2014 Head Skis Mini Reviews

[theorist]

Cool, thanks.

[geoffda]

The one thing about the TT-80 is that it is a wood core ski and it breaks down pretty quickly. You'll love the grip when you first get it, but if you ski it hard, the torsional stiffness relaxes fairly quickly. I feel like the TT-80 is a 100 day ski. I skied the TT-80/800 as my daily driver for the past 3 seasons and now I'm back on the original SS. The season before I was on the TT-80s, I was on the SS. When I switched, I was definitely in the camp that it is a better all-mountain ski and I much preferred the ski in bumps for the reasons Max_501 mentioned. This season, I have to say that I haven't even noticed the tail in the bumps and I'm really loving being back on the SS. Try both skis if you can. Also try the Maya 7 if you can. It's a better version of the TT-80. You won't go wrong with either one, but they are very different. One other thing--the TT-80 does not come with a race binding and as such, the ski brakes don't retract in. I had an incident where I tipped the ski to a large enough angle that the brake got embedded in the snow. When I released, the brake actually bent downward and I popped out of the ski when it stopped.

[Max_501]

The SS of that era was also wood core as are all of Head's best skis.

The TT80 has two layers of metal. I'd guess the SS I used in bumps lost its snap at about the same rate the TT80 did. I find the TT80 to be noticeably quicker when skiing a tight line in bumps. I really wish Head still made them. For me it was the perfect front side tool.

[theorist]

Try both skis [SS, TT80] if you can. Also try the Maya 7 if you can.

That would be my preference, but I'll only be skiing So Cal, Mammoth, and Bridger this year, and none of the shops in those areas have them for demo (though I'd be willing to forego a demo if the price were right). However, I plan to meet up with a So Cal PMTS group at Mammoth soon, and perhaps one of them will be kind enough to let me try theirs.

One other thing--the TT-80 does not come with a race binding and as such, the ski brakes don't retract in. I had an incident where I tipped the ski to a large enough angle that the brake got embedded in the snow. When I released, the brake actually bent downward and I popped out of the ski when it stopped.

I probably should have jumped on the $240 TT80/PR11 package that Levelnine was offering earlier this year, but it was the bindings that gave me pause.

The TT80 has two layers of metal. I'd guess the SS I used in bumps lost its snap at about the same rate the TT80 did. I find the TT80 to be noticeably quicker when skiing a tight line in bumps. I really wish Head still made them.

The TT800 PR PRO is still listed on Head's website -- is it no longer made, or is it a current model but different from the earlier TT800 PR PRO, which I understand was identical to the TT80?

[Max_501]

The TT800 PR PRO is still listed on Head's website -- is it no longer made, or is it a current model but different from the earlier TT800 PR PRO, which I understand was identical to the TT80?

As far as I know the TT800 is not part of this season's skis. The closest would be the Maya 7.

[geoffda]

The SS of that era was also wood core as are all of Head's best skis.

The TT80 has two layers of metal. I'd guess the SS I used in bumps lost its snap at about the same rate the TT80 did. I find the TT80 to be noticeably quicker when skiing a tight line in bumps. I really wish Head still made them. For me it was the perfect front side tool.

Weird, I'd always thought it had no metal in it because the torsional stiffness disappeared in a hurry for me. Maybe I just got a bad one, but after three months of use (skiing a ton of hard pack during the drought seasons), the grip was gone (despite razor edges). I actually kind of liked it because it became such a challenge to hold (and it was fun watching my friends try to make the ski work when we switched skis ), but even Diana finally commented that I was making all the right movements and getting nothing in return from the ski. I've probably got 500 days on the 80/800, and I feel like (durability issues aside) it is probably the most perfect ski ever made for Northern Colorado. But I do love my iSuperShapes. It might just be a case of being in love with whatever I'm on...Both were such amazing skis. It is absolutely criminal that Head quit making them.

[jbotti]

The SS of that era was also wood core as are all of Head's best skis.

I've probably got 500 days on the 80/800.

500 days on one ski. Good to know when we are blessed. I just recently skied my 500th day on snow, for my entire skiing career!!

