snow on the tops of these skis than others I'm skiing with have on their skis.
 

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I found the 93 flex pattern to be fairly soft which was a surprise since the 105 isn't. I'm a big fan of the Monster 88 and the 2019 version is still fantastic even with the latest changes. I would say that you could have both the 88 and 93 in the same quiver as the 93 probably has more soft snow bias and isn't as burly as the 88 (although that is toned down a bit now).

I wish Head would have made the 93 closer to the 105 flex pattern. That would have been a more "interesting" ski for me and what I'm looking for to replace the Scott Crusade. The 93 actually skis nice on hard pack and Head does pull off a bit of magic in making this light ski still perform fairly well on edge.
 
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I would say that you could have both the 88 and 93 in the same quiver as the 93 probably has more soft snow bias and isn't as burly as the 88 (although that is toned down a bit now).
From my Cage Match last year of the Monster 88 vs Kore 93....
Jeff,
Not a bad answer, the two really could coexist in the same quiver. But as @markojp said, for a 2 ski Quiver it would be hard to argue against the Monster 88 and the Kore 93's big brother, the Kore 105.
 

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I found the 93 flex pattern to be fairly soft which was a surprise since the 105 isn't.

I found the flex of the Kore 93 to be fairly stiff, stiffer than a Nordica Enforcer 93 which is not generally considered a soft ski.

I found flexing Kore skis, be it 93, 99, 105 to be close enough that I couldn't detect much difference. So I asked the western Canada Head rep at a recent PK session at the shop where I work pt and he confirmed my findings.

Anyone else got some Kore flex input?
 

Noodler

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I found the flex of the Kore 93 to be fairly stiff, stiffer than a Nordica Enforcer 93 which is not generally considered a soft ski.

I found flexing Kore skis, be it 93, 99, 105 to be close enough that I couldn't detect much difference. So I asked the western Canada Head rep at a recent PK session at the shop where I work pt and he confirmed my findings.

Anyone else got some Kore flex input?

Hmmm, surprising to have two very different takes on these skis. @Ken_R was with me and he saw how I was able to grab the tip with my pole basket and deflect it fairly far. And those tips were "flappin in the wind" when really pressed on the hard pack. I'll have to hand flex them against the Enforcer 93 when I'm in a shop again.
 

Tony S

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I found the flex of the Kore 93 to be fairly stiff, stiffer than a Nordica Enforcer 93 which is not generally considered a soft ski.

I found flexing Kore skis, be it 93, 99, 105 to be close enough that I couldn't detect much difference. So I asked the western Canada Head rep at a recent PK session at the shop where I work pt and he confirmed my findings.

Anyone else got some Kore flex input?

Several people have reported here that this ski feels very stiff when hand flexed next to its peers, notably including the Enforcer. I was one of them. When I got a chance to demo it last weekend I found, as others before me have, that it doesn't "ski" particularly stiff. :huh: Just another data point on the "why demo" graph.
 

markojp

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Several people have reported here that this ski feels very stiff when hand flexed next to its peers, notably including the Enforcer. I was one of them. When I got a chance to demo it last weekend I found, as others before me have, that it doesn't "ski" particularly stiff. :huh: Just another data point on the "why demo" graph.

My take as well.
 

Jim McDonald

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I also find the Kore 93 very stiff hand-flexed in a shop, but not at all when I demo'd one.
 

DanoT

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Several people have reported here that this ski feels very stiff when hand flexed next to its peers, notably including the Enforcer. I was one of them. When I got a chance to demo it last weekend I found, as others before me have, that it doesn't "ski" particularly stiff. :huh: Just another data point on the "why demo" graph.

The Kore 93 also comes in a 153cm, 162cm for women and small men. Dimensions of tip, waist, and tail are scaled down or up from 180cm for each length. I thought the shorter Kores might be too stiff for lighter weight skiers but I am obviously wrong and we have already sold out of 153cm Kore 93.
 

Dwight

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I have the Kore 105 in 180cm and was able to ski it this last weekend in fresh 6" powder, though by the time I got to the hill it was 4pm.

First off the weight of the Kore was welcoming, light but sturdy. I was able to ski the the powder and the crud. On groomers, there was no front chatter, like I get on the Enforcers. The interesting thing about the Kores is you can surf them fairly easy but if you want to carve, you really need to engage the edges. But when you do, they will carve as tight as you can make them, which makes them more fun for me in the Midwest.

Maybe @Quinn Trumbower will chime in with a real skiers opinion.
 

Novaloafah

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Head did a demo day at my local hill last Saturday. I am currently on Atomic Blackeyes (174 cm) and have been thinking of a new set of skis in the mid 90's that would be more suited to the rare opportunity where boot high + powder hits the Atlantic Coast. I wanted to try out the Kore 93 but they were out so I went with the K99 at 180 cm. I'm an intermediate getting 20-25 days in a year mostly local with an annual 10 day pilgrimage to larger mountains on the East Coast so I was a bit intimidated by that much ski underfoot. That disappeared pretty quick, it took some initial effort and thought to get up on edge but after a couple runs I felt pretty good and the extra 6 CM length I didn't really notice. What really shocked me was how light and agile they felt. I feel now as if I might go with the K99 and keep my old atomics for scratchy days. Head rep said I could get the K99 with the Attack binding at around $1000 Cdn (plus tax of course)
I was also interested in the Vantage series so am wondering if anyone could offer a comparison?
 

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