va_deb
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
From what I've heard, there is no middle ground on the newish Head Joy series introduced in 2015 for the 2016 season. Many women here either loved or hated them. I was surprised and thrilled to find myself in the *looooove* camp after an impromptu demo.
About me:
5’1″, 136 lbs; cautious intermediate
Normally ski: Mid-Atlantic Virginia or West Virginia; usually go out west once a season
Where I demoed the Absolute Joys: Wisp Resort in McHenry, MD
Testing conditions:
Wisp had rare East Coast powder the last weekend in January. Cold temps in the teens and windy, with powder on top of boilerplate and snow forecasted for most of the day Sunday when we were thre. I wasn't sure if I would be able to make an actual demo day this season and decided to try to find a wider ski for the powder, piles, chop, crud and scraped-down/blown off hardpack.
My Elan Twilights in 159 (128-84-110) were already bucking me a bit in some of the chop and crud by late morning. I was hoping for a wider-waisted ski, but the Joy was the only ski they had left for a decent demo price. I debated aloud about not getting them since I wanted a wider waist, but the young woman in the demo shop said she loved them and the shovels and rocker were good for a few inches of powder, and she hoped I would love them too.
The skis:
Head Absolute Joy 153 mm, 129-79-109
Construction description: Graphene Women's Camber, ERA 3.0 Super Light Weight Distribution Power Sidewall Jacket Superlite Composite Core Highly transparent UHM base Allride Rocker
Conditions and how they did:
FYI, these skis are so light they almost seemed comically light --and the tips seemed so wide. I was disappointed they didn't have them in the 158, but I did fine on the 153s. In fact, there were a few occasions where my tips almost crossed here and there so I was glad I didn't go longer in them my first time out.
It was an ideal demo day with so many different conditions. Since it was super-crowded I got to put them through their paces even more than I usually would.
There was 2 - 3 inches of fresh powder that became blown-off hardpack and ice in many places, and lots of snowboarders and skiers were out taking advantage of our rare powder day. In addition to the powder there was chop, crud, icy spots, death cookies mixed in here and there, the occasional bump, plus dust on crust and dust on ice. In spite of the powder, they chose to blow snow on some parts of the mountain to get a better base since the temps in the Mid-A states have been unusually high for a month or so.
I tried them in everything from the fabulous grin-inducing powder to the icy, choppy, cruddy, windblown, dust on crust nastiness, including in almost whiteout conditions between real snow and snow guns. In short, the Absolute Joys made this cautious intermediate feel like a hero.
They loved the fresh powder, cruised over or through the crud and chop, and handled the ice and hardpack no problem. Best of all, they gave me confidence, even on an unfamiliar mountain where dodging folks who bit off more hill than they should have (on both green and blue runs) ended up being a constant.
The Absolute Joys were absolutely smooth and stable, and just plain fun. They loved doing short and medium smeared turns, and I loved that they made me feel like a better skier. Didn't test them on blacks or significant steeps, but some of the blues and greens were pitchy in places and several longer greens skied more like blues on some other Mid-A mountains.
I don't do bumps per se, but it was bumpy here and there due to wind and the conditions. I was going faster than usual and ended up unintentionally catching some air on several bumps and staying up on them, thankfully. They were that stable.
On some of the steeper runs I would normally have pulled over to the side had I been on other skis to wait until I had room to make longer radius turns and go down more slowly, but I told myself to trust the Joys. They rocked it.
Agree that it would be ideal to demo these before buying since some ladies haven't loved the Joys. My experience made me want to ski every one of the intermediate to advanced Joy skis just for comparative purposes. I will be keeping an eye out to see if I can test again in the different lengths on ice or in slush, and may just pull the trigger if I find a good deal.
Cheers to more Joy-ful skiing!
About me:
5’1″, 136 lbs; cautious intermediate
Normally ski: Mid-Atlantic Virginia or West Virginia; usually go out west once a season
Where I demoed the Absolute Joys: Wisp Resort in McHenry, MD
Testing conditions:
Wisp had rare East Coast powder the last weekend in January. Cold temps in the teens and windy, with powder on top of boilerplate and snow forecasted for most of the day Sunday when we were thre. I wasn't sure if I would be able to make an actual demo day this season and decided to try to find a wider ski for the powder, piles, chop, crud and scraped-down/blown off hardpack.
My Elan Twilights in 159 (128-84-110) were already bucking me a bit in some of the chop and crud by late morning. I was hoping for a wider-waisted ski, but the Joy was the only ski they had left for a decent demo price. I debated aloud about not getting them since I wanted a wider waist, but the young woman in the demo shop said she loved them and the shovels and rocker were good for a few inches of powder, and she hoped I would love them too.
The skis:
Head Absolute Joy 153 mm, 129-79-109
Construction description: Graphene Women's Camber, ERA 3.0 Super Light Weight Distribution Power Sidewall Jacket Superlite Composite Core Highly transparent UHM base Allride Rocker
Conditions and how they did:
FYI, these skis are so light they almost seemed comically light --and the tips seemed so wide. I was disappointed they didn't have them in the 158, but I did fine on the 153s. In fact, there were a few occasions where my tips almost crossed here and there so I was glad I didn't go longer in them my first time out.
It was an ideal demo day with so many different conditions. Since it was super-crowded I got to put them through their paces even more than I usually would.
There was 2 - 3 inches of fresh powder that became blown-off hardpack and ice in many places, and lots of snowboarders and skiers were out taking advantage of our rare powder day. In addition to the powder there was chop, crud, icy spots, death cookies mixed in here and there, the occasional bump, plus dust on crust and dust on ice. In spite of the powder, they chose to blow snow on some parts of the mountain to get a better base since the temps in the Mid-A states have been unusually high for a month or so.
I tried them in everything from the fabulous grin-inducing powder to the icy, choppy, cruddy, windblown, dust on crust nastiness, including in almost whiteout conditions between real snow and snow guns. In short, the Absolute Joys made this cautious intermediate feel like a hero.
They loved the fresh powder, cruised over or through the crud and chop, and handled the ice and hardpack no problem. Best of all, they gave me confidence, even on an unfamiliar mountain where dodging folks who bit off more hill than they should have (on both green and blue runs) ended up being a constant.
The Absolute Joys were absolutely smooth and stable, and just plain fun. They loved doing short and medium smeared turns, and I loved that they made me feel like a better skier. Didn't test them on blacks or significant steeps, but some of the blues and greens were pitchy in places and several longer greens skied more like blues on some other Mid-A mountains.
I don't do bumps per se, but it was bumpy here and there due to wind and the conditions. I was going faster than usual and ended up unintentionally catching some air on several bumps and staying up on them, thankfully. They were that stable.
On some of the steeper runs I would normally have pulled over to the side had I been on other skis to wait until I had room to make longer radius turns and go down more slowly, but I told myself to trust the Joys. They rocked it.
Agree that it would be ideal to demo these before buying since some ladies haven't loved the Joys. My experience made me want to ski every one of the intermediate to advanced Joy skis just for comparative purposes. I will be keeping an eye out to see if I can test again in the different lengths on ice or in slush, and may just pull the trigger if I find a good deal.
Cheers to more Joy-ful skiing!
