The 2023 Head Supershape E-Rally continues the tradition of strong front side skis coming from Head’s on-trail category. They have a ton of success on the World Cup level as far as racing is concerned, and a lot of that technology and construction carries down into the more recreational Supershape skis. It would certainly be a disservice to refer to these as “recreational” given the high-performance ceiling that they possess, but it’s still a resort-oriented front side carver at the end of the day, albeit a really, really good one. By using their World Cup Sandwich cap construction, Head implements a full wood core with two sheets of metal and a central strip of graphene. This makes the skis incredibly smooth, damp, and powerful with a good stiffness and energy running the middle of the ski. These E-Rally's feature a 78-mm waist width and produce a 14-meter turn shape in the 170 cm length. As a result, these skis love to be on edge and in a carved turn. With zero taper and slight tip rocker, it’s easy to initiate, but holds tight in the tails until the end of the turn. Skiers who know how to get from one turn to the next with efficiency will love this construction and shape. They also utilize their EMC, or Energy Management Circuit, to filter out unwanted vibrations, keeping the ski smooth and stable throughout the turn in a varieity of conditions and terrain.
ROCKER PROFILE
Camber
CORE MATERIALS
Graphene
PREFERRED TERRAIN
Groomers
On the 163 Laura McLaughlin loved the length and scored it top marks of 5 out of 5 for overall impression, torsional stiffness, edge hold, and stability. She gave 4’s for forgiveness, playfulness, quickness, and maneuverability. Lowly 2’s showed up for flotation and versatility, and that’s not that surprising given the more one-dimensional personality of the ski. Laura states that “This ski was great for the firm conditions we had the day of the test. Strengths are that you can trust this ski with every turn on very firm conditions. It's stable and always there when you need it to be. As the afternoon warmed up the snow on the bottom third of the trail the ski showed it true preferences. While very happy on firm snow it, it sinks and is non responsive in soft mash potatoes. Anyone who owns this ski should also purchase as ski out of the Kore line up as well!” Brad Schauerman skied the 177 and called it perfect, noting that “These skis seemed much more versatile than others in its class easier to make multiple turn shapes. Definitely excels at ripping gs turns but I was surprised how well it did in softer snow. Fun skis!” We agree, Brad, these things are a whole lot of fun.
Greg Petrics is one of our more accomplished carving testers, so it's great to get his feedback and experience on skis like this. Regarding his 177cm test pair: “This ski felt just right, and was true to size. I would choose this for myself, and in fact I am actively seeking a pair to buy right now.” Wonder if he got them? He scored the ski 5’s out of 5 for stability, playfulness, forgiveness, torsional stiffness, edge hold, and overall impression. A low 1 for flotation is not surprising, and 4’s round out his card for versatility, quickness, and maneuverability. Greg writes in his mini-novel: “This ski is the one for me in the Supershape line. As with all the Supershape skis, the personality is an on-piste skiing foundation that also is at home elsewhere on the mountain. For me this ski strikes that balance most perfectly. On-piste its absolutely joyful, and the solid construction from Head blankets you in endless grip. The turn radius is just right for that "super slalom" radius that is oh-so-fun, but also oh-so-critical to keeping speeds appropriately in check. But there's even more, the ski doesn't chatter at speed (or at least not that I found), and just keeps pouring on the grip the more you press on it. My only small gripe is that the radius felt just a bit long for this type of "consumer" carver. It really wanted to go a little wider than I expected. That said, it's all good, and this appears to be a consequence of the ski being set up to do more than just carve pisted snow. I dipped off the side of Nosedive to see how it felt in some firm bumpy woods with some "micro snow" on top, and I was pleasantly surprised how playfully it gave up its railroad edge hold and allowed me to slarve a bit around trees and bumps. This ski really feels like the perfect ski to take on a European ski vacation, and enjoy everything the Alps throw at you from firm piste to powder peaks and everything in between. The versatility is quite high, but don't be fooled: it's not a powder ski. The recommended terrain is basically all over the mountain, but this ski is mostly at home on the pisted slopes. The ski would be suitable for an advanced intermediate, and also for advanced skiers. I think it might be a bit overwhelming for an intermediate who is closer to "just getting started". Final word: you can't go wrong with this ski; good luck finding a pair!”
For years, this ski has been a skier’s favorite. It has a great blend of shape and construction that makes it an ideal choice for advanced and expert skiers who know how to turn a ski and like the precision and power that Head has gained notoriety for. As a front side option, there’s not a whole lot out there that has more to offer, and our testers certainly picked up on that fact.
