Head monsters discontinued, line shifted to "more casual skier"

[Highway Star]

I am looking for another pair of monster 88's as back up when my current ones go. They are tough to find. Dawgcatching on epicski suggested the Stockli XXXL as a replacement. Reading reviews, it sounds like it could be a comparable ski to the 88.


Any thoughts?

I ski both the '08 im88 and the 188 stockli SS (purple/yellow graphic), which is virtually the same ski as the XXXL. Both with rossi fks/geze toe. They are both beefy gs sandwich construction, wood/metal, midfat freeskiing skis. The Head's are a bit more lively, with a shorter turn radius and round flex. The stockli's have roughly the same overall flex and weight, but the tip and tail are soft and the midsection is stiffer. They are more damp, faster, smoother at medium-high speeds (until tip flap happens) and overall noticeably harder to handle...they need to be driven harder to pay off and respond. Both are my "main Killington ski" on the average day...some fast groomers, mixed snow, some trees, some bumps, etc. You really need to be a strong 180-200+ lb expert with some race background to ski the 188 in all situations, while a larger advanced skier could get away with the heads.

BTW, I also had the '05-06 im88 which was lighter, livelier, and a bit softer flexing, but still a powerful ski...overall the best skiing version if you're lighter. But mine cracked a sidewall and eventually a tail snapped. The '06-'07 version was ok, but I cracked the sidewall in 4 places. The newer '08 use a much beefier sidewall but it takes away from the feel of the ski.

Haven't skied the Peak series, but I hear the peak 94 is pretty good. Guess you have to take it model by model.

 

[bigbog]

Found a great deal on some hardly used iM72s for a frontside ski...will work well for me...I think....I hope.;-) ...Regaining some skills(lol) after a few+ 1-3 day/seasons.

 

[thetrailboss]

Just used my new Monster 76's last week at Mount Ellen on a powder/chowder day...the first day on them. They are just as great as my older iM75's but are much lighter and easier to turn. Man they can rip and are surprisingly stable at speed. They handled the chowder very well. They are forgiving in bumps. A nice find and a bargain price. I used them today as well and they are a great go-everywhere ski. They compliment my Tigersharks very well!

Long live the Monsters!

 

[Steve]

Blizzard G-Force is a definite demo.

Also the Fischer Progressor 8+, 9+ and 10+

 

[thetrailboss]

There are still some Monsters out there on the market, but some are fetching higher prices.

I found a pair of the Monster 103 Big Teams from 2009 at a killer price. Seriously considering this as a charger west coast ski. Too good a deal to turn down it seems. I am concerned that it may be too much ski even considering its shorter length.

 

[deadheadskier]

I've noticed the prices going up. I've been looking at some IM78s and they've gone up over $500 where you can still find them.

Probably will end up just holding on to the B2s for now

 

[thetrailboss]

Yeah, the few remaining 102's are now at least $400 versus the Team 103, which are selling for $229.

 

[thetrailboss]

LOVE the 76's. As snowmonster can tell you I used them Saturday in the glades at Mount Ellen and Slidebrook and Sunday at Smugg's skiing everything. Perfect ski. Just soft enough to handle bumps; quick enough for the trees; the rounded tail gives the ski excellent rebound and response and I don't get hooked up in deeper snow or bumps.

 

[ctenidae]

So are my 5-year-old iM85's a collector's item now?

 

[thetrailboss]

So are my 5-year-old iM85's a collector's item now?

Yeah. If they are like my iM75's, they have like 200-250 days on them and are ready for retirement. They don't owe me anything. Love those skis.

These are joined by their younger siblings, the Monster 76's:

And I have been spending WAY too much time drooling over skis lately. After talking with a couple shops, I snagged one of the two remaining pairs of Head Monster 102 sw's for a super closeout price. I was looking at the 103, but reports were that they were way, way too stiff and that the 183 would be impossible to tame and the 173's would be a tad short for what I was doing.

I heard consistently that the 102 is a very good ski for varied conditions and skiing open terrain fast which is what I want to do. At Alta in December I was on a pair of 170's and really noticed that a few more centimeters would have helped with handling. So with my weight and desire to ski more conditions and terrain, I bumped back up to 183 cm length. The 170's feel short out west.

These are going to be the big west mountain chargers. With the sidecut and stiffness there is no way it could be used on much in bound in the east. These are stiff, but much less stiff than the 103 (the latter described as "the boards" by some).

It is interesting that I paid less for these than I did my boots, but they are 2009 models so they want to clear them out.

I will admit that having a great experience with two sets of Monsters led me to snag these. I know that they are stiffer and bigger, but I really like the Monsters and the damp feel of a Head ski.

 

[wa-loaf]

So I skied the Head Peak 90 today, which is the follow up to last years neutered Peak 88 with the awfull graphics. Graphics are much better and they changed the sidecut and construction some. It skied much better than the Peak 88 I tried last year even though they still have the funky articulated tip.

 

[thetrailboss]

Bring back the Monsters!!!!

 

[wa-loaf]

Bring back the Monsters!!!!

I never skied the Monster 88 so it's hard for me to compare, but they definitely are better than last years. It was soft so I can't speak to what the edge grip will be like on them.

 

[thetrailboss]

I have not heard much about the Head Peaks.

 

[wa-loaf]

I have not heard much about the Head Peaks.

The Peaks are the successor to the Monsters.

 

[thetrailboss]

The Peaks are the successor to the Monsters.

Sounds like you are demoing for purchase. Have you been looking at Strand's? They carried Head. Another place to look is LevelNineSports.com. They have a lot of Head skis.

 

[wa-loaf]

Sounds like you are demoing for purchase. Have you been looking at Strand's? They carried Head. Another place to look is LevelNineSports.com. They have a lot of Head skis.

No, I was at the Ride-em and Rank-em demo put on by the shop at Wachusett for next years skis. The Head rep told me the new ones were improved so I wanted to compare them to my impression from last year.

Not shopping, I just bought a pair of Salomon Enduros that fill that space nicely.

 

[Puck it]

Did they go back to the two layers of metal in the whole ski? They took out metal in the Peak 88 and made it a limp noodle. I need to replace monster 88 that I have now due the base getting thin.

 

[wa-loaf]

Did they go back to the two layers of metal in the whole ski? They took out metal in the Peak 88 and made it a limp noodle. I need to replace monster 88 that I have now due the base getting thin.

I don't think they went that far. It is better. You might like the Rossi Experience 98.

 

[Puck it]

I don't think they went that far. It is better. You might like the Rossi Experience 98.

I may go with the stockli xlv if these peak 90's get bad reviews.