Dynastar's Unapologetically Stiff Twin-Tip Skis Bridges the Gap Between Park and Freeride

The Dynastar M-Free 108 is an absolute resort freeride monster, balancing power and agility, and once again comes in as a freeride tester favorite on the daily driver resort charging list. Dynastar carries over the shape and construction from last year, when they brought their more eco-friendly Hybrid Core 2.0 (polyurethane/poplar) to the M-Free 108. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

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2027 Dynastar M-Free 108 Specs

• Size skied: 185cm, 192cm
• Lengths available: 162cm, 170cm, 178cm, 185cm, 192cm
• Sidecut: 138mm – 108mm – 128mm
• Radius: 18m (185cm)
• Profile: twin rocker
• Weight: 2200g (185cm)

Shape, Flex, and Construction 

While on the narrower end for a true freeride comp ski, the Dynastar M-Free 108 still takes cues from the shape and construction of the brand’s dedicated FWT ski, the M-Free 112.

Like its bigger sibling, the 108mm-waisted M-Free 108 offers versatility above all in its shape, with a healthy tip and tail rocker, a fairly centered mount point (though some testers found it could be moved up even further), and a shorter but very useful 18-meter turn radius. 

Inside the ski, Dynastar uses the same fiberglass torsion box and poplar wood/PU construction found across the M-Free line, without the use of metal to stiffen up and dampen the ski. The M-Free 108 is a bit stiffer than the 112, and features much more pronounced camber, adding both pop and edge grip.

The twin rocker shape makes the ski feel rather short, so don’t be afraid to size up for extra stability and float–the 192cm version is one of the most approachable “long” skis out there.

On-Snow Performance 

The M-Free 108 remains one of the most capable resort freeride skis thanks to its balance of nimble agility and hard-charging muscle. 

On hardpack, the 108 is a surprisingly energetic groomer ski. Width is never a good thing on full-on ice and that remains true here but in all other conditions, the M-Free 108 is a very easy, intuitive ski on hardpack. What’s doubly impressive is that with all that edge hold, the ski also easily breaks free from turns and can slash/pivot on command.

“Once I found the sweet spot in the ski and figured out how it wanted to be skied I recognized that stiffness came in handy but didn’t make the ski overly cumbersome,” said tester James “Larry” McCluskey.

In big mountain terrain, the M-Free 108 offers similar levels of confidence, especially when things get really steep and technical. It doesn’t offer quite the float and point-and-plow stability of the larger 112, but is a better choice when hop turning and billygoating through peppery terrain.

“Getting comfortable in the air on these skis was quick to learn. They ski confidently through the transition and give a natural pop that is easy to time. A very stompable ski indeed,” another tester said.

Comparisons 

Some testers pointed out that the M-Free 108 kind of falls into a sort of no-man’s land when it comes to comparisons. It’s not quite wide enough as a dedicated pow ski, but is a bit too wide for dedicated all-mountain use in most places. The stiff twin-tip shape also precludes it from falling into the “playful” pow/all-mountain category.

However, a few comparisons beg to be made. First is to the Head Kore 106Ti, which, like the M-Free, is the smaller sibling to a dedicated big-mountain competition freeride ski. In this comparison, the Dynastar M-Free 108 takes the cake when it comes to being more fun and intuitive to ride, whereas the Head Kore 106Ti offers a bit more power to skiers with more of a race background.

Compared to the Atomic Bent 110, which shares a similar genre-bending mid-fat freestyle shape, the M-Free 108 offers significantly more high-speed stability and power, at the expense of playfulness, jibbiness, and float in deep snow. 

What Type of Skier Is the Dynastar M-Free 108 Best For? 

Dynastar’s M-Free 108 is a tough ski to pin a label on, but would make a lot of skiers very happy, especially those coming from a freestyle background looking for a one-ski quiver out West. It has the energy and edge grip to make skiing hardpack and wind buff extremely fun; it has just enough float for most resort pow days; and it has the muscle to not get tossed around when things get tracked out.