Head Absolute Joy

[Liquid Yellow]

Hey Divas.

I'm thinking of adding a carver to compliment my Black Pearls. After two weeks on them, I think they are AMAZING skis, but they're really best in the soft stuff. Whilst they've not let me down on the icy hardpack, I'd like an ice-skating carver I can take on holidays when there's been no snow or prospect of any..

I do admit I didn't enjoy the BPs much on frozen corduroy and boilerplate! (They didn't lose their edge, just flapped a lot).

Basically I'm a gear slut

I've been looking at stiffer frontside carvers, and end of season deals and I really like the look of the Absolute Joy.

Any thoughts?

My other possibles are the K2 Potion 76 Xti or the Head Super Joy. However I think the Super Joy might be a bit too pricey.

 

[marzNC]

For what it's worth, I liked the Absolut Joy. Only had a couple short runs during a demo weekend at my little mountain. Hoping to get on them again at the Alta Demo Day. I also have the BPs, which are the skis that go on trips out west. For a driving trip to the northeast, I would bring both.

Haven't tried the K2 Potion, although they were another ski at the demo weekend.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

The wife of a friend of mine in California recently purchased the Absolute Joys and LOVES them. They ski in southern california in the san bernadino mountains. I snowboarded when I lived there but I remember a lot of hard pack. She is very happy with them.

I have been on a carver/ice ski quest ski myself and my favorites are the Volkl Charisma and my new favorite the Rossignol Pursuit 16. Lots of good choices out there.

 

[Ski CT]

I have been on the Super Joys all season, and I love them! I mostly ski in New England, but I have taken them to CO as well, and they performed great! They sizzle, can handle anything thrown at them. Slice and dice through the hard stuff, good in the chopped as well. I am not sure if there are any left at this time, maybe wait till next season...

 

[mtnrunner]

I'm an intermediate skier so I'm still working on technique and stuff which could flavor my opinion. I demo'd the Absolut Joy in 7" of powder and the first few runs were great but then it was like they were making me work way to hard. It could have been a technique problem. I turned them in and demo'd the Potion 84 xti and fell in love. Seriously I was having so much fun on them and felt so much more confident. The tip with the Potion line is do not get the integrated binding. It makes the ski super heavy. The guys I was skiing with on the demo pair couldn't believe how heavy they were. I bought them without the bindings and added Rossignol bindings and they are so much lighter than the integrated ski (length was the same).

 

[badger]

I demoed the Absolute Joy a few weeks ago while it was snowing. A ski demo on fresh snow seems rare this season!
These skis are torsionally stiff, but incredibly lightweight and were a breeze to ski. My impression needs to be seasoned with a few more runs on them because there was not enough truly tracked out snow to get a sense of how well they might do in the ruts and piles. They impressed me quite a bit. I am very light ; and these skis seemed almost too light for me because I was getting tossed a bit in the slightest of bumps. When I demo skis my mindset is the pretense of "wanting to buy a new________" type of ski. Would I buy this? My jury is out on this particular ski. On that same afternoon, I tried the Dynastar Glory 79. Another very, very light ski ---the manufacturers seem to be on the super-lightweight kick this year. This ski did not feel quite as stiff as the Head , and may have had a bit more rocker on the tip. Loved this ski and am looking forward to trying the Glory 84 next year ! Somehow I think weighing less than 100# can genuinely affect how the petite segment feels about certain skis. I will also try the Head Absolute Joy again next year...just for fun.

