Subscribed, eagerly. Top of my list for purchase this year. As a lover of the Titan, I think it may be a good choice.
Demoed a pair a few years ago. Best suspension I’ve ever felt in a ski. Soft off the top, stiff at the bottom, like a good mtb!
I just came back from my trip to Jackson Hole with my newly purchased 18-19 Monster 88. I used to racer and coaching racing teams for so long, in my later 40s, and skied on race skis (non-FIS) for last 30 years. I was looking for all mountain skis which would give me closer feel and performance of race skis, I tried few all mountain skis and got very disappointed with their performance on frontside, so I decided to go with Head Monster 88 after reading your review and doing my own research and I have to say I couldn’t be more pleased with my decision. The skis are versatile and perform well in off piste and boot deep powder and it gives comparable performance to GS race skis (again, non-FIS) on hard packed groomed snow. You can make high angle carving turns on Monster 88 on hard packed snow without worrying about losing your grip. My only complain is as one of your reviews says it really need some speed to become alive and it is not easy to carve on lower speeds and make short carving turns. No problem making skidding short turns though. All that said, I loved skiing on them and highly recommend it for someone looking for stiff all mountain skis with more weight toward frontside performance.
I was bent on picking up a pair of these. I’ve owned the ‘16 m83 and ‘16 m98. I’m sorry, but there is no way the new 88 is a mere 10% softer in the tips than the 16 and 17 models (which were identical and I’ve flexed and they felt every bit as very stiff as my 83’s).
I’ve not had a chance to fondle the ‘18 88’s but Head says 10% softer and this review says 19 is similar to 18….they are at least 20% softer in tips (to ‘16 and ‘17s) based on my highly accurate hand flexing meter. It’s staggering. I’m in disbelief. There is no way (NO WAY) this ski can have close to the chops of its predicessor. I’ll have to see if I can try a pair.
Anyway, just saying. I was expecting a very similar, albeit a bit softer, flex. That was not the case.
I just spent 4 solid hours on a
pair of these in 177. I’m 5’10” and 165lbs and ski the 16 m83 and 16 m98 both in 177.
I may have been a bit off above: maybe the flex of the forebody is only about 10% softer than the pre-18 models. Maybe I was just surprised to have it flex as much as it did relative to the lack of flex of the ‘16’s. And I know not apples to apples but the flex of the old 83 and 88 feel same bloody stiff to me.
To me the new ‘19 skis just like a monster, but I think Head was smart. They took a ski tbat really nobody (no mortal anyway) would be able to top out and reeled that in a bit, making it more useable across a broader rangeof conditions. I actually think it’s better.
You can navigate huge, shitty, all over the place bumps on the nastiest runs with these far better than on my 83’s. Why? Simply because there is some compliance to the ski in front of the toe piece. The 83’s (and my 98’s for that matter) are akin to putting a binding on a 177cm 2×4 and bumping that. I love bumps and do not suck at them, for what it’s worth, but in super tight, huge troughed out bumps the old monsters are real handfuls I would think to anyone.
It carves like a monster and it is exactly like the poster above put it: they really do not excel until you get them moving and bending them into varied radiuses is not something they do.
Semi off topic- I’m wondering if anyone has info on the Monster 83 x?
Not much online about them but it looks like an interesting ski- a bit of a mystery.
I’ve been on Elan Ripticks for tours and resort for a while and am finding that the light weight is not a limitation for my current resort skiing (the hardest of East Coast hardpack)- improved technique, keeping them on high edge makes these things incredibly capable and they rail terrible ice so well that ice becomes surprisingly satisfying to ski on.
Looking for a similarly light ski that’s piste/carving oriented and lacks the “Amphibio” design (it works so well that I think I’m getting lazy…!) Would be great to expand the quiver to include non Amphibio again while keeping weight down.
Subscribed, eagerly. Top of my list for purchase this year. As a lover of the Titan, I think it may be a good choice.
Demoed a pair a few years ago. Best suspension I’ve ever felt in a ski. Soft off the top, stiff at the bottom, like a good mtb!
I just came back from my trip to Jackson Hole with my newly purchased 18-19 Monster 88. I used to racer and coaching racing teams for so long, in my later 40s, and skied on race skis (non-FIS) for last 30 years. I was looking for all mountain skis which would give me closer feel and performance of race skis, I tried few all mountain skis and got very disappointed with their performance on frontside, so I decided to go with Head Monster 88 after reading your review and doing my own research and I have to say I couldn’t be more pleased with my decision. The skis are versatile and perform well in off piste and boot deep powder and it gives comparable performance to GS race skis (again, non-FIS) on hard packed groomed snow. You can make high angle carving turns on Monster 88 on hard packed snow without worrying about losing your grip. My only complain is as one of your reviews says it really need some speed to become alive and it is not easy to carve on lower speeds and make short carving turns. No problem making skidding short turns though. All that said, I loved skiing on them and highly recommend it for someone looking for stiff all mountain skis with more weight toward frontside performance.
I was bent on picking up a pair of these. I’ve owned the ‘16 m83 and ‘16 m98. I’m sorry, but there is no way the new 88 is a mere 10% softer in the tips than the 16 and 17 models (which were identical and I’ve flexed and they felt every bit as very stiff as my 83’s).
I’ve not had a chance to fondle the ‘18 88’s but Head says 10% softer and this review says 19 is similar to 18….they are at least 20% softer in tips (to ‘16 and ‘17s) based on my highly accurate hand flexing meter. It’s staggering. I’m in disbelief. There is no way (NO WAY) this ski can have close to the chops of its predicessor. I’ll have to see if I can try a pair.
Anyway, just saying. I was expecting a very similar, albeit a bit softer, flex. That was not the case.
I just spent 4 solid hours on a
pair of these in 177. I’m 5’10” and 165lbs and ski the 16 m83 and 16 m98 both in 177.
I may have been a bit off above: maybe the flex of the forebody is only about 10% softer than the pre-18 models. Maybe I was just surprised to have it flex as much as it did relative to the lack of flex of the ‘16’s. And I know not apples to apples but the flex of the old 83 and 88 feel same bloody stiff to me.
To me the new ‘19 skis just like a monster, but I think Head was smart. They took a ski tbat really nobody (no mortal anyway) would be able to top out and reeled that in a bit, making it more useable across a broader rangeof conditions. I actually think it’s better.
You can navigate huge, shitty, all over the place bumps on the nastiest runs with these far better than on my 83’s. Why? Simply because there is some compliance to the ski in front of the toe piece. The 83’s (and my 98’s for that matter) are akin to putting a binding on a 177cm 2×4 and bumping that. I love bumps and do not suck at them, for what it’s worth, but in super tight, huge troughed out bumps the old monsters are real handfuls I would think to anyone.
It carves like a monster and it is exactly like the poster above put it: they really do not excel until you get them moving and bending them into varied radiuses is not something they do.
Semi off topic- I’m wondering if anyone has info on the Monster 83 x?
Not much online about them but it looks like an interesting ski- a bit of a mystery.
I’ve been on Elan Ripticks for tours and resort for a while and am finding that the light weight is not a limitation for my current resort skiing (the hardest of East Coast hardpack)- improved technique, keeping them on high edge makes these things incredibly capable and they rail terrible ice so well that ice becomes surprisingly satisfying to ski on.
Looking for a similarly light ski that’s piste/carving oriented and lacks the “Amphibio” design (it works so well that I think I’m getting lazy…!) Would be great to expand the quiver to include non Amphibio again while keeping weight down.
Thanks for any input.