Gear Review | Head Crux 105 Pro & Tyrolia Almonte 12 PT

First impression

The first thing I notice when unpacking the Crux 105 Pro is its low weight. The ski is really light for its dimensions. The rocker is rather moderate, but seems to suit the geometry of the ski well. The design is striking and probably a matter of taste, the Almonte 12 Pt binding also makes a light but solid impression. It is a more or less typical pin binding, looking quite light but solid.

Testers and test conditions

I am 183cm tall and weigh just under 80kg. I mainly go ski touring, whereby I place a lot of emphasis on the descent and less on reaching summits. I tested the Crux 105 Pro with the Almonte 12 PT in 184cm and used the Dynafit Tigard boots.

I tested the skis exclusively during summer in Chile and Argentina. There they were used in a wide variety of conditions, with the exception of really deep powder, so I was able to gain a very good overview of the skis and their characteristics.

Normally I use either a 7-year-old DownSkis CountDown 104 L (which skis great but is also rather heavy by today's standards) or a Blizzard Zero G 105 (which is very light but also not incredibly stable at speed) as touring skis in a similar width class.

gear reviews

presented by

Lorenzo Rieg

Lagunillas, Chile

Head Crux 105 Pro

Test Report

From looking at it and touching it, I was actually expecting a very light freetouring ski, as is now available from many manufacturers, but here I can already anticipate that the impression is deceptive and the Crux 105 Pro is much more stable downhill than its weight would suggest. But first things first ...

Ascent

The low weight of the ski is of course a positive factor on the ascent. The ski is so light that you actually ask yourself why you really need even narrower skis. Sure, lighter is always possible, but when I think how heavy normal touring skis with 90 mm in the centre were 10 years ago, you really can't say anything more here.

The binding also works wonderfully. It is unusual that you can only turn it in one direction to set it to ascent mode and turn it back in the opposite direction to be able to ski down again. However, this is of course not a problem, and the stoppers locks very well and also fold in well sideways, so nothing gets stuck in the snow on the ascent. The binding and climbing aids are easy to operate and can also be adjusted with ski poles.

Descent

What is more exciting, especially with lightweight skis and bindings, is the behaviour on the descent. And this is where the Crux 105 Pro scores particularly well. I can't say whether this is due to the elaborate construction. However, the ski is really incredibly stable on the descent for its low weight. Of course, this is particularly noticeable in hard or variable snow, but even in softer conditions you can make really good big turns down the slope. The ski is also very stable on piste and fun to ride for a touring ski, and also impresses with good grip. Of course, the low weight of the ski compared to a typical freeride ski is noticeable. However, it is still extremely stable, regardless of whether you stand on the edge or let the ski run in any other way. The flotation in soft snow is, as you would expect from a ski of this width, good and therefore probably sufficient for everything except really deep and soft powder. In good snow, the ski behaves similarly to the competition, but in my opinion it is also more stable in terms of speed than the comparable skis I know. In hard snow, however, it clearly stands out positively and beats many, even narrower, touring skis by far.

Of course, the Crux 105 Pro is a rather wide freetouring ski whose focus is certainly on descents in softer snow. However, due to its high stability, I would use it as an all-round touring ski without any concerns.

The Almonte 12 PT behaves inconspicuously on the descent. The ski stays on the foot, at least I didn't have any false releases, although during the test, as is not unusual in South America, especially on volcanoes, it was quite bumpy on one or two descents. Getting into the binding is also very easy, at least with the Dynafit Easy-Step-In inserts of the Tigard.

Conclusion

The Crux 105 Pro lives up to its promise in that it has really good downhill characteristics despite its light weight. These are particularly evident in harder and variable snow as well as on the piste, where it performs really well.

Advantages and disadvantages

+ Very light

+ Excellent downhill characteristics for the weight

Information on

Crux 105 Pro

UVP €900

- Available lengths 170cm, 177cm, 184cm

- Width sizes: 133|105|122

- Weight: 1440g (one ski in 184cm)

· Full Triaxial Carbon Jacket

· Sandwich Cap Construction

· Karuba Light Weight Wood Core

- Graphene

- Topless Tech

· Structured UHM C Base

- Tail Notch

- Tip-Tail Rocker

· Snow Free Coating

Almonte 12 EN

UVP €450,-

- 325g per binding, incl. stopper

- DIN 5-12

- Stand height 42mm

- Pin Technology

Click here to go to the websites of Head and Tyrolia for more information. Here you can find the Crux 105 Pro and the Almonte 12 PT from our partner shop Sport Conrad.

The ski and binding were provided to PowderGuide free of charge by the manufacturer for the duration of the test. You can find out how we test in our test statement.