2023 Head Kore X 85

As far as all-mountain skis are concerned, the mid-80's is a great place to be. The 2023 Head Kore X 85 is an awesome choice for intermediate skiers who are looking for one pair of skis to bridge the gap between front side and all-mountain, with an emphasis on fun and lively skiing. Built with a wood core and fiberglass laminates, the Kore X 85 also gets a strip of graphene that stiffens the flex and increases the responsiveness of the ski. As a result, you get a pretty high-end feeling ski that borrows a lot of attributes from both Kore and Shape lines in the Head catalog.

At 85 mm underfoot, these skis generate a 14.8-meter turn radius, and since the skis aren’t too powerful, intermediates will be able to access this sidecut with greater ease than with a stiffer and burlier ski. This lines up well with the intended audience, showing a commitment to the middle class, which is really where most skiers are. There’s some tip and tail rocker to speak of here, and while nobody’s going to mistake these for powder skis, the lighter weight and the rocker profile do make them pretty floaty for 85’s. Additionally, they borrow a more rounded taper shape from the Kore skis, and this gives them that all-mountain personality that boosts the versatility and well-rounded character.

John McIntosh would go with the 177 over his 170 cm test length, noting that while it felt true to size, it just wasn’t his size. He scored the ski 4’s out of 5 for overall impression, versatility, forgiveness, playfulness, quickness, and maneuverability. He gave 3’s for torsional stiffness, edge hold, and stability, and a lone 2 for flotation. John calls it “A very approachable ski that is pretty forgiving and on the playful side. The Graphene adds a light but energetic feel to the ski. Not a hard charging ski, more for the beginner to advanced intermediate skier looking for an easy-going ski. Not great edge grip or stability but that is not what this ski is intended for.”

The intention is everything with this ski. Head has a lot of other skis in their catalog that would work better for advanced and expert skiers, but that’s such a small portion of the whole skiing population. In reality, the meat of the populace lies squarely in the lower-end intermediate zone, so it just makes a lot of sense to make good skis that fit well in that category. The 2023 Head Kore X 85 is just that ski, and it will entertain and enthrall a vast majority of skiers out there on the hill.