Head Monster 108

[tuco]

The old m103 had a very long running length for its size. Low tip and flat tail, and they weighed a ridiculous amount. I had the 183s briefly, and they were less useful than pretty much any other large/stiff ski of the era. They didn't float. Basically they seemed like Head took the construction (and resulting weight) of a GS ski and made it wide.

Old Legend Pro was a much more useful ski but could still charge. Explosiv could do anything and was snappy and responsive. Really old Pow Plus or Axiom floated better, and went through crud pretty well. Even the original Squad was more versatile.

im103 is a submarine in pow.
im103 is a shit snow destroyer!
Just stay on top of 'em!

I was on the 191 m103s for many seasons, I loved them but I certainly don't miss them with the advances in ski tech where you can a super-stable but much more playful ski. And that weighs pounds less. You guys pining for them I think are a bit romantic more than realistic. They had their place back in the day for sure though. Most of the Head pros back in the day would ski the 183s (or whatever they were, 181?) day-to-day and would bring out the 191 for filming or big days only, they were a bit much.

I haven't been Heads for 10 years maybe, but if people say the 108 is an easier modern day version of the m103s, I'm intrigued.

they are 193

[tuco]

Here's the difference:

[lucknau]

Ski specs:
Year: 2018
Make/Model: Head Monster 108 (2017)
Length: 191cm
Mount: Marker Griffon Demos, on the line
Measured weight (avg.): 2710g/ski
Sidecut: (144-110-129)
Turn radius: 27.6m
Profile: rocker-camber

My Specs:
Age: 43
Height: 6’8”
Weight: 180 lbs
# of years on skis: 35, I think

In general I research a ski enough to know I’m going to like it before I ever get on it, so my reviews end up kind of on the glowing side without a great deal of constructive criticism. Sorry about that.

I put my first day on these yesterday, 12/21/2018. Conditions were a mix of wind blown powder, wind packed powder, solid ice, sun crust and dust on crust. I confirmed immediately that the skis are super stable at high speed in chopped up wind pack. They just rail right through this nastiness, so one run into the day they were already on my favorites list. Criteria #1 for me out here in the PNW is: ski must bust crud.

Before getting on them I had a steadily growing nervousness about getting worked over, worn out, and sent home by their substantial mass. They’re the heaviest ski I own, second only to the heavy prototype model 2017 Cease & Desists (2525g/ski, P.O. TahoeJ), which I’ve also been apprehensive about. I was talking to Betelgeuse (P.O.) about the Monster 108s, conveying this fear of fatigue. He recommended just not going airborne a whole lot right out of the gate, so I did that, with great success. The whole day I really just let these skis stay on the ground and take me where they wanted to. They’re so heavy and so stable that as long as you practice good aim, as in finesse over brute strength, they’re surprisingly easy to ski. The conditions being what they were, we really had to seek out our honey pots yesterday to avoid hitting patches of solid, wind scoured sun crust. So we did a lot of tree and gully skiing. They turn really easily. And when I say that, I don’t mean easily for a 2700+ gram, 191cm, cambered ski; I mean they turn effortlessly.

Everyone says they’re fast, too. They’re not bullshitting. This is another thing I was mildly nervous about, going into the day. I thought I’d get worn out trying to scrub speed all day but what it translated to, for me, was energy conservation. The long runouts on most of the runs at Meadows became a zero effort affair. I rarely met the need to muscle the skis around on the steeps, and instead just let them build speed and turn themselves. Pretty remedial concept, I know, but just saying that it felt easier than usual because the damned things just want to GO!

We found a couple of sweet little velvety windblown powder stashes that we tracked out, and then tracked out the tracked out, out out. That’s the thing I love about a ski hill like Meadows. It’s small enough that people go apeshit bonkers negative about having to waiting in line for 10 minutes for a high speed quad, but big enough that you can always find a great line that’s just yours for the day, and no one else seems to even notice. Anyway, I digress. Point I was working toward was that the powder skiing was second nature on them. Granted this is not a good sample size, because it was a foot deep, at best, and comprised of finely busted up windblown snowflakes. For what it was, though, the Monsters shined. Another observation I’d picked up on during the research phase and can now confirm: they’re pretty damned stiff skis, but the camber is minimal, and they’re really easy to decamber. They don’t have a huge rocker profile, but I think they progress into their flex in a way that kind of makes them ski like a more rockered ski when you’re in 3D snow. I don’t know if that makes sense, or is even a correct assessment, but that’s how they felt to me. I’m interested to see how they ski in deeper stuff.

