Author Topic: Head iM78  (Read 1644 times)

Svend

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Re: Head iM78
« Reply #15 on: May 07, 2010, 03:57:57 pm »
Having said this, I really don't understand what Head is doing. They are spending huge sums of money on landing the biggest name WC skiers and at the same time they are cuttinng down the race ski lineup that they carry in the states. And whereas Head has made great race oriented and carving skis as well as traditional all mountain skis that are all great (like the Monster/Peak line) they have never had even a remotely decent ski in the true big mountain free ride category. Actually the old IM 103 was a monster, but so stiff that only real pros could ski it. The rest of this lineup has pretty much blown. I don't think they have gotten much traction with the Joe, John, Jimi (I think a Carlos is coming) and that's because they were just repackages of existing skis (save the Jimi which was a rocker intro).

So next year they are de-emphasizing ther strength, race oriented carving skis and ther other strength, strong and powerful all mountain skis, and moving to all mountain skis with flappy tips. I think this is a sure fire way to hurt your business. The rocker buyer is not looking at all at Head and won't for a long time until they have some innnovative product that gets talked about for a few years. Their traditional buyer is going to get quite frustrated.


Hey John, are the Peak skis going softer for next year? All of them? When the 09/10 skis changed to the Peak name, it is my understanding that the only ski they made softer was the iM88, and that the iM82 and iM78 were unchanged except in name and graphics.  So what's the inside scoop for next year?

And their race-derived narrow carvers? Same thing? Now that would be a real shame, as they have had some outstanding skis in those lines -- Supershapes; the higher XRCs, now the TT80. Not to mention the women's performance line -- Power One (former Supershape Speed); Great One; Wild One -- all strong skis for good athletic female skiers (and no condescending girlie graphics).

That would be a crying shame if they dumbed down the performance of any of these.  I too am a big fan of their skis.  My first-ever skis were the iM70, which were a ton of fun to learn on.  For their performance skis, they seem to have been able to make a magical blend of all the right qualities that make a great ski, and yet make them accessible to a wide range of abilities from intermediate to high expert.  I sure hope they stay the course.  Personally I like the graphics of the Peak and Icon series, so at least in that respect they have moved in the right direction.

Looking forward to hearing the inside scoop..... 8)