Thanks to the Team Over at HEAD Skis for letting me borrow and review these, not every brand is willing to put their skis under the microscope like this. Appreciate you guys.

This review is so on point. I demoed the kore 93 and was blown away, then I tried the 99 immediately after and I had your exact thoughts! It was good but just, missing the character. Your review was like me listening to someone else speaking my own thoughts lol

Very good review. From what I hear the 93 and 105 are the two standout skis in the Kore line. I think you were on point for this one. Now I have to tease you, at the 5 minute mark, I was thinking "Elliot is very mellow and toned down on this review" , then you got to the "Bad" and the emotional you was back. Enjoyed it.

I demoed all these - plus Blossom and Enforcers. What the 99's offer is the ability to "charge". So many reviews like yours are in pristine environments - looking at the snow in this video was like some dream that does not seem real, let alone possible. So sure, if you have perfect piste, and perfect powder - maybe not the 99. But when you also have to deal with Australian machine made fluff piled in bumps on hard packed ice, with refrozen ice crud piled in chunks, plus some rare easy piste - the 4/5 in all environments beats 3/5 in some and 5/5 in others. Thats what it is designed for. A single ski quiver. And the snow in this video is last possible environment for this ski to shine over others. Its like complaining that the sun screen lotion was a touch oily at Four Seasons Resort Seychelles.

Great review again, Elliott! I really like your channel. I work in a ski shop in Romania, not really the biggest ski community but we have good places to ski and we can go to the Alps easy. I wanted to ask you if you will try and review the Faction Dancer 2? I have tested it a few times and I think you will like it, it will feel very lively, but quite stable. Will you test any all mountain/freestyle skis? I know you like carving a lot and maybe the twin tip shape won't satisfy you as they kind of wash out at the end of the turn (which i know you actually hate from the bent series of videos :)) ) but if you have the oppotunity I would like to know your opinion on these kind of skis like the Armada ARV 94, Faction Prodigy 2, Volkl Revolt 97, Head Oblivion or any twin tip you can find. Also I want to thank you for the work and passion you put into this channel, it really helps me know more about skis that I have never tested. In Romania we do not have a lot of ski test opportunities and not really a big community and learning process and i use o lot of the information that is provided on European and also American channels like yours, skiessentials, blister, curated, (which i know you kind of don't agree with all the time and your opinions made me understand more about skis). So thank you for doing this because it helps me to my job properly and better and have more satisfied customers which is also the best thing about working in a ski shop - recommending skis to customers and they come back to say thank you because they had a great experience with their new equipment, so in some way you have quite a major role for the skiing community in Romania, also! Keep up the good work and have a great season! I will keep watching all your videos :)

Hi Elliot, loved your review of the Kores (99/93) and your favorite Atomic maverick 88s. Was hoping to pick your brains a bit to help me decide on a ski to buy I'm a 32 YO M, 172 cm, 77 kgs. I love to carve hard with a forward stance, and i also have fun trying out little jibs around the mountain. I mainly ski in Japan where the snow is more or less soft all winter bar a few bad days. On heavy pow days however, I usually go for my snowboard over my skis as i enjoy pow on my board way more. I've narrowed down to the following skis 1. Head Kore (87/93) in 177 cm (the mantras were totally removed from my wishlist after trying the kores) - I know you've not tried the 87, but seeing as i'm mainly going to be on piste 85% of the time with these skis, I wonder whether the 87 would be a better fit than the 93 2. Atomic Maveric 88ti 176 cm (unfortunately I have not been able to demo these at all, but based on your multiple reviews I wouldn't mind taking a bet on them) I'm not sure whether i should size down to 170s, but i had zero issues with the 178 Mindbender 99TIs, so I feel the 177s will sit right at home for me Here are a couple of skis i've demo'ed over the last 2 seasons and what I felt on them: 177 Volkl Mantra M5 - Loved carving on these, were at the top of my list till I tried Kore 99s - Wasn't as easy to ski switch or do little jibs around the mountain 178 K2 Mindbender 99ti - Had zero issues with this ski, just felt it was way too damp and I couldnt feel anything below the ski 168 Salomon QST 92 - Way too soft for me, but i can see the appeal 170 Head Kore 99 - had loads of fun on intermediate and even expert slopes - Wish the rentals had the 177 for me to try… 183 Season Nexus - Super fun and easy ride, probably a bit too playful for myself - Very impressed with what it could do, from carves, chudder etc. 185 Line Blade Optic 104 - way too tall for myself - was able to only unlock some of its potential at much higher speeds - also doesn’t suit me as it encourages a more centered stance for carves etc. I look forward to your input (:

Seems like great skis. Now do Elan Ripstick 106 black edition:)

What would improve your reviews to whole another level would be ability to isolate ski design characteristics, like for example bend vs torsional flex, tip/tail profile design, etc. It would be interesting for example for you to try the Mav 86c, since it's the same as 88ti but w/o the metal. Or the QST 92, which has less rocker, more like the Mav/Kore. Or the previous QST 99, which was more like the 106 in stiffness, instead of the 98 which is entirely new design being more flexible & rockered. Or "reference" designs like Stockli SR/AR or Kastle MX. Also it would be useful because you're prolly one of the only reviewers who can actually carve turns (meaning closing down edge angles in turn; the ski essentials guys for example do not, they just ride the sidecut).

