Narrow, stiff, and a ton of fun on the feet of the right skier, the 2024 Head Power Joy is one of the grippiest skis out there. Built with a slim waist and a pretty burly build, this is about as close as it comes to the race world within the Joy line. This ski has more in common with the Supershape series of skis within Head’s line than anything else in the Joy zone. This makes it a clean and powerful carver with lots of edge grip and a ton of strength. Skiers should have some sense of being an advanced or expert skier who focuses on carved turns and race-like behavior. If you’re looking to step up your carving and on-piste game, look no further than the Head Power Joy.

Built with a World Cup Sandwich Cap Construction, this is the real deal race room build that provides power and strength to the strongest skiers on the planet. They start with dense wood stringers and add two sheets of metal to the mix. The metal is a big driver of the ski’s overall composure, creating a strong and stable platform to stand on. We also get two layers of fiberglass on the top and the bottom of the ski in addition to a graphene strip through the center. This provides a stiff flex and an energetic response that makes the ski amenable to high energy and high edge angles throughout the carve. With thick and sturdy sidewalls, this ski rips through the ice and hard pack, making crisp carves regardless of firmness. To dampen the ski, we not only get two dampening layers, we also get Head’s Energy Management Circuit that filters out unwanted vibrations. This is the same technology that we see on the high-end skis in Head’s line, and it works quite well to keep the ski firmly planted on the snow. 

The big thing about this ski is the narrow 70 mm waist. This is quite narrow, and anyone who’s ever been on a ski this narrow can attest to the fact that it’s kind of a tricky balance point. This idea is exacerbated by the fact that skiers who want to get the most out of the Power Joy should be using it at a higher edge angle. When used in shallower angles, the ski can feel twitchy and grabby. It’s smoother when it’s up on edge. In the 163, we’re getting a turn radius of 15.3 meters, which is more in the mid-range than a true slalom cut. That’s part of the new shaping principles involved here—the ski gets a bit rounder and smoother with a longer arc rather than squarer and sharper. We think smoothness is a good thing, offering more friendliness to the mix while keeping the performance squarely intact.

Skiers that are looking for the ultimate in precision, power, and performance should take a sharp look at the crisp Head Power Joy. This thing is built for speed and control with all of the bells and whistles built in. We even get a Protector Binding on this ski to go along with the Superflex PR suspension plate. There’s a lot to like here from tip to tail and from base to top.