Head Madtrix Mojos: Gear Reviews on MountainZone.com

climbalot The lifties at Las Lenas Resort couldn’t stop starring. My first chance to hop on the Head Mad Trix MoJo twin tip/all-mountain phatty was this summer on a trip down to Argentina with Extremely Canadian guides. The EC team had heard that skiers were taking these bad boys out of the park and onto the freeride scene but no one had seen it ‘till now. The slick white and red viper logo grabs you first, then you notice the fat, turned up tips and tails. But the clincher is the ride. With conditions that ranged from sticky, heavy slop to chalky winter fluff to Styrofoamy, punchy crust, the Mojo never let me down. You float like a butterfly.

The Mojo’s wood core stabilizes the soft flex so you don’t feel like you could collapse or taco the ski, and the sidecut makes transitions from powder to groomers smooth as butter. Catching air? You land softly and balanced frontside or fakey, thanks to a generous sweet spot and, of course, the soft tips. With a 125mm shovel and 90mm underfoot, the MoJo carves up the groomed and twists around the tree shots and steeps. If I was skiing hardpack steeps or bumps all day, I’d want more of an all-mountain carver, but if you’re looking for a true fat ski that can go anywhere when terrain dictates, these are the ideal floaties. BTW, you can mount any binding onto the boards, just make sure the brake gates are wide enough under foot to work or they’ll catch on the ski’s waist and fail to dig into the snow if you eject. The MoJo has three settings for binding placement. Head suggests using the back position for big mountain riding.

Just for reference, I am a 120-lb, expert rider. If you weigh in at 190+, try out the Head Monster iM85. It’s got basically the same dimensions but offers an extra sheet of metal. The ski is a rocket.

$599. (800) 874-3235. www.head.com/ski — Reviewed & Written by Jill Adler, MountainZone.com