Light, quick, and fun to ski, the 2023 Head Super Joy truly lives up to its name. They do a great job with all of the Joy skis in that realm. If responsiveness and quickness are what you’re all about, the Super Joy is the right ski for the job. Built with a karuba light weight wood core, the skis also get Head’s Carbon Sandwich Cap Construction, which layers two sheets of carbon on top and bottom of the wood core. The upper layer of carbon is curved to match the upper shape of the ski, and this puts a new level of stiffness to the ski, allowing it to be loaded up with power and releasing it on the back end. Additionally, the graphene strip that runs the central portion of the ski makes it snappy and energetic due to the nature of the material. What the skier gets is a very light and agile ski that can carve quick, clean turns on groomers, giving you the confidence to set that edge and make the ski come around easily and with a high level of fun. The Super Joy, and its 75-mm waist generates a 12.2-meter turn radius in the 163 cm length, and this is certainly on the short side. It’s ideal for learning and emerging carvers who want to emphasize fun and ease of use.
ROCKER PROFILE
Rocker / Camber
CORE MATERIALS
LYT Tech Construction
PREFERRED TERRAIN
Groomers, All Mountain
Susan Dorn was on that 163, noting that it felt “okay. She had some higher scores of 4’s out of 5 for overall impression, versatility, playfulness, quickness, maneuverability, and stability. She gave a 3 for forgiveness, likely due to the carbon laminates, and a 2 for flotation, which isn’t that surprising given the narrow waist and front-side nature. Susan calls the Super Joy “quick and damp. Did well in the soft crud, and it was very snappy. Easy to load up the energy, and great feedback on the tail end of the turn. For me, it felt a little too light to let it run, rather it was a lot happier in shorter and quicker turns.” For most skiers who are looking at/for a ski like this, that makes sense, though, in that they’re likely not hitting high speeds and letting gravity take over. This Super Joy skier prefers to be in control of their speed, turn shape, and duration.
Allison Kozar called her 163 “just fine,” so not a huge reaction from these two testers in terms of the length, but that’s okay! Allison scored it all 3’s out of 5 except for a lone 2 for flotation, again highlighting the front side emphasis for this ski. Due to the length and the short-turning nature, Allison noted that for her, the Super Joy is “Not the most stable carving ski. It felt kind of choppy, but very easy to roll over edge to edge. Tight turning radius.” Again, for the skier interested in this type of thing, the Super Joy sounds like it operates at a high-quality level. The lightness, the carbon, and the short turn arc all lead to this type of impression.
Intended audience is everything when it comes to testing and talking about skis. While these two testers aren’t likely in the market for a Super Joy, it’s hard to argue that a vast majority of the skiing population would be totally stoked with the ease of turning, agility, and responsive nature of this front side specialist.
