Curated Ski Experts Jessica Whittam and Sara Beeken tested the Line Pandora 84 at Powder Mountain in Utah. Check out how it performed in the carving, freestyle, and freeride categories, but don’t forget that every skier is different. What may work for one, may not work for all. Any questions you have on the Head Kore 105 or any other ski can be answered by reaching out to a Ski Expert here on Curated. And just so you know, we’re not sponsored by any brands, so all these reviews are completely unbiased.

Brand Claims

What does Line claim about these skis? [Jessica] The brand claims that the skis are made with a softer tip to initiate turns easier and a stiffer tail to have more stability and control at higher speeds. When I was demoing. Okay. Well that's, that's good. That's good in itself.

[Sara] Line claims that this is an all-mountain ski good for intermediate skiers.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression of the ski? [Jessica] My overall impression of this ski is that this ski is made to be a groomer ripper. These things are 84 underfoot. That means that they won't do well in other conditions, variable snow conditions. This is a directional-charging, intermediate to beginner ski that excels on groomers.

[Sara] My impression of these skis is that they were easy to turn, super easy to ski down groomers. I think these would be a really good ski for a beginner, then maybe an intermediate skier that's just cruising. This ski has a little bit of camber, which makes it pretty easy to turn. You've got a little bit of pop across the hill. It's not very stiff, so it's very forgiving. Again, good for beginner and intermediate skiers.

What is the construction of the ski? [Jessica] These skis are built with an Aspen wood core, making them lightweight, which helps beginners a ton. These are good to make quick turns with and hop turns and stay in control at slower speeds. These skis are built with a softer flex at the tips and a little bit stiffer at the tails to help with control and turn initiation. These skis are also built with carbon to help reduce weight and maintain stability at high speeds.

How are the tips? [Jessica] I know that they have soft tips and I definitely could feel the softness in the tips when I would try to do a hard-charging fast turn on groomers, they were a little bit noodly, which isn't a bad thing, but you might want something different if you're a more advanced skier and going at higher speeds because they do claim to have a stiffer tail, to help for stability at higher speeds.

Carving

What is the edge hold like? [Jessica] This is a carving ski. It's not going to be a freestyle or free-ride ski. These are going to be just solely carving groomers. And again, you could take them into the trees and you could take them into powder if you want, but they really won't do that well. These skis do come in a 94, which would be a little bit better for trees.

[Sara] This has pretty good edge hold if you're on softer snow. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it for somebody on the East coast that's skiing a lot of icy groomers.

How is it to turn? [Jessica] These have a 13-meter side cut radius, meaning that you can get going with some nice slalom turns if you want. Also, all the way up to big GS turns on those groomers, you can lay in an edge if you want to. The edges were great. I could definitely dig in. Once you start getting up to higher speeds, they're a little bit unstable, but at lower speeds, if you want to do slalom turns or GS turns, they're really, really fun.

How is the ski’s stability? [Sara] I felt some chatter when we were on the icy slopes. It was a pretty firm day out there when I tried these so softer snow, they do just fine, but on icy slopes, you got to watch out for the chatter.

How is it at speed? [Sara] These are going to be really good at slow, moderate speeds. Picking up some speed, you are going to feel some chatter even if you're not on the ice. So, I would go for these if you're still progressing in your skiing.

Freestyle

Any playfulness in the skis? [Sara] This is a pretty playful ski. It is camber underfoot, so it's not necessarily a park ski but it's soft enough that you can get a little bit playful with it.

How are they for skiing switch? [Sara] I would probably not ski-switch on this. It's very directional. There's not a whole lot of turns up tails. It's meant for skiing forward.

Freeride

What is the float like with the ski? [Sara] If you're someone that's skiing a lot of powder, this is probably not the ski for you. This is good for learning and maybe even starting out getting into the trees. But once you get into some deeper snow, you're going to want something a little bit wider.

What type of terrain is ideal for these skis? [Sara] These skis are going to be great on groomers and any mellow terrain, blues, and greens. I did take them in the trees and some mellow bumps and they did pretty well in there as well. So, it's a good spot to start learning some off-piece skiing.

What type of terrain should skiers avoid with these skis? [Sara] You should probably not take these up to the top of the mountain. Hitting the back bowls. You're going to want something wider for that. Steep groomers, these are probably not going to do super great there.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this ski to? [Jessica] These skis are made for groomers and beginners to intermediate skiers. [Sara] I would recommend these to a beginner, or intermediate skier that likes cruising around the mountain. Not going too fast, but trying to progress their skiing.

Who would you not recommend these skis to? [Jessica] So I definitely wouldn't recommend these for somebody who wants to ski something in all mountain or anything off groomers. This is going to be a ski for people who just want to ski groomers.

[Sara] These wouldn't be awesome for an advanced expert skier or somebody that's looking to ski a lot of powder. You should probably not take these all the way up to the top of the mountain. Hitting the back bowls. You're going to want something wider for that. Steep groomers, these are probably not going to do super great there.

Different skis work differently for different types of skiers. If you'd like help finding the right pair of skis for you, reach out to Jessica, Sara or another Ski Expert here on Curated for free, personalized recommendations.