2027 Head Oblivion 84

The 2027 Head Oblivion 84 gets a graphic refresh for this year but otherwise returns unchanged. Oblivion is becoming a line within a brand that is making a lot of skiers quite happy. With five Oblivion models, the 84 is the second narrowest and the one that’s likely best suited for true freestyle competition. It gets a better build than the 79 yet remains a bit more focused on dedicated park skiing than the 94. At the same time, it keeps somewhat of a directional and non-symmetrical shape that allows all-mountain experiences to still exist in this ski. These skis do have a strong feel to them that makes them a great option for dedicated park skiers.

By incorporating a lot of the sturdy needs from the race room, the Oblivion 84 gets a strong and powerful core. The build of the ski is geared towards durability and energy for landing huge airs, hitting multiple rails, and just withstanding hard flexing and bending throughout the seasons. They use their wood core with a sandwich style of construction, so this feels like a real ski for sure. By including thicker material in the bases and edges, the ski has more of a hefty feel than some other mid-80's twin tips, and that’s certainly by design. In the 176, the ski hits the scale at 1834 grams, so it’s got some burliness to it for sure. They also use their independent suspension system in the build, which is basically a fancy way of indicating that the sidewall thickness is thinned as you move towards the tips and tails. While not a groundbreaking construction, it makes good sense in these twin tips that need more flex and a lighter swing weight at the ends as opposed to more directional skis that are more consistent in thickness from tip to tail. When you feel it in your hands, it feels like a sharp, strong, and sturdy product. Tester Colin Wiedersheim calls it “crisp and energetic from the camber. Carves quite well with nice rebound.”

At 84 mm underfoot, the Oblivion is narrow enough to hold on firmly for when the park and pipe are hard pack and ice, but wide enough still to provide a nice, balanced platform to stand on. You do need some width underfoot to be stable on landings, and there must be a nice mix between too narrow and too wide—seems like the 84 is a good place to be. With a longer turn radius of 19.3-meters in the 176, this ski is smooth and not catchy in the mid-turn at all. As opposed to some of the other more modern park skis out there, the Oblivion 84 isn’t too big on taper in the tips and tails, relying on a more traditional shape when looking at the ski from straight on. There is some rocker with very dramatic splay, and this is also more traditional when it comes to twin tip profiles. It’s a bit less symmetrical than some others out there, so Oblivion 84 mainly sticks to the roots of freestyle/park skiing rather than more progressive shaping and styles. Camber is a beautiful thing when it comes to delivering energy and pop to the ski. While we’d hesitate to call it “old school” in terms of its overall nature, it does feel like it’s more tradtional when it comes to shape and style.

There’s got to be a park ski for everyone. Surely, there are skiers out there that prefer this style of ski, and maybe that’s a big part of the reason why they make Oblivions this way. Either way you choose to look at it, if you’re the type of skier that likes a long effective edge and a high cambered profile in their twin tip ski, this 2027 Head Oblivion 84 is the way to go. For fantastic park character and revelatory on-trail capacity, this ski is a must.