HEAD i.SuperShape Magnum Ski Review - World Cup for the Everyday Skier
HEAD skis have been on the Start Haus Ski Wall for years - as a race brand.
*2015 Update, we have replaced the i.Supershape Magnum with the HEAD i.Supershape Rally.
With World Cup Racers like Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn on HEAD Race Skis, it's hard to dispute their racing chops - but we found that quality has carried through to their all-mountain skis, especially the 2014 HEAD i.SuperShape Magnum.
This ski is what we'd call a cheater race ski - meaning it inherits the same construction as the World Cup race skis with a slightly softer, more approachable flex with a blend between a GS (Giant Slalom) and SL (Slalom) sidecut - meaning it's super versatile on the turn-shapes you can make.
Sierra Jim tests every ski we carry, and tested this ski last winter at Winter Park, Co. Here's what he had to say:
"Despite the huge amounts of snowfall we get in Tahoe every year, there are always times when it just doesn't snow, when you want a good pair of hard snow skis, and the Head i.Supershape Magnum is one of the best.
Each year, the January SIA show kicks off the ski testing season for me, and the two-day demo event that follows the show is the first event. The demo location is Winter Park Co. and the test hill that I use is one of the front trails that feeds back into the demo area. These trails always have good man-made coverage and the conditions are almost always cold, chalky and firm. Given the conditions, I use this two-day event for testing frontside skis. On each run I do the same turns and maneuvers on every ski.
At the beginning of one of the trails was a firm pitch of medium steepness that was scraped off so that it was downright slick. I took each test ski into this pitch at medium speeds and then rolled my ankle to gently put the ski on edge. All the front-side skis held reasonably well, but the 177 Magnum was a standout. When I rolled my ankle, the Magnum gripped like a Ginsu knife right from the turn in. Skiing off of that patch, I cut across the trail to an area that was un-groomed and covered with shallow, cruddy bumps. While I don’t expect technical skis like this to excel in that condition, the Magnum was surprisingly good. In fact a ski that grips as well as the Magnum does would normally be a little reluctant in short radius low angle turns but the Magnum flowed from turn to turn very well. As the trail dropped off and angled back toward the base, I found room to open up the speeds. The iSpeed Magnum stayed engaged no matter how low I dropped my hip or how fast I went.
As I ran back toward the base area on a long, low angle trail, I just rolled my ankles and made effortless carves all the way back to the base. The iSpeed Magnum from HEAD is one of the very best specialty frontside skis on the market and is a great choice for a high level ski instructor, ex-racer or other technically oriented skier. I will say that this ski would probably be wasted on a skier that skis with their feet close together and skids their turns. These can really put some excitement into a day on groomed snow without wearing you out like race skis could."
Here's Jim's video review in last year's graphic:
Make no mistake, this is a hard-snow specialist made for high speeds on groomed snow - it's obviously not meant to seek out your favorite powder stash in the trees.
But if you're looking to add to your quiver of skis something that can make those hard, icy days fun again, or if you are looking for a race ski feel without being locked into FIS racing dimensions, this ski is really tough to beat.
Tech Specs:
This ski features what HEAD calls KERS and Intelligence Technology - which they say absorbs energy as you compress the ski into a turn, then releases it as you transition for a more lively, driven feel. Whether or not those fancy systems are really making a difference - it's hard to say - but it does have the drive and power in and out of each turn that you'd expect. The dimensions are 121-71-107 in the 170 length, and it has a turning radius of 13.5 meters in the same length. They come with FF 14 DIN bindings.
