A Monster of a ski.
Written: Feb 09 '06 (Updated May 19 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Very versatile and relatively forgiving. Excellent on groomers and in ungroomed conditions.
Cons: None really. It is not really meant for off-piste skiing.
The Bottom Line: If you are an intermediate skier or better, this ski will open up a mountain of possibility. The ski can handle anything but the very deep snow off piste.
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| icio's Full Review: Head Monster i.M 70 Lightning Railflex Binding |
ABOUT MYSELF:
I am an expert skier with 35-40 days of skiing every year. I enjoy skiing in most conditions, from carving a groomer to ski bumps, to feel the butterflies in my stomach tackling a steep run out West. I was also a ski instructor for a few years.
WHY HEAD MONSTER ?
In my case, it was love at fist sight or, perhaps, more properly, it was love at first turn. Back in 2003, I was developing my technique and I grew progressively unsatisfied with my previous choices. I attended a demo day, notice the ski, was captivated by the name, Monster , and decided to take the "beast" out for a spin. The Head representative had to send someone looking for me. I think I skied for 1.5 hours and when I came back to his tent the poor guy could only notice the happy grin on my face and say "It looks like you really like this ski, don't you?". Yes I did. Less than a week later I owned the ski and I have not changed it since. As a matter of fact, since that day I have owned 1 pair of Head Monster i.M 70, one pair of Head Monster i.M 75 (with chip) and, this year, a pair of Head Monster i.M 72 SR II and, the "Hummer" of skis: the Head Monster i.M 88. Yes, you can say that I am really hooked to these "monsters".
IS THIS SKI FOR YOU ?
The Head Monster i.M 70 is an excellent choice for skiers who are honest intermediate up to expert, at least as long as they are mostly skiing in groomed conditions. The i.M 70 can handle bumps, ice and chopped up snow. It is not really built to go looking for deep powder off piste. I also noticed that this ski is better appreciated by stronger/heavier skiers. In other words, if you are a light-weight you may find it not to your liking. This ski likes power a little bit more than finesse, in my opinion.
WHAT MAKES THIS SKI SO VERSATILE?
It is the Intelligence System. Oversimplifying, the ski is built with a structure that incorporates what Head calls Intellifibres . These fibres can recognize whether the skier is going fast (carving on a groomed slope, for instance) or slow (skiing in chopped up snow, for example) and adapt. What happens is that, when going fast, the fibres will make the ski stiffer from a torsional point of view which makes it much better at holding an edge. And, on the other hand, when going slower, the ski will remain relatively softer from a torsional point of view which helps making it more manoeuvrable.
If you are interestd in understanding how the system works in more details, you should go to the link below which is directly out of the Head official website.
http://www.head.com/ski/technology.php?region=us&tag=intelligence
HEAD MONSTER i.M 70: THE SINGLE GRADES (1=lowest, 10=highest)
Carving: 8.5 It really carves well, almost like a much narrower waisted ski. It can hold an edge even on icy slopes.
Straight Line: 6.5 This ski is not a race ski, and it does not hold a straight line really well. But it is not built for that.
Bumps: 8 It has no problems in soft bumps. Nevertheless, it behaves well even on icy bumps. As it is a little beefier than the average ski, it may suffer a little bit in very tight and icy bumps (Midwest skiing, Eastern skiing) unless the skier is a very technical one.
Skidding: 7 Why should one want to skid? There are situations where skidding is necessary even if it is not what the modern technique says. You can make it skid, but it is not the happiest when asked to do that. So, if you are still skiing with the old technique from the times of the pencil skis, this ski may not be too much fun.
Forgiveness: 7.5 This ski puts up with a lot of mistakes, but not with everything. If you load the tails too much you may be in for a relatively unpleasant surprise. But you really have to make it mad to get that kind of reaction. So, fear not, just be aware that as it is a serious ski, it is not built to offset any wrong input by a skier or else it would not have any performance.
Ungroomed, chopped-up snow: 7 It behaves pretty well even if it is not a true midfat. Very satisfactory.
Weight: 7 It is a little bit on the heavy side, but nothing too bad. Lighter skiers, however, may want to be particularly aware of this.
Quickness: 8 Fairly quick underfoot in changing directions.
Stability: 8 Very stable, even heavier skiers should not have concerns in this field.
Rebound: 7.5 Plenty of it and it is all good. Very heavy skiers (like myself) may experience less of it, unless they buy it in longer versions.
Overall Grade: 7.5-8 One of the most versatile skis I have ever had the good luck of skiing on.
FINAL NOTE: The "Lightning" part in the name refers to the women version. However, both the man and the woman version share the same charatheristics.
Other Head Monster skis I reviewed:
- Head Monster i.M 75 Chip with Railflex Binding
- Head Monster i.M 85
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
icio
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Location: Thousand Oaks, CA
Reviews written: 58
Trusted by: 6 members
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