2022 DYNASTAR M-FREE 99 SKI REVIEW

For 2021, Dynastar completely overhauled their all-mountain and freeride ski collections, giving us the new M-Pro, M-Tour, and M-Free lines. Over the last year, we’ve talked about quite a few of those, perhaps most notably in our full reviews of the M-Pro 99 and M-Free 108. There were rumors, nay, whispers of another ski that we unfortunately didn’t get for the 2021 season, but has now been officially announced for the 2021/22 season, and that ski is the M-Free 99. Before the 99, the M-Free line consisted of just 2 skis, the 108 and the 118. It didn’t feel complete, although both of those skis are really good. It just felt like there was something missing, something narrower. We asked Dynastar that question at some point last season and they somewhat reluctantly did tell us that we would get this ski, but we had to keep our mouths shut… until now!

So, as you might expect, the M-Free 99 follows the same trend as the M-Free 108 and 118. The same build, a very similar shape, and overall, a relatively similar skiing experience too. Let’s start with construction, as that was a big focus when Dynastar was developing these new skis. The M-Free 99 is built using Dynastar’s Hybrid Core, specifically a combination of poplar wood and a low-density PU material. The wood is positioned in the center of the ski, longitudinally. The PU material is positioned along the edges of the ski. This construction is designed to shed weight, while also providing a smooth, damp feel. The poplar wood provides stability, energy, and some power. The PU keeps the weight down, while also giving the ski a more damp, smooth feel than you’d get without it. I like this construction, and I think it’s a cool way to give a ski some vibration damping without including metal. More and more manufacturers are getting really good at that, and it’s cool to see how their strategies change from brand to brand. It’s worth noting here that the M-Free 99 does replace the Menace 98, and one of the things that jumped out to us in comparing it to that ski is the difference in weight. The M-Free 99 is about 1850 g per ski in the 179 cm length, while the Menace 98 is 2100 g in the comparable length, 181 cm. That’s quite a bit lighter.

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Then comes the shape. In the M-Free 108, we talked about its long rocker, significant splay, and smooth early taper shape. That all pretty much carries over to the M-Free 99, just in a narrower waist width. Both of these skis actually have reasonably high-rise camber underfoot, which I think is important to their performance, but the rocker is likely the first thing you’ll notice. In the 179 cm M-Free 99 (which measures out to about 178 cm), there is 36 cm of tip rocker and 34 cm of tail rocker. Having a freestyle background, I get pretty excited when those numbers are close to each other. That, by a rough calculation, means the center of the camber is about 1 cm back from the true center mark on the ski. That would allow someone to go pretty close to true center without completely messing up the performance of the ski. For reference, the recommended mount point is 7 cm back from true center. I tested the M-Free 99 in the 179 cm length a little bit forward from that, around 6 cm back from true center. More on mount points later. Those rocker stats also indicate that almost 40% of the ski is rocker, which is a significant amount, and is another indicator of the intended feel of this ski.

And what is that feel, you might be asking yourself? Surfy, smeary, agile, quick, playful… The list goes on and on. I could use a lot of different adjectives to describe the M-Free 99. Let’s start with groomers, as we often do in these reviews. The M-Free 99, despite its abundant tip and tail rocker, actually carves reasonably well on firm snow. That’s definitely not a focus of its design, but it does it. As we’ve talked about with other skis, there is a limit to how much you can pressure the tip and forebody of a ski. This isn’t something you’re driving into turns with a lot of fore-aft movements, rather one that prefers to be skied in a lateral, side to side manner when linking carves. When doing so, it feels surprisingly strong and relatively quiet. I give a lot of credit to the combination of poplar and PU. Poplar provides some springiness, while the PU keeps the vibrations down. For me, when carving, it always came down to balance. If I was centered on the ski, I could ski fairly fast and somewhat aggressively. Allow your weight to get too far forward, however, and you’re going over the handlebars.

Now, some might consider that a downside, and I suppose it is in some ways, but that’s not what this ski was designed for. Skiers that want to drive the forebody of their skis into a turn are likely better off on an M-Pro 99, which definitely lets you do that. Where the M-Free really shines is how it takes that ability to carve and pairs it with incredibly easy edge release and a relatively symmetrical feel for skiing switch. Short, skidded turns are incredibly easy on the M-Free 99. It’s washy, but not too washy. It lets you release your edge and allows the ski to easily swing around, but it’s not so much of a noodle that it doesn’t want to go back the other way eventually. Skis that are too drifty in that regard can be kind of boring, but the M-Free makes some really nice rhythmic, skidded turns. Then there’s the whole skiing switch side of things. That got me excited about the M-Free 108 last season, and the same is true on the 99. This ski loves to be skied switch, and loves to pop little 180s all over the mountain. I do think I would go ever further forward from the recommended spot if I got to keep a personal pair of these skis (hint… hint… Dynastar…). I expect I would settle around 2-3 cm back from true center, another 3 cm forward from where I tested it. That would make it even more balanced for spins and skiing switch, but would take away some directional performance, so that wouldn’t be for everyone. It would just pain me to skip over that capability.

Then we get to off trail performance, soft snow capabilities, etc. It really is a mini M-Free 108 and has a ton of the same characteristics in soft snow and un-groomed terrain. Again, just like on a groomer, the edge release is so incredibly easy. It’s also relatively lightweight. When you combine the shape with the low swing weight, it’s the type of ski that will make you feel like a better skier in tight, technical terrain. It’s so easy to maneuver, even after making a mistake or something like that. I always like that characteristic in a ski… the ability to recover. We talked about that recently when discussing the Rustler 10, and I think the M-Free 99 is another ski that does that really well. It’s not punishing if you make a mistake, rather it’s so quick to throw sideways and so light that it actually feels like it slows down time and allows you to get back on track, back on your line.

This ski also floats super well for being 99 mm underfoot. The tip and tail shape is basically ideal for soft snow. The smooth taper never feels catchy, but it also leaves the tips and tails wide enough that you feel like you’re getting some good float up there, rather than just underfoot. If it had more aggressive taper, it wouldn’t be as good in soft snow in my opinion. The M-Free 108 is definitely the superior powder ski with its extra 9 mm of width, but the 99 is still really good. For someone that doesn’t like to switch skis all the time and likes to have a smaller quiver, it’s enough float for most powder days, especially for a skier based on the east. A western skier would almost definitely have a wider ski for really deep days, but the 99 would be a great daily driver for a playful skier.

Overall, I think it’s a great ski, and I think there are a lot of skiers that would enjoy skiing it. There’s some freestyle influence in it to the point where you’ll probably even see some people use it in the park (especially considering it’s replacing the Menace 98, which is often spotted in the park). On the other hand, it would also be a valuable tool for someone who really enjoys skiing tight, technical lines. You certainly don’t have to be a freestyle guy to enjoy it. I could see a whole slew of different skiers here in Stowe benefitting from its performance, from college kids all the way up to legendary locals in their 60s who still beat you to the lines they cut 20-30 years ago. I also want to end with a quick note on the Menace 98. We like that ski a lot too, but there are a TON of similarities between it and the Rossignol BLACKOPS Holyshred. As that ski carries forward to 2022, and considering Rossi and Dynastar are sister brands, I think it makes a whole lot of sense that Dynastar went in a different direction with the M-Free 99.

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Written by Jeff Neagle on 03/04/21