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Head Monster 78 Review from Tahoe
In March, my wife Heidi and I spent our honeymoon in Lake Tahoe, CA. The late season trip was an excellent chance to try out the Head Monster 78. I couldn't have been more impressed. I had the opportunity to put the Head Monster 78 through everything I could possibly throw at it. The first few days we had 45-50 degree weather, with icy conditions in the early morning, and pure slush in the afternoon. First the ice... The Head Monster 78 held a rock solid edge and was as stable as a GS race ski. Absolutely no chatter. The only knock I had was that I got the skis over so far, my boots bottomed out. This is obviously due to the flat mounted bindings, which I tend to prefer on the backside of the mountain. A lifted railflex binding would have come in handy on the hardpack.
During the afternoon, we ran into a thick and heavy slush. Obviously no ski is expected to excel in these conditions, but the Head Monster 78 handled just fine. Clearly, I wasn't able to get them over nearly as far in the slush without washing out, but it had a wide enough platform to give a little float.
Finally the day we had been hoping for arrived. Weather report predicted a heavy snowstorm for Saturday, and Mother Nature certainly delivered. Heidi and I packed the car early, purchased a pair of tire chains at the nearest gas station, and headed South to Kirkwood. We arrived a bit later than we had hoped due to the slow travel through the mountainous area, but a maintenance problem on a lift servicing the backside of the mountain kept a stash of fresh powder ready for us. An hour later, the lift was operational and ski patrol gave us the go ahead. It was awesome. Knee deep powder and finally an opportunity to try out the Head Monster 78 in the deep snow. I was truly impressed. 78 mm underfoot proved to be plenty. I floated with ease, and surprisingly so with 2 wider models of Head Monsters available... The Head Monster 82 and the Head Monster 88. We had snow the entire day, covering the tracks we just made. I hiked to the top of Thimble Peak and got a few more runs of untouched in before heading back to Heavenly.
In short, after being impressed by the Head Monster 78 in the east, it proved to be a phenomenal ski in the west as well. I ski just about every ski made each year, and I have to say, the Head Monster 78 is by far one of the best skis I have ever ridden. Short radius turns, long radius turns, soft snow, ice, groomed, it absolutely handles it all.
The Head Monster 78, as well as other Head skis can be found at sunandsnow.net.