I did spend a little time on some crusty, smallish moguls yesterday, and what ended up happening every time was I’d get into them, be all good, get going a little too fast and get thrown around a bit, just say fuck it, and start railing big turns over them like they were more busted up chop. Got a little more research to do in that area. Fun though? Yes, very fun.

Anyway, that was day one.

TLDR: These are top notch crud busting rocketships, and they can do other stuff, too! The 191 rawks. They’re definite keepers. I’m even considering parting with my OG Cochises for them.

[Banh Mi]

They are so good. They are at my upper end of the quiver in terms of stability for faster terrain, but they could be a one ski quiver for the right person. Them and Katanas are on the same level, just pick full camber(almost) or full rocker, whatever you prefer. I havent skied either yet this year but I will next week

The monsters arent super surfy in fluffy light powder, but they work well everywhere else. The Katanas are better in powder, but not quite as good on firm. Both work better in trees and bumps than they look like they would on paper. Both work great in different types of difficult, refrozen or thick snow.

The Monster 108s firm snow performance is unreal. I have to ski a 90mm ski before I notice any worthwhile improvement. I skied a few 98-102mm skis, including monster 98, and didnt think the firm snow performance was significantly better. Not enough to give up the 110mm waists crud busting ability and flotation/ease in chunky wet deep.


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[Bandit Man]

Funny little story from last Weds at Crystal. I saw an older guy (probably over 55) who was skiing at pair of 184 Monster 108's up on Chair 6. I stopped and asked him how he liked his skis. He mentioned that he had a pair of Volkl Katanas that he loved but wore out and needed to replace, so he got the Monsters. His words were priceless..."These things are the real deal. They are kicking my butt today. I need to MAN UP!"

[Banh Mi]

Haha thats funny. They are the real deal fo sho. Noticeably stiffer and more stable than Katanas, but not much harder to ski. Ski them with solid form and they will take you to the next level. They are rocketships. They are hero skis, you get on them and you just feel like you are skiing at your best. They make me a better skier too because they demand good form and prefer well linked turns. Once you do that, they become easy to ski and keep you moving through any snow condition with their weight/momentum.

They are almost as fast in deep maritime snow, with or without crusts, as Katanas and BGs as well. 27m radius helps with that. I prefer full length sidecut too, and obviously RES or R/R for thick, heavy or wet and warm snow. For some reason I hate skis with a lot of standard early taper in manky snow. The dramatic taper points act as a catching point in the heavier snow for me, and it throws me way off.

Like lucknau, I skied these one run and I knew they were one of the best skis I ever skied for big mtn terrain. They “clicked” with me immediately.


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[Jongle]

Anyone know what the deal is with the Head Monster XP? Evo has them on sale for $250. Looks like 99 underfoot, lighter carbon layup and more tip rocker than the M98. Tough to find any further info or reviews.

I picked up a pair of 177 Monster 98s this fall for $400 CAD, and they live up to their reputation. Incredibly good carvers, unflappable at any speed, surprisingly easy in bumps if you're on your game. Great Whistler ski for when it hasn't snowed in a while.

[kc_7777]

Anyone know what the deal is with the Head Monster XP? Evo has them on sale for $250. Looks like 99 underfoot, lighter carbon layup and more tip rocker than the M98. Tough to find any further info or reviews.

I picked up a pair of 177 Monster 98s this fall for $400 CAD, and they live up to their reputation. Incredibly good carvers, unflappable at any speed, surprisingly easy in bumps if you're on your game. Great Whistler ski for when it hasn't snowed in a while.

I’m also looking for a ski with metal at Whistler/Baker when it hasn’t snowed in a bit.

Where did you mount?
Do you mind measuring the 177 along the base? And how many cm the rec is from the tail? I’m think of mounting 1-1.5cm forward of rec.

[mr_pretzel]

Monster 108 is awesome in whis when it’s been dry for a bit.

Got my 184s at +0.5 from rec. +1 makes them really easy to ski.

[Jongle]

Where did you mount?
Do you mind measuring the 177 along the base? And how many cm the rec is from the tail? I’m think of mounting 1-1.5cm forward of rec.

