Here is a French Cage Match pitting two new skis that are complete departures from the previous offerings of their respective brands. Dynastar is saying goodbye to the Legend 88 (along with the other Legends) and replacing them with the M-Pro series. Gone are the Legend 88, 96, and 108; in their place are the M-Pro 90, 99, and 105. Salomon is not replacing the finesse-biased QST 92 but adding the Stance 90 alongside the QSTs that are carrying over. The Stance collection will be 90, 96, and 102.
Don’t underestimate the M-Pro 90 and its elongated tip. It has a lot of power under its conservative black and gold graphics. Also don’t dismiss that these are some substantial skis, weighing in at over 3,000 g. This is a good thing as it gives these skis an extremely solid, connected feel on the snow. The gradual tip can mask the published 18m turn radius. The tip allows the ski to make a multitude of turn shapes: cranking out nice big 'uns at mach speeds was something that the outgoing Legends never had in their repertoire.
As soon as I picked up and flexed the new Stances at Salomon’s headquarters in Ogden, I knew it had something special. The Stance 90’s topography graphics will tell you where this ski was bred, and I agree 100% in that assessment. Its on-snow feel is a bit different than the Chamonix counterpart, even with both skis having the same published radius of 18 m. Where the Dynastar is gradual and relaxed going into a turn, the Stance wants to initiate much quicker across the hill.
- Why choose the M-Pro 90? Of these two, the Dynastar is better off piste and slightly better suited as a one-ski quiver.
- Why choose the Stance 90? You like a ski with bite: bite into a turn, bite into hard snow. Combine these with something in the One-Ohs or even wider, and you will own any mountain, East or West.