Ski: 2019-2020 Dynastar Legend X106, 188 cm
Available Lengths: 173, 182, 188 cm
Blister’s Measured Tip-to-Tail Length: 187.1 cm
Blister’s Measured Weight per Ski: 1996 & 2012 grams
Stated Dimensions: 139-106-123 mm
Blister’s Measured Dimensions: 138.4-105.4-122.4 mm
Stated Sidecut Radius: 19 meters
Measured Tip & Tail Splay (ski decambered): 66 mm / 17 mm
Measured Traditional Camber Underfoot: 5 mm
Core: Paulownia + Fiberglass Laminate
Factory Recommended Mount Point: -11.45 cm from center; 82.1 cm from tail
[Note: Our review was conducted on the 18/19 Legend X106, which was not changed for 19/20, apart from graphics.]
Intro
Put the words “Dynastar” and “Legend” together in the same sentence, and a lot of skiers will start smiling and nodding. And now, we’re finally taking a look at the latest generation of Legends, the Legend X106 and the X96.
We’ll get to the X96 soon, but for now, here’s what Dynastar has to say about the Legend X106:
“Designed to take you anywhere, the all-new LEGEND X106 eliminates the boundary between ‘freeride’ and ‘all-mountain’ for truly inspiring all-terrain performance. Our newest Powerdrive Free construction unleashes smooth dynamic power, playful energy, and ground-breaking grip for the most responsive ski control. A progressive rocker profile and five-point sidecut supply the natural versatility and float to make the entire mountain your playground.”
There’s a lot going on in that description, so let’s just go ahead and get into the details.
Shape / Rocker Profile
First, the construction and finish of this ski look really nice.
The Legend X106 has quite a bit of tip and tail taper, and is very similar to the shape of the Cham 2.0 107 it replaces. (The widest point on the tail of the Legend X106 is 27.5 cm / 10.8” in from the end of the ski, then tapers back from there.)
The Legend X106 also has less tip splay but more tail rocker / splay than the Cham 107.
The X106 ski also has a notch on its tail for climbing skins, and at its weight, there’s no question this ski would make sense as a “50/50” ski, or even a dedicated touring ski.
Flex Pattern
Handflexing the Legend X106, here’s how we’d sum up its flex pattern:
Tips: 8
Shovels: 8.5-9
In Front of Toe Piece: 9.5-10
Underfoot: 10
Behind Heel Piece: 9.5-9
Tails: 9-9.5
While the first ¼ of the ski has a pretty accessible flex, the back ¾ of the ski is stiff. I mean stiff. And, in a comparison that might raise quite a few eyebrows, because I mean much stiffer than the 192 cm Dynastar Pro Rider (I just flexed the two skis back-to-back, and it isn’t really even close.)
But what makes that flex pattern even more interesting is our next section:
Weight
Take a look at how the Legend X106 compares to some other notable skis:
1848 & 1903 Line Sick Day 104, 186 cm
1923 & 1956 DPS Alchemist Wailer 106, 189 cm
1950 & 1977 Blizzard Rustler 10, 188 cm
1957 & 1958 Salomon QST 106, 188 cm
1970 & 1979 Atomic Backland FR 109, 189 cm
1996 & 2012 Dynastar Legend X106, 188 cm
2022 & 2047 Faction Dictator 3.0, 186 cm
2026 & 2056 Black Diamond Boundary Pro 107, 184 cm
2030 & 2039 Rossignol Soul 7, 188 cm (18/19)
2283 & 2290 ON3P Wrenegade 108, 189 cm (18/19)
2376 & 2393 Blizzard Cochise, 185 cm
So, compared to other “50/50” skis, the Legend X106 is coming in at a pretty similar weight.
But compared to more traditional alpine skis, the Legend X106 is still quite light.
But while we continue to see this trend of skis getting lighter and lighter, it is wild to me that we don’t see a corresponding trend of skis getting softer. To be clear, there are certainly a lot of softer-flexing skis on the market these days.
