Review: Dynastar M-Free 108

Dynastar M-Free 108 Specs

• Size skied: 185cm, 192cm
• Lengths available: 162cm, 170cm, 178cm, 185cm, 192cm
• Sidecut: 138mm - 108mm - 128mm
• Radius: 18m (185cm)
• Profile: twin rocker
• Weight: 2200g (185cm)

Shape, Flex and Construction 

While on the narrower end for a true freeride comp ski, the Dynastar M-Free 108 still takes cues from the shape and construction of the brand’s dedicated FWT ski, the M-Free 112.

Like its bigger sibling, the 108mm-waisted M-Free 108 offers versatility above all in its shape, with a healthy tip and tail rocker, a fairly-centered mount point (though some testers found it could be moved up even further), and a shorter but very useful 18-meter turn radius. 

Inside the ski, Dynastar uses the same fiberglass torsion box and poplar wood/PU construction found across the M-Free line, without the use of metal to stiffen up and dampen the ski. The M-Free 108 is a bit stiffer than the 112, and features much more pronounced camber, adding both pop and edge grip.

The twin rocker shape makes the ski feel rather short, so don’t be afraid to size up for extra stability and float–the 192cm version is one of the most approachable “long” skis out there.

On-Snow Performance 

The M-Free 108 remains one of the most capable resort freeride skis thanks to its balance of nimble agility and hard-charging muscle. 

On hardpack, the 108 is a surprisingly energetic groomer ski. Width is never a good thing on full-on ice and that remains true here but in all other conditions, the M-Free 108 is a very easy, intuitive ski on hardpack. What’s doubly impressive is that with all that edge hold, the ski also easily breaks free from turns and can slash/pivot on command.

“It was crazy how playful this ski was, this thing was wildly fun. It was so easy to pop and play on with really good snow feel. On hardpack, it tracked like it was on rails, but broke away from the turn when you needed it to,” says one tester.

“Really easy to ski, loose and fun, easy to slash, and pivot and turn in bumps. Versatile in size of turn shapes, decently poppy. Can see lots of people enjoying and having fun on this ski - this would be a great soft snow ski for people who are a bit lighter or who have a more playful approach to the mountain, or people who like a fatter all mountain ski,” says another.

In big mountain terrain, the M-Free 108 offers similar levels of confidence, especially when things get really steep and technical. It doesn't offer quite the float and point-and-plow stability of the larger 112, but is a better choice when hop turning and billygoating through peppery terrain.

“Despite the 192cm length, it felt fairly nimble and light with a friendly swing weight, and I had no issue making some committing jump turns when I was billygoating through a steeper, rockier section to get to another slope,” says the same tester.

Comparisons 

Some testers pointed out that the M-Free 108 kind of falls into a sort of no-man’s land when it comes to comparisons. It’s not quite wide enough as a dedicated pow ski, but is a bit too wide for dedicated all-mountain use at most places. The stiff twin-tip shape also precludes it from falling into the “playful” pow/all-mountain category.

However, a few comparisons beg to be made. First is to the new Head Kore 106Ti, which like the M-Free is the smaller sibling to a dedicated big-mountain competition freeride ski. In this comparison, the Dynastar M-Free 108 takes the cake when it comes to being more fun and intuitive to ride, whereas the Head Kore 106Ti offers a bit more power to skiers with more of a race background.

Compared to Atomic Bent 110, which shares a similar genre-bending mid-fat freestyle shape, the M-Free 108 offers significantly more high-speed stability and power, at the expense of playfulness, jibbiness, and float in deep snow. 

What type of skier is the Dynastar M-Free 108 best for? 

Dynastar’s M-Free 108 is a tough ski to pin a label on, but would make a lot of skiers very happy, especially those coming from a freestyle background looking for a one-ski quiver out West. It has the energy and edge grip to make skiing hardpack and wind buff extremely fun, it has just enough float for most resort pow days, and it has the muscle to not get tossed around when things get tracked out.