You as readers actually don’t need me to do this Cage Match. Why? Because all you have to do is pick up these skis and you will immediately know how they are different and how they are similar. Let's start with the Head Supershape iTitan. The blue triangle on the tip is an indicator of how much rocker Head wants you to think the iTitan has, but don’t take the bait: it's just marketing rocker. It is barely there, which IMHO is a good thing. Sure it takes away a bit of the nervousness when you are transitioning from one turn to the next, but it is ever so subtle and does not do one thing to neuter or slow down the ski. The 80mm waist combined with a wide, flared tip and tail incorporates a 14ish-m turn radius and will bite into a turn and make beautiful S’s all day long. Even at a wider 80 mm underfoot, the iTitan is a purposeful ski -- that purpose is to make beautiful round turns in almost any condition.
The Fischer Curv GT has a cosmetic finish to its design that at least rivals if not surpasses Kästle, which I chose to leave out of this comparison. The milling of the topskin and the finish are jewel-like and worthy of a couple extra minutes of visual appreciation. On the snow, the Fischer is different than the Head. Where the iTitan has a tip that will bite into a turn, the Curv GT’s tip is long and gradual with the sidecut running past the running surface. This design allows the skier to initiate whatever turn he or she chooses. Stand relaxed and upright, and the ski will stay smooth and easy into the turns; but lay it over, and the magic happens. When you do this, the tip connects, the sidecut elongates, and the Curv GT rockets across the hill.
- Why choose the iTitan? You like consistency. At the bottom of a manicured groomer you stop, look uphill, and compare every turn and how it mirrors the other.
- Why choose the Curv GT? You like to mix up your turn shapes, yet when a beer is the reward at the end of the run, you can turn it up.