What ski area are you testing at?

Ok love your review on this, I hate to say it but I think the 99 is what I would call the dead spot in the line. I have geeked out over the Kore comparing stats and I’ve noticed that there is something weird in the tip widths as they move up in waist width. For example the reference length in 93,99 is 177 but then you move up to 105 and it becomes the 184. But if you watch tip width you’re only gaining 1mm on the 99 over the 93 where you gain 6mm under foot. This coupled with more rocker in the top and tail creates a more sluggish turn, especially on groomers. So I have a Kore 93 in a 184cm length and it’s actually 136/95/117 which if I compare to a 105 in 184 it’s 135/105/125. So it’s not until the 111 that I would get a wider tip in theory giving more floatation or turn initiation. Something very strange I noticed. I have zero need for a powder ski currently as I live in the Midwest but have kept my eyes out for a good deal for when I do take trips out west. I’m not sure I would buy a Kore for powder until I try them. That being said by said there is almost no “real” reviews on the Kore line as you go up. Ski essentials has me wanting to try the 111 for sure though.

Will you be trying the 105? It's a departure from the ninety three and ninety nine. From when I understand it's more rockered. Which makes sense to me. I recently bought a pair but have not tried them yet. I refuse to ski them until there's fresh snow!

Bob from Ski Essentials loves that ski.. That is the stiffest ski out of that waist width.. I think Bob can flex it without it being too reactive.. My impression when I demoed them was very similar to yours.. It handled groomers fine but my SR 88s and actually SR 105s and Enforcer 104 Free are as good.. It got stuck in the crud like my SR 88s.. It was way more reactive than any of the skis I mentioned.. I am sure it would do fine in fluffy powder but really, what doesn't? It might even do fine in slush but I didn't get a chance to ski them in that.. I was told that the 105s (or whatever it is for Kore) are even more damp than the 99s so that would go with your theory of the 99s being more damp than the 93s..

Any chance you could comment on stiffness. I have a pair of Head’s and enjoy them overall, though, dislike the stiffness. Interested to know if they have changed this characteristic since my 2018 paid.

Hi Elliott 😊 Is it fair to say that the 87mm to 93mm range suits you best? After watching this I started wondering if the “Draco Freebird” is actually a higher performance ski than the Kore 93? The Draco Freebird will perform better in the soft snow than the Kore 93… on piste (based on your take) the Draco Freebird is on par with the Kore 93. Of corse I might be overthinking what you are saying 🤔 The touring aspect of the Draco Freebird might be what doesn’t give it a higher rating? What if the ski (DF) had a regular binding on it? I wish you had deeper snow so we could see how the Kore 99 could perform. Obviously you enjoyed the Renoun 88 more than this ski. I hope you checked the videos I sent from Ski & Bike Magazine… they deserve some “Rickety Ski Review” snarkiness 😊 Good job Elliott, I look forward to more 😊⛷

If you get the opportunity I'd like to hear your take on the Nordica Steadfast 85. Also Nordica is releasing a new enforcer with new shape and construction. I'm dying to see you review it seeing as you are the lines no1 fan xD.

Maybe I am a Bob (ski essentials), at least the 99 is a fav for me

The problem with all Head skis is that they look so boring. Its like they got someone's next door neighbour with a low end graphic design programme to design the graphics. Its so bad I would never buy a Head ski. I just couldn't bare looking down at the things. By comparison I love looking at my Black Crows - so much so I have three pairs.

sounds like a toyota camry -- good overall but bland and not great at anything... - looks like you have a lazy left when skiing off-piste.. you don't load the legs as much when it's the outside ski AND don't match the right as accurately when the left is teh inside ski... Only noticed because your skis are always parallel on the groomers....

coming from declevity 92, kore 93, and serpo 93, i have to say i love the kore 99 much more. maybe i am a it heavy i ski a 170, i am 180lb now. they rip through all, ice, slush, crud, powder, trees, parks. intermedia working on advance. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Z9uEaa5el9DPlqs.htmlsi=BFMpwDa6NVqbI4QW