Dynastar Glory 74 Xpress (2017)

Rating: / 5
Price: $500.00
Year: 2017
Level:
Gender: Female
Waist Width: 74
Tip/Tail/Waist: 118-74-99
Lengths: 142, 149, 156, 163

The 2017 Dynastar Glory 74 is the narrowest, lightest, softest, and least-expensive model in the four-ski Glory collection of women’s all-mountain skis. Where the others are midfats built for soft-snow flotation, the 74 is happiest on groomed trails. With its economical cap construction, it’s soft-flexing, suited to the needs of novice/intermediates at cautious speeds. It comes with at 10-DIN Look Xpress binding.
Dynastar’s Women’s All-Mountain series of mid-fat generalists returns unchanged except for new graphics in 2017. It’s four models-Glory 89, Glory 84, Glory 79 and Glory 74-range in waist width from 89 mm down to 74 mm, with wide, expert-level constructions at the top and narrower, novice-friendly models at the bottom. All are designed for all-mountain versatility in any terrain or snow conditions, combining the hard-snow carviness of the narrow-waisted Intense series with the freeride surfiness of the wider-waisted Cham W series. As in the men’s Powertrack series, there’s classic camber underfoot, for arcing on groomed snow, blended with rocker in the tip and tail for shock absorption and flotation in powder and crud. Meanwhile, Dynastar’s Five-Point Sidecut gives the Glories a dose of newschool, freeridey slashiness: The tip and tail are tapered (ie, the widest points are closer to the foot), making them looser in the snow, easier to pivot and foot-steer. All are built on durable, responsive wood cores, though they vary in density, according to target ability level and price. The top two models (89 and 84) are laminate constructions with full-length, full-height, vertical sidewalls, for maximum edge power and torsional rigidity (twist resistance). The lower models are softer-flexing, more economical constructions appropriate for slower speeds. The 89 and the 84 are sold either flat or with binding; the lower two are sold only as ski-and-binding system.
Dynastar, along with sister brands Look, Lange, and Kerma (poles), is part of the privately owned Rossignol Group. It’s factory headquarters are in Sallanches, France, “in the shadow of Mont Blanc.” It was founded in 1963. -J.C.