Ladies who spend a lot of time on trail but also want some versatility for fun-loving skiing will enjoy the overall composure of this great ski. For years, we’ve been touting the Head Kore skis as having an insane blend of light weight and stiff flex, and those thoughts continue on into 2024 with the Head Kore 85 W.As the narrowest of the Kore line, the 85 W gets a new graphic this year, butremains one of the lightest and quickest all-mountain skis in the industry.We’ve marveled at the Kore build for a while now, and sincethey’ve done a great job at expanding the models within the brand, it just gets better and better. We’ve also gotten better as ski reviewers in identifying who this ski is best for, because it’snot quite as clear as some other skis out there. Not everyone likes a skithat’s super reactive, especially on firmer snow, but there are others who wouldn’t have it any other way. Those skiers fit very well on something like the Kore 85 W, as it has the build, shape, and profile to be a daily driver for a variety of conditions and terrain. As the narrowest of the line, it still holds a lot of the freeride characteristics while staying firmly in the all-mountain realm, and even dipping a bit into front side.

By building the ski with a light weight karuba and poplar wood core, we get a lot of energy at a pittance of weight. All of the other materials that Head uses are focused on blending lightness and stiffness. We get two carbon laminates as a result, with the top layer curving to match the chamfer of the topsheet. Whenever carbon or other structural materials are placed in a 3D format, it accentuates the properties, so for carbon to be curved, it makes the flex that much stiffer. They also use a graphene strip through the center to stiffen the ski even more. Keeping it somewhat quiet though, is the use of damping materials under the carbon and on top of the core, so these layers do assist in keeping the ski less jittery and surprisingly calm under duress. This all adds up to a fairly light weight of under 1500 grams in the 163.

In terms of shape, the Kore 85 W follows the same properties and principles as the wider skis in the line, but in a narrower overall footprint. This 85 W is only actually an 85 in the 170cm length. It goes wider and narrower as it gets longer and shorter from there, so keep that in mind when you go about your ski buying process. We get a 14.8-meter turn radius in the 170, so it’s on the shorter side of the spectrum. The nice thing here is that the weight allows skiers to make different shapes and style turns no matter the conditions or terrain. Since the ski is reactive by nature, it’s less important as to the turn radius. There’s not a whole lot of taper in this ski, as it does get smaller as the skis get narrower. There’s still an appropriate amount of tip rocker for flotation and smoothness, but the tail is relatively flat. This makes it versatile and useful without being overly chattery. 

What we’ve found mainly is that lighter skiers who prefer shallower edge angles and slower speeds will get along just fine with this ski. Heavier skiers with or without solid technique will have the power to flex it, so they’ll have a nice time as well. The one group of skiers that we’ve found have a tough time are the lighter skiers with good skills. They want to make a clean and round turn and have the balance to get it up on edge but lack the weight to bend the ski. As a result, it just doesn’t turn as cleanly. Other than that, though, the 2024 Head Kore 85 W is a wonderful all-mountain ski that’s as fun and easy to turn as anything else out there. Highly versatile and an absolute blast to ski, the Kore 85 W combines a rare ratio of weight to stiffness that make it energetic, precise, and poppy all at the same time.