[Mac]

500 days? On one pair of skis? Never heard of it. I have a pair of boots that I still use regularly with about 300 days on them, but skis, no way. I'd hate to tell you how many skis I go through over the course of 500 days, but to be truthful, I very seldom keep a pair till they're worn out. I usually get bored with them, or just have that itch to have the new latest and greatest stuff long before I wear them out. I usually find that after 60-70 days they start to loose their pop, and by 100 days, it's usually time to move on. When they get to the point where they won't hold an edge no matter how sharp they are, it's game over.

[Max_501]

I've probably got 500 days on the 80/800, and I feel like (durability issues aside) it is probably the most perfect ski ever made for Northern Colorado.

Do you have multiple pairs or is that 500 days all on a single pair?

[geoffda]

I've probably got 500 days on the 80/800, and I feel like (durability issues aside) it is probably the most perfect ski ever made for Northern Colorado.

Do you have multiple pairs or is that 500 days all on a single pair?

I skied two seasons on my first pair (TT 80) & one on my second (TT 800). Actually total days are probably a little over 400. I forgot that we had a bad season in that mix where we lost a bunch of days and I started this year on my iSuperShapes so I have no days on the Icon-800s so far. I usually get out ~150 days per year, but weekdays I'm only out for an hour and a half or so.

[geoffda]

500 days? On one pair of skis? Never heard of it. I have a pair of boots that I still use regularly with about 300 days on them, but skis, no way. I'd hate to tell you how many skis I go through over the course of 500 days, but to be truthful, I very seldom keep a pair till they're worn out. I usually get bored with them, or just have that itch to have the new latest and greatest stuff long before I wear them out. I usually find that after 60-70 days they start to loose their pop, and by 100 days, it's usually time to move on. When they get to the point where they won't hold an edge no matter how sharp they are, it's game over.

No that was on two pairs of skis and on weekdays I'm only out for an hour and a half or so, so I expect to get at least one season out of a pair of skis. I recognize I'm hard on skis because I'm bending them all the time, but even so that first pair of TT-80s seemed to die pretty quickly. IIRC, they were pretty done by January of the year I bought them. Not sure why I skied them a second season--I think I was just so mad that they died a quick death that I felt I needed to get my money's worth out of them!

[theorist]

Just got back from a week at Bridger, got two days on the Head Rock n Roll (180), plus a few runs each on the Soul 7 (180), Cham 97 (172), Blizzard Bonafide (173 and 180) and Peacemaker (179), Volkl One (176), and Fischer Watea 96 (178). Also got to spend a little time on the 2013 MX88's (168) I picked up last fall. Conditions were rough refrozen crust and crusty moguls, either naked or covered by a few inches of fresh, as well as some groomers. With the RnR I got to ski Schlasman’s and the Ridge, as well as some groomers and black and double-black mogul runs. With the others I skied groomers, steeps and moguls off of the Bridger chair and PK, including some runs into the trees.

Max, thanks for the 180 length recommendation on the RnR -- I might otherwise have been unwilling to risk the $50 to try it, but that length worked out pretty well. The demo binding gave me the choice of +3 mm and -5 mm. At +3 it had excellent maneuverability in the trees (indeed, better than any of the other skis I tried), and OK stability at speed. -5 improved the stability, but lost the maneuverabilty, so I opted for +3. I’m curious – how does your optimum mount position on these compare with those you’ve found for the other Head skis, e.g., SS and TT80?

I didn’t like most of these skis; the 180 RnR was the only one that came close to ticking all my boxes for an all-conditions ski. For instance, the 173 Bonafide was too stiff and choppy for moguls, and felt like it would be too stiff to work well in deeper snow (which I didn’t have available to try); the 180 was too long. The 172 Cham was too short, and its stiffness bucked me when I encountered sudden terrain changes; also didn't like the tail -- felt like it was missing at the finish. The 178 Watea is mediocre on-edge, tending to wash out on firm snow, and lacks stability at speed. OTOH, because of its length (I like a longer ski for moguls) and soft flex pattern, this is a good mogul ski, if the moguls aren’t crusty (in which case the washing-out is problematic). It made quick work of black and double-black mogul runs. Not sure about the 180 Soul 7 – on the one hand, this is the best mogul ski I’ve been on since I switched to shaped boards in the mid-1990s (granted, I’ve been mostly on race skis). It seems to have a perfect flex pattern for the bumps. I found myself easily bending the ski as I extended fully into each trough, after which I’d hit the bump and my knees would be pushed up into my chest. It was weirdly effortless -- I felt like my legs weren't doing any work (not sure if this is PMTS, though -- I'm currently working my way through what the books say about mogul skiing). However, while it’s reasonably stable at speed, and holds well, it can be unpredictably reactive when on-edge, perhaps because its cambered running length is relatively short. Thus I didn’t trust it enough to assess its high-C capability.

