The 2023 Dynastar Speed 4x4 963 is a fantastic example of a front side ski with all-mountain capabilities. Thanks to the shape, construction, and profile of these skis, advanced and expert skiers continue to have a whole lot of fun on these well-rounded and high-performance skis. At 82 mm underfoot, we’re right in the sweet spot for blending the front side and all-mountain. Narrow enough to carve a clean turn on firm groomers, yet wide enough for stability and flotation through crud and chop, the 4x4 963 lives up to its off-road name. The grip of these skis definitely makes it feel like you’re connected to the snow like four-wheel drive with studded snows on an ice-covered road. Built with a blend of beech and polyurethane in their hybrid core, the skis have an interesting and unique mix of attributes for all-mountain high-performance skiing. A titanal plate underfoot provides stability at speed as well as grip underfoot. That metal plate goes a long way to increase the top-end performance and power of these skis. In the 179 cm length, we’re seeing a 16-meter turn radius, so that’s just on the long side of short. If you spend most of your time on groomed terrain and cruising, these skis should be at the top of the list.
ROCKER PROFILE
Rocker / Camber
CORE MATERIALS
3D Profile
PREFERRED TERRAIN
Groomers, All Mountain
Matt McGinnis skied the 179, and noted it felt a touch long due to the mostly camber profile. He scored it top marks of 5 out of 5 for playfulness, quickness, maneuverability, and stability. Overall impression, versatility, torsional stiffness, edge hold, and forgiveness all got 4’s. Matt states that “These skis have an incredible amount of camber. Like so much that when I put them together for the gondola, I thought there was something between them as the bindings barely connected. Turns out, nope, just tons of camber. As expected, that showed up in a big way on the hill. With this much camber, these skis were plenty lively, readily jumping from edge to edge, and really digging into every turn. The result is a ski that lets you play. That’s really the right word for it. Yes, you can absolutely lay a long arcing carve on these, but where they really shine is edge to edge transitions as the camber provides plenty of bounce. In fact, at times, it almost caught me off guard. I’m tempted to say they might even have *too much* pep sometimes, but in reality, I think that’s a characteristic I would come to love if I owned these skis. Ultimately, I think these skis would be a ton of fun for a wide range of intermediate to advanced skiers looking for an ultra-playful carving ski.” We sometimes forget that having camber and energy built into the ski goes a long way in making it a lively and springy product. We can certainly get caught up in the bowed-out freeride skis and we forget that there’s a lot of fun to be had out there by generating high-energy carved turns.
Devin Frye-O'Neil also skied the 179 and found it to be slightly short due to more rocker in the shovel. Interesting split of experiences here for this ski so far. Devin scored it top marks of 3 out of 5 for overall impression, versatility, torsional stiffness, edge hold, forgiveness, quickness, maneuverability, and stability. His “First turns on the ski felt kinda funky, but once it was laid on its edge, it felt good. It didn’t have enough grip for a hard snow day. It should be really fun in 4-6 inches of powder though.” So more of an all-mountain experience for Devin versus Matt.
It seems like there’s a little something for everyone on this ski, and that’s exemplified by our two testers. While Matt found joy in the bouncy and springy nature of the camber of the ski, Devin fell more into the soft-snow charger category. Neither are wrong, and that’s one of the highlights of the ski, in that it’s able to be multiple things for multiple skiers, and that’s what it’s really all about in the all-mountain category.
