Head Kore 105 Freeride Ski 2022 – 2023 | Review - Mpora

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Head Kore 105 Freeride Ski 2022 – 2023 | Review

The Kore 105 provides an extremely versatile ride for playful riding across the entire mountain

Why we chose the Head Kore 105: Playful, stable, durable 

Lengths (cm): 163, 170, 177, 184 & 191
Sidecut (mm): 135 / 105 / 125 mm (184 cm)
Radius: 17.8m (184 cm)
Rocker Profile: Rocker-Camber-Rocker
Weight (per ski): 1,895g
Price: £640

More Info 

There’s been quite a few changes to the Kore series of freeride skis from Head since their launch in 2018, with either the construction or shaping being tweaked year-on-year. We’re big fans of this approach from Head as they’re clearly listening to consumer and athlete feedback, and then acting on this feedback in an effort to make the best performing ski they can.

Head Kore 105 Build

The main update came in the 21/22 winter season, where the range saw a large construction overhaul to get to the point where it is today. This new Kore features a construction that’s now made of a mix of an all-new Karuba-Poplar wood core, carbon fibre with layers of fibreglass sitting on the top, and graphene towards the tips and tails.

While previous Kore skis had made use of the honeycomb shaped Koroyd, the updated Kore skis now feature layers of fibreglass and carbon laminates for a more traditional construction. Last year’s Polyester topsheet has been replaced by a Polyamid topsheet to increase durability.

To further boost durability, the Kore series now feature a chamfered sidewall, where the topsheet slightly folds over the sidewall (kind of like a semi-cap construction). This slightly rounded sidewall also helps to boost the playfulness of the skis by making them a touch softer towards the tips.

Weight has always been a huge selling point of the Kore range, and this continues to be the case for the 22/23 range. The carbon sandwich construction helps to bring the weight down to an impressive 1,840 grams per ski, for the 184 cm length that we tested. That’s a highly impressive number, especially when you consider the downhill performance of these planks.

Speaking of the downhill performance, the Kore 105 has a relatively stiff tip (although it feels nothing like that on the 21/22 Kore skis, perhaps thanks to the newly chamfered sidewalls). The stiffness increases progressively through the underfoot section and behind the heels. It looks like Head has also made the tails a touch softer, in line with the tips, to help boost the skis’ playfulness and ease of turn initiation.

This change in flex runs throughout the whole Kore line, where the wider skis in the range – the 117, 111 and these 105s – run lighter and more playful than the narrower skis in the range, which are a little stiffer for direct power transfer on firm snow.

Head Kore 105 Shaping

The shape remains pretty consistent with other versions of the Kore range, with a pretty tapered tip to help keep the skis loose and nimble in 3D snow conditions. A much more traditional tail, meanwhile, still gives the skis a predictable and locked-in feeling when you are laying them over an edge on hard snow.

The 105 mm waist width makes the Kore 105s an ideal all-mountain freeride ski, with enough float for all but the deepest days. The Kore series still features what we’d call a pretty traditional mount location, so you might want to play about with bringing your mount forward depending on your ski style.

Taking a look at the rocker profile, you’ve quite obviously got a touch of rocker both in the tips and tails. There’s also that bit of camber underfoot to give the skis that blend of manoeuvrability in the soft snow, and good bite on firmer conditions. This rocker profile isn’t anything surprising, especially considering the 105 mm waist width.

Who Is The Head Kore 105 For?

Getting back to our final thoughts on the Kore 105s, they really impressed us with their all-mountain versatility. Head has made the skis much more pivotable and playful thanks to a few tweaks to the construction, while still upholding their incredible all-mountain prowess.

If you’re a playful charger who loves to mix things up – both in the terrain you ski and the conditions you ski in – then you certainly can’t go wrong with the new and updated Kore 105s. They offer bucket loads of confidence for hard charging around the resort, and now have that extra spice of playfulness.

What Is The Head Kore 105 Good At?

Versatility: 9/10
Stability: 8/10
Playfulness: 8/10

Topics:

Freeride Ski Head Skis Ski 100 2022/23
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