Photography by Fredrik Marmsater
DYNAFIT’s new Free line is from the future—literally. The new Free 97 and 107 were set to replace DYNAFIT’s popular Beast skis for the ‘22/’23 season, but a factory fire that burned all their previous molds, means skiers everywhere can experience the uphill and downhill performance of these new Free skis a year earlier.
“I got a random call in mid-June giving us the rundown on the factory burning down and inviting me and my best friend and DYNAFIT teammate, Sawyer Thomas, out to Mt. Hood for three days to test the new skis,” DYNAFIT Athlete Riis Wilbrecht said. “We skied them blind but what we found was a line of touring skis that could ski like big mountain skis. You could ride these in a four-star comp and still take them out into powder glades. The uphill touring capabilities are unreal—there’s incredible swing weight and you can make effortless kick turns.”
The new Free 97 and 107 are not simply a refresh on the previous Beast skis, they are a full redesign. DYNAFIT abandoned the previous poplar and ash wood core for a full poplar core which provides for snappy and responsive turns—no matter how many Gs you’re pulling. To make the ski even livelier, they added uni-directional stringers all the way from the tip to the tail.
“These skis reduce any chatter that might have been there before in the Beast skis,” Wilbrecht said. “These aren’t just touring skis with a little extra width—they are skis you can really rely on at high speeds and in tight technical terrain.”
DYNAFIT engineered new tip and tail rocker into both skis to modernize the Free line and provide the versatility most are looking for these days. Sticking to DYNAFIT’s ski mountaineering heritage, the tail isn’t heavily rockered and there are a few millimeters of positive camber underfoot to make them true all-mountain performers.
The Free 97 and 107 are the only skis in the DYNAFIT lineup that get full ABS vertical sidewalls from tip to tail. While semi-cap sidewalls provide additional weight savings these are built as freeride skis and the full vertical sidewalls provide better edge hold in all conditions.
The Free 97 with its shorter turning radius is the perfect tool to tackle steep, firm terrain. It can hold a beautiful line but at 1460 grams in the 177 cm length, it is perfect for hop turns in tight, steep spaces. The Free 107 is the ideal everyday Rocky Mountain backcountry ski that can tackle anything from frozen corn to a 10+ inch powder day. At 1630 grams in the 181 cm length, the weight is right at that sweet spot that provides downhill stability but won’t make you feel sluggish going up the mountain.
“There are a lot of skis out there trying to tackle equal performance on the uphill and the downhill,” Wilbrecht said. “People have ridden resort skis and tried out touring skis and there used to be a clear distinction between them—this Free line eliminates that gap.”