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Head Kore 117 2019 – 2020 Ski | Review

Power and a 117 mm waist all at a weight of 2000 grams – this is the Head Kore 117

Lengths (cm): 180 & 189
Sidecut (mm): 145 / 117 / 129 (189cm)
Radius: 24.6 (189cm)
Rocker Profile: Rocker-Camber-Rocker
Camber Underfoot: 4mm
Weight (per ski): 2000g
Price: £650

Website: head.com

Why we chose the Head Kore 117: Burly construction and shaping for aggressive skiers.

When a brand promises to have stripped weight from a ski yet somehow managed to keep a high level of strength within the ski at the same time, we instantly become skeptical of these claims. And, what’s more, we can usually guarantee they’ve been written up by the marketing department.

However, when these claims are made by Head, a company with one of the finest reputations in the ski industry and a seriously impressive roster of athletes on their books, our ears instantly prick up.

“Sitting at the top of this series also means that it’s going to be a stiff ski”

As a point of reference to the weight of these skis, the DPS Alchemist Wailer 112 – a classic powder touring ski – weighs in at a very similar 2080 grams. This 2000 gram benchmark isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but it allows for a great blend of stability and manageable weight for when you’re really earning those turns.

The Kore 117 is the widest in Head’s Kore range of freeride focused touring skis. Sitting at the top of this series also means that it’s going to be a stiff ski. The stiffest portion of the ski runs underfoot and remains pretty damn stiff throughout, although things soften up slightly in the tips and tails. Give these a flex, and you’ll soon realise that they’re still all about the downhill.

How have Head created a light, yet stiff machine? Well, there’s two different technologies working hand in hand here; Koroyd (the shock absorbing stuff you get in helmets) and Graphene (the hardest material in the world).

The lightweight and elastic properties of each of these materials, when combined together with a traditional fibreglass and carbon laminate, means you’ve got yourself an impressively damp ride (at a respectable weight, given the skis width).

“The Head Kore 117 is going to love long, fast, carves at high speed”

Featuring a similar shape (and recommended mount point) to the Armada Tracer 118 CHX, you can tell on first meeting with it that the Head Kore 117 is going to love long, fast, carves at high speed.

See the Head Kore as a lighter weight, and wider, Faction Dictator 3.0. Do that, and you’ll soon get to grips with the idea that this ski is designed for people that are looking to charge around the resort-accessible backcountry and make occasional trips beyond the resort boundaries.

Mount these bad boys up with an Atomic Shift or Tyrolia Adrenalin, and combine it with none other than the Head Kore 1 boots, and you’ll have yourself a hard charging machine that’ll be more than capable of laying trenches at high speed through 3D snow.

The Kore lineup of skis and boots from Head represents their freeride devision

Heavier and/or taller skiers, looking for solid stability, are going to love the 189cm length.

Industry Insider

Head Spokesperson

A story of innovation and design, lightness and strength, and a new horizon for freeride. Innovation is about discovering what is truly necessary, it’s not a process of addition, but selection.

“Take away the baggage and extra weight and leave only the purest. Leave only the core. Kore skis offer the purest in lightness, flotation and control. Lightness is achieved by fusing Graphene, Koroyd, and Karuba wood into the core of the ski.

“Flotation comes from the graphene in the tip and tail which allows for a thinner profile maximising flotation and manoeuvrability in soft snow. Supreme control is dialled in from the shock absorbing Koroyd layer and Graphene working together for strong torsional stiffness and grip”

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