 

[lynseyf]

I demoed a load of Blizzard skis, Black Pearls, Brahmas, Cheyennes on the same day and liked them all as they felt really smooth although the BP's felt too soft and/or short for me in a 173cm. I demoed the Head Super Joys in 168cm on the same day and did not like them at all, they felt the complete opposite to that smooth Blizzard feel. I know the Joy series is really popular on here but they just felt too light and insubstantial for me and not at all confidence inspiring, I got the feeling lighter skiers may like them a lot more than me. For confidence on ice I've always found SL skis great, the only times I've ever enjoyed skiing ice I've been on an SL ski. My boyfriend got Blizzard SL skis and loves them although I've not managed to get a shot on them yet.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I demoed a load of Blizzard skis, Black Pearls, Brahmas, Cheyennes on the same day and liked them all as they felt really smooth although the BP's felt too soft and/or short for me in a 173cm. I demoed the Head Super Joys in 168cm on the same day and did not like them at all, they felt the complete opposite to that smooth Blizzard feel. I know the Joy series is really popular on here but they just felt too light and insubstantial for me and not at all confidence inspiring, I got the feeling lighter skiers may like them a lot more than me. For confidence on ice I've always found SL skis great, the only times I've ever enjoyed skiing ice I've been on an SL ski. My boyfriend got Blizzard SL skis and loves them although I've not managed to get a shot on them yet.

I am terribly curious about the Head Joy series as well but I was "warned" about them by a demo guy because I'm not a light girl and ski the Kenja so he feels the Joy serious is so light and I might not like them. I find the Kenja light also but in a different way, its easy and maneuverable but feels rock solid on the snow. I have the same fear about the black pearl, fear it may be too light for me. Always worth a try though so one day.

 

[lynseyf]

I am terribly curious about the Head Joy series as well but I was "warned" about them by a demo guy because I'm not a light girl and ski the Kenja so he feels the Joy serious is so light and I might not like them. I find the Kenja light also but in a different way, its easy and maneuverable but feels rock solid on the snow. I have the same fear about the black pearl, fear it may be too light for me. Always worth a try though so one day.

I much prefered the Brahmas I tried in a 180cm to the BP's in 173cm, would have liked to try the Brahmas in 173cm though so they might be worth a try for you if you fall in their size range? My favourite carvers of the ones I tried at the ski test were the Cheyennes although I would probably buy the Latigos if I was getting them as would have prefered them a little stiffer and the Nordica Belle to Belle which were definitely stiffer than the Nordica NRG 80's I tried in a similar length. I was looking for a more all mountainy carver though as my every day skis are 94mm+, if I had a pair of 88mm underfoot skis I would probably be happy going for a full on ice skate

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I much prefered the Brahmas I tried in a 180cm to the BP's in 173cm, would have liked to try the Brahmas in 173cm though so they might be worth a try for you if you fall in their size range? My favourite carvers of the ones I tried at the ski test were the Cheyennes although I would probably buy the Latigos if I was getting them as would have prefered them a little stiffer and the Nordica Belle to Belle which were definitely stiffer than the Nordica NRG 80's I tried in a similar length. I was looking for a more all mountainy carver though as my every day skis are 94mm+, if I had a pair of 88mm underfoot skis I would probably be happy going for a full on ice skate

I generally prefer a stiffer ski. My recent favorite is the Rossignol Pursuit 16 which I tried yesterday. Straight up carver but boy did I like the rocket feel of these skis. I think I am liking the unisex or men's skis as they seem to be stiffer. I will try the Brahmas if I get the chance. What's your everyday carver?

 

[SheSki]

I haven't tried the Heads, but if you get a chance to try the new Rossignol Unique 10, take them for a spin. I was very impressed with how light, responsive, and fast they were when i tried them at a demo day a couple of weeks ago. I was thinking of picking up a powder ski on discount next fall but now I'm seriously considering the Rossi Uniques for a super fun carver. They were so light I got way more air than I usually get on my little jumps but had zero chatter or squirreliness at 50+ MPH.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I haven't tried the Heads, but if you get a chance to try the new Rossignol Unique 10, take them for a spin. I was very impressed with how light, responsive, and fast they were when i tried them at a demo day a couple of weeks ago. I was thinking of picking up a powder ski on discount next fall but now I'm seriously considering the Rossi Uniques for a super fun carver. They were so light I got way more air than I usually get on my little jumps but had zero chatter or squirreliness at 50+ MPH.

