This one kind of snuck up on our testers. When you go into something with a certain expectation, and then that is blown out of the water, it’s always a nice surprise. Most of our testers went into this thinking that the Legend X 88 was going to be the “better” of the two models, but based on comments and test grades, the X 84 made quite an impact. Other than the shape being 4 mm narrower, the only difference is the use of softer paulownia wood in the core and the lack of metal.
After skiing the 177 cm length, Bob St.Pierre commented that the Legend X 84 “was one of the most well rounded skis I’ve been on. They hold a great edge and can be manipulated to make many different turn shapes at many different speeds.” This is quite a compliment for a ski without metal. That’s probably why it can be manipulated easily. Bob scored the skis 4’s out of 5 for all categories except for flotation, which given the waist width, is not a shock.
Charlie Roy also skied the 177, found that it skied a bit short, and as a result, scored the skis 5 out of 5 for playfulness. He comments that “for a lightweight ski with no metal, this ski rips. It felt best making short radius turns down the fall line, but was comfortable carving larger radius turns as well.” Charlie makes another astute observation by stating that “the taper at the tip and tail give the ski a very forgiving and surfy feeling. Awesome in the bumps and crud.” He did comment that, as a larger skier, he’d want something stiffer when the snow is firm, but that certainly did not reduce the amount of fun he had on the X 84.
Another skier with a highly favorable impression of the X 84 was Michael Rooney. Skiing the 177, Michael had an overall impression score of 5 out of 5. The only 4’s the skis got were for quickness and playfulness—still very good scores. “The Legend X 84 is a serious ski. It is very stable in turns, even through chop. It is designed to turn smoothly and well turn sharply if it is on edge and pressured.” Michael is picking up on the performance of the 5-point sidecut that Dynastar employs. When you pressure the edge, the ski responds quickly and efficiently.
James Stewart took some turns on the 177 cm Legend X 84 and found that it skied a bit short. He also was one of the few testers to note that the skis are a lot more forgiving than the X 88. He scored the skis 5 out of 5 for forgiveness and had an accurate observation in that regard: “All the Legend feel in a more accessible package.” That’s a nice way of putting it, making a ski more accessible means that more people of diverse abilities will have a better time on the skis. Commenting on the quickness of the skis, James notes that the Legend X 84 was “fun to slither through bumps.” That’s a nice and accurate image of how these skis are supposed to perform in the variable terrain.
As an all-mountain ski, the Dynastar Legend X 84 holds its own among a pretty formidable crowd. For skis without metal, they hold tremendous edge and can handle really high speeds. Conversely, the skis can also be used at slower speeds by more intermediate level skiers. For everything from bumps and trees to groomers and chutes, the Legend X 84 is a sweet set of sticks.
