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Gear reviews | Dynafit Beast 108 skis

The perfect balancing act between ascent and descent?

by Alex Schober 11/08/2018
"Is it time to stop seeing Dynafit as a purely ascent-oriented (ski) manufacturer?" The product developers probably asked themselves this very question a few years ago and expanded the range to include some downhill-oriented ski models. The Dynafit range is now divided into four areas: Race, Speed, Tour and Free. The Beast 108 is the widest and most downhill-oriented ski in the Free segment.

Dynafit remains true to its roots and also focuses on the weight of its Free models. In the following test report, you can find out whether the ski is convincing both on the ascent and the descent.

Tester

I am 173cm tall, weigh around 70kg and travel with an airbag backpack and equipment (around 10kg). I am most often out and about in the region around Innsbruck in ski resorts and go on (smaller and larger) tours from there. I definitely see myself more as a downhill-oriented skier who is happy to put up with a bit more weight in order to enjoy a perfect descent. The Dynafit Beast is currently my lightest ski and was also able to accompany me on some multi-day tours and day tours up to around 2000m last season.

I was able to test the ski in 181cm length and with a Dynafit Radical ST for the entire 17/18 season and also used it on some steep faces in early summer.

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First impression

Optically, the "less is more" principle is applied and it looks great: The entire topsheet is orange with a carbon insert on the shovel. The continuous ABS sidewall in combination with an ash wood core provide the necessary stiffness and stability. Dynafit relies on the so-called "Double Ellipse Rocker" construction for the Beast 108, which results in a variable edge length depending on the angle of the ski and is intended to guarantee maneuverability in any terrain. The weight of the 181cm model is 1750g.

Practical test

On piste:

I'm always amazed at how well this ski is suited to carving on the piste. At high speeds, it loses a little of its smoothness when unedged, but apart from that, it grips very well and cuts a fine figure on the piste. So if the off-piste conditions aren't good, you can confidently make a few turns on the piste with this ski.

Off-piste:

Off-piste, the Beast 108 shows its strengths in powder: Despite the (relatively) moderate center width of 108mm, the ski has a nice surf feeling and glides very comfortably through deep snow. The damping behavior in tracked terrain is excellent and the good maneuverability of the ski is particularly noticeable in densely overgrown forest. However, I wouldn't describe it as extremely playful, in my opinion it feels more comfortable with larger radii. This means you can also accelerate without losing stability.

Tour:

Dynafit has definitely managed the balancing act between downhill performance and weight. Even on long tours, I got on well with this ski and, with a few exceptions, I used it for almost every tour last season.

In spring in particular, it also accompanied me on a few multi-day tours with lots of luggage and steep descents. Here I found the low weight of the ski and the excellent edge hold in firn and hard snow particularly pleasant.

Conclusion

The very good performance on the ascent and descent quickly made the Beast 108 one of my favorite skis. It was only on really deep powder days that I found it difficult to choose between this ski and my 120mm powder weapon. Otherwise, I was always very happy with my choice of the orange all-rounder.

Advantages and disadvantages

+ Very versatile
+ Good float
+ Low weight

- High price
- Depending on your preferences, only suitable for deep powder to a limited extent

Details

RP 700,- €
Weight 173 ( 1650 g ) / 181 ( 1750 g ) / 188 ( 1850 g ) / 194 ( 1950 g )
Radius 173 ( 20m ) / 181 ( 22m ) / 188 ( 24m ) / 194 ( 26m )

Here is the Dynafit's website with more information, here you can buy the ski at our partner store Bergzeit.de.

This product was loaned to PowderGuide.com by the manufacturer for the duration of the test. You can find out how we tested it in our test statement.

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This article has been automatically translated by DeepL with subsequent editing. If you notice any spelling or grammatical errors or if the translation has lost its meaning, please write an e-mail to the editors.

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