Anyways, I found the RnR was solid on edge and initiated well for a wider ski, and offered good maneuverability, terrain absorption (for taking bumpy crust and rollers on traverses at speed), and stability. I also like that it had enough tail to enable recovery when I got into the back seat. And the turned-up rear tips helped when billygoating. My only issues were moguls and short turns on the steeps, where in both cases it worked, but was work for me. The latter is, I believe, a limitation in my technique – I don’t yet have the skill to enter the high-C part of a turn on a >40-degree slope above a no-fall zone, so I instead reverted to my old technique, which I know keeps me safe: I set the edge at the bottom of the turn, and use the rebound to lighten the skis so that I can bring them around. With a heavy ski like the RnR (which, incidentally, was the only ski heavy enough to bother my knees while dangling from the lift), that’s a lot of work! I could try moving down to the 173, but I’m afraid I’d give up too much solidity, and so perhaps the 180’s a ski I could grow into on the steeps. But the moguls may be a different story – because of the difference in flex patterns, I’m not sure if the RnR could ever feel as effortless in the moguls as something like the Soul 7 (and I don’t think moving down to the 173 would help this). When I'm at Mammoth in a couple of weeks I'll be able to try the 174 Stockli SR95, which I understand skis a bit long, but it's quite a bit pricier than the RnR, particularly with current discounts.

I'd welcome any comments you folks would have.

Personally, under those particular conditions, I would have preferred a soft, narrow slalom ski. OTOH, the fellow that took me up to the Ridge, who skis there nearly every day and is considered one of the best skiers up there, was moving effortlessly (and quickly) down this terrain telemarking on a pair of 2013 Gotamas. For softer snow he's a strong advocate of rocker, saying he likes to aggressively drive the front of the ski in powder and that rocker is essential to keep the tips from diving when he does that. I understand that PMTS is concerned that rocker compromises one's ability to initiate, thus depriving the skier of the critical high-C part of the turn, but I don't know how one would address his tip-diving observation specifically, since I don't have any significant experience with rocker in soft snow myself.

[Max_501]

I like the RnR in bumps except that it's a bit slow edge to edge due to the width. I've skied the RnR in deep snow and I've never had a problem with tip dive. Actually, tip dive was one of the reasons I purchased the Shaman, which I never use these days. The RnR is just a better ski for me.

[HighAngles]

After getting the opportunity to ski next season's Venturi 95 for a bunch more laps in mixed conditions I'm not nearly as enamored with the ski as I was initially. Could be that I was able to directly compare it with other 92-98mm class skis and found others that I preferred over the Venturi. I also experimented with mount points on the Venturi and found that there wasn't a single position that made me happy across all conditions. That put up a warning flag...

[theorist]

Also try the Maya 7 if you can. It's a better version of the TT-80. You won't go wrong with either one, but they are very different.

Hi geoffda. As I'm having trouble finding a TT80/800 (at least from a dealer that has reasonable shipping rates from Europe), I was wondering if you could elaborate on why you find the Mya 7 superior to the TT80, and on what those differences are. The appeal of the TT80 for me is that it's reportedly a good ski for practicing PMTS on groomers, and also works well in moguls (and I'm assuming its soft flex gives it some soft-snow versatility).

I don't have access to either the TT80, Mya 7, or original Supershape for demo, so this is going to have to be done sight-unseen.

One other thing--the TT-80 does not come with a race binding and as such, the ski brakes don't retract in. I had an incident where I tipped the ski to a large enough angle that the brake got embedded in the snow. When I released, the brake actually bent downward and I popped out of the ski when it stopped.

I assume yours came with a PR-series binding (I understand from Head that the PRD series retracts differently). Might you happen to know if the Mojo 15 (which, from a pic, also doesn't appear to pull inward) has this same issue?