I believe my new favorite ski the Rossignol Pursuit 16 is the unisex/male counter part for the Unique 10. I weigh a little more so I think the Pursuit is probably better for me plus not sure they had any Unique 10s in my size left. I was very impressed with the Pursuit, wasn't looking for a carver this narrow but holy cow. This thing was responsive AND FAST. This ski had somewhere to be. I think I liked these more than the charisma but will try to demo both this sunday. Yeah zero chatter or squirelliness, very confidence inspiring.

 

[Liquid Yellow]

Hmmm. I'm still looking around.

I do love the sound of the Potion 84 Xti, but it's a bit close in width to the BPs. I think the 80 Xti might be better but I can't find them for sale anywhere.

The Joy series - especially the Total Joy - doesn't seem to be getting much love on here. I wonder if they might be a bit too light for me.

I'm looking for a carver that can hang onto the ice with a waist of around 77/78, pretty stiff and likes to go fast.

Volkl Chiara maybe? Pfff. Dunno

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Hmmm. I'm still looking around.

I do love the sound of the Potion 84 Xti, but it's a bit close in width to the BPs. I think the 80 Xti might be better but I can't find them for sale anywhere.

The Joy series - especially the Total Joy - doesn't seem to be getting much love on here. I wonder if they might be a bit too light for me.

I'm looking for a carver that can hang onto the ice with a waist of around 77/78, pretty stiff and likes to go fast.

Volkl Chiara maybe? Pfff. Dunno

I worry the total joy will be too light for me also but will try it anyway. Have heard good things about the potion series on ice. I am a fan of the Volkl Charisma at 79 underfoot, bites into the ice like crazy and can handle speed.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

Hmmm. I'm still looking around.

I do love the sound of the Potion 84 Xti, but it's a bit close in width to the BPs. I think the 80 Xti might be better but I can't find them for sale anywhere.

The Joy series - especially the Total Joy - doesn't seem to be getting much love on here. I wonder if they might be a bit too light for me.

I'm looking for a carver that can hang onto the ice with a waist of around 77/78, pretty stiff and likes to go fast.

Volkl Chiara maybe? Pfff. Dunno

Try ski essentials.com, saw quite a few potions on there.

 

[Liquid Yellow]

Thank you

Don't forget I'm in the UK though and would get stitched for import duties...

Can't find the Charisma anywhere either!! Sounds ideal.

 

[marzNC]

For what it's worth, I liked the Absolut Joy. Only had a couple short runs during a demo weekend at my little mountain. Hoping to get on them again at the Alta Demo Day. I also have the BPs, which are the skis that go on trips out west. For a driving trip to the northeast, I would bring both.

Haven't tried the K2 Potion, although they were another ski at the demo weekend.

Well, I'll know a lot more about the Absolut Joy by mid-Jan. Pulled the trigger on a summer deal on a new pair. Got the last 2014-15 at 148cm from a ski shop in VT for under $400. Decided that since what I mostly want is something to play with on the small hills of the Mid-Atlantic, having a short and light ski will be the most fun. Definitely will be easy to carry from the parking lot.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

One of my friends bought the absolut joy for his wife and she LOVES it.

 

[Skisailor]

I've skied a number of these skis.
Demoed the K2 Potion 76 and found them to just be really dead and blah. Of course you know how these things go - that's why demoing is so important.

I thought the Total Joy was a very fun zippy carver but more one dimensional than the Charisma. They really didn't want to be off the groomed. That said - I think that graphene construction they tout will surprise a lot of folks who are worried they won't be stiff enough or will be too light.

 

[surfsnowgirl]

I think one directional is a great way to describe the total joy. To each his own and one person's nightmare is another person's gem and all of that. However, the only conditions I had the Total Joy out in was soft spring snow and it didn't want to play at all. I was surprised at how stiff the graphene made the ski and apparently had it out in the wrong conditions. However, at 85 underfoot I was expecting a little more from it in the softer snow.