I mounted on the line and like them there, but a bit forward would probably work well too. They measure ~176.5cm along the base, with the rec mount point ~76.5cm from the tail.

[Chugachjed]

How do these compare with LPs or LP105?

[Banh Mi]

That's the big question

[Chugachjed]

That's the big question

Seems targeted to the same crowd. My LP105s are almost dead and I always wished they were longer. Thought the OG LPs were easy to ski and I need a new crud charger.

[Banh Mi]

Seems targeted to the same crowd. My LP105s are almost dead and I always wished they were longer. Thought the OG LPs were easy to ski and I need a new crud charger.

191 Monsters are fairly easy to ski considering how stiff/stable they are. They dont blow me away in trees or super technical tight spots, but otherwise are great pretty much everywhere. Except deep and light pow, where they submarine a bit. In deep maritime snow, they are great. Katanas better in deep snow though.

I believe Blister talks on how much stiffer the M108s are than the LP105 and Katanas. My 191 M108s are significantly stiffer and more stable than 191 Katanas on ice/refrozen crud. I have some 198 Katanas (long and stiffer than 191 K’s) I’m going to compare to see if they dethrone the 191 Monster 108 in terms of confidence in firm or soft-ish shitfuck conditions.

184 M108s could be good for a super beefy short ski. I had the 184 M98, but always preferred the 108z. That 184 length would be better in trees, bumps, and tight technical spots, just stick with the wider 108z

Good luck finding the 191. If you do, buy them and hang onto them for dear life. They are on a different level than other “chargers” on the market. I wanna try the Moment M1 and Garbones to see how they compare, if they lighter yet just as stable as M108s.

[tuco]

Dear Head, please bring back the Monster 125(aka Boneshaker/Carlos)! Simply the finest crossover/versatile fat skis(ever?) around. Dominate everything but icy shit(maybe that's because I have round edges?)
Carve,slarve n schmear! WTF?
So much fun!
Most underrated ski ever?
Me thinks so

[altacoup]

Putting up a pair of 184s in GS tomorrow when I can get some pics. 2 mounts, some small top sheet chipping, no core shots.


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[Banh Mi]

Dear Head, please bring back the Monster 125(aka Boneshaker/Carlos)! Simply the finest crossover/versatile fat skis(ever?) around. Dominate everything but icy shit(maybe that's because I have round edges?)
Carve,slarve n schmear! WTF?
So much fun!
Most underrated ski ever?
Me thinks so

I keep forgetting what the rocker profile on those looks like.

Have you tried 193 or 203 shiros?


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[Chugachjed]

Putting up a pair of 184s in GS tomorrow when I can get some pics. 2 mounts, some small top sheet chipping, no core shots.


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Dibs

[waxoff]

Dear Head, please bring back the Monster 125(aka Boneshaker/Carlos)! Simply the finest crossover/versatile fat skis(ever?) around. Dominate everything but icy shit(maybe that's because I have round edges?)
Carve,slarve n schmear! WTF?
So much fun!
Most underrated ski ever?
Me thinks so

Here's another new cheap pair for ya.

Ebay.de skis are located in Austria

Overseas shipping not quoted but they're welcoming inquiries (In item description section under "Versand": "USA und Übersee auf Anfrage")

Edited to add link to dealer website as ebay item posting has only short time left. Skibase in Arlberg

[rip]

Bump for monster appreciation...

I've been thru a lot of skis over the years and right now I've settled on the monster 108, got a pair in 177 for tight spots and groomers and picked up a pair here of the 191s for hauling balls. If it's soft I'm on my pow skis(head a stars), if not I'm on either of these depending on the terrain I'm skiing. God damn they are great skis.

[altacoup]

PSA. The Alta ski shop on the Albion side (formerly Alta Sports) has a pair of minty 191s with Demi binders for $300


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[rip]

That's a steal.. The 191s are actually 110 underfoot and the absolute lack of speed limit is so damn fun, full fucking send. Can't wait to take them back to snowbird, Reminds me of my old 195 line motherships more than any other ski but really aren't that hard to ski.

[altacoup]

Also think they have a minty pair of 184s for same price. Buy them so I don’t


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[Kingvale]

How do these and Dynastar Pro Rider 105s compare?

[bry]

Relatively minty 191s in Mancos

https://westslope.craigslist.org/spo...235816726.html

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