But to stick within Dynastar’s own line, their 192 cm, 105mm-underfoot Pro Rider weighs over 2600 g per ski. The new 188 cm, Legend X106 is 600 g per ski lighter … and yet it is also stiffer.
Kinda odd, isn’t it, that we seem to hate weight in the ski industry, but we don’t hate stiff flex patterns?
Some Comparisons
But the Legend X106 is by no means alone, these days, in the category of light + stiff ~105mm-wide skis, and here are a few examples:
DPS Wailer A 106, 189 cm
While the Wailer A 106 is even lighter than the Legend X106, this is one of the most direct comparisons, we think, to the Legend X106. Stay tuned.
Faction Dictator 3.0, 186 cm
And the Dictator 3.0 is the other ski that comes to mind. We found the Dictator 3.0 to require a very strong and precise pilot, and it’s going to be very interesting to see if the Legend X106 feels similar or more forgiving and / or more accessible than the 3.0.
Rossignol Soul 7, 188 cm
Whoa. It is very surprising to find that this 188 cm “Legend” ski comes in lighter than the 188 cm (18/19) Rossignol Soul 7.
And while the Soul 7 has even more traditional camber underfoot than the Legend X106, it’s tips & shovels are world’s softer than the Legend X106, and while the difference in the tails of the two skis is less drastic, the tails of the Soul 7 HD are still much softer than the Legend X106’s.
Blizzard Rustler 10, 188 cm
Similar weight, similar sidecut radius. We found that the Rustler 10 really wanted to be turning rather than running straight, and it’ll be interesting to see how similar or different are the tendencies of the Legend X106.
Atomic Vantage 107, 187 cm
Nothing much concrete to say yet other than we will be curious to A/B this new Vantage 107 against the Legend X106.
Bottom Line (For Now)
Honestly, we really aren’t sure what to expect here. While the Dynastar Legend X106 has a more playful, “5-point” tip shape, the flex pattern of this ski is no joke. So it’s going to be very interesting to see just what sort of blend of power and playfulness this ski has, and how demanding or forgiving of a ski it proves to be.
NEXT: Rocker Profile Pics
I have spent my entire season on them as a daily driver. I seldom grab other skis in my quiver now, including my LP105. It’s a great ski.
Woody, any affiliation with Dynastar? It’s odd that someone not affiliated with a brand has the time or want to post same sentiment almost everywhere that ski is reviewed or sold.
Just a fan boy. I have only posted that short excerpt on here and a slightly longer review on dynastar’s website, and a somewhat in depth review on TGR? I guess that counts as mindless posting everywhere on the internet.
It may be that when you post on one site it auto populates another. I seem to have read the “picking it over my 105” a few times is all.
And I too would like to know about metal. From page 12 of the dstar catalogue under both the 106 and 96: “Featuring the new Powerdrive technology combined with a palownia + titanal sandwich structure…”
All good till you get to the middle of page and it referecnes the Legend X series and states, “The titanal layer runs the length of the ski keeping it damp and predictable…”
Honestly, Dynastar (I know you’re not reading), but how hard is this.
Does the topsheet have a bit size rec (4.1 or 3.6) on it? That would at least tell me if there is a laminate that way,
Dynastar states that there is no metal laminate in the ski. Can you double check?
Andrew, I have an email reply from Dynastar that just pointed me to their powerdrive free construction chart (no metal). I picked up a pair because price was too silly to say no to and just drilled them with a 3.5 as stated on top sheet: no metal there. I know these are not the race build so no vertical ti laminate “stringers” as in that construction, so lots of misinformation on the net: I am 99.9% sure not metal.
This is interesting and frustrating.
The x106 requires a 3.5 bit and def no metal when drilled. The x96 is marked as needing a 4.1 and the w96 a 4.1. I’ve drilled neither of those.
If one looks at pages 31 thru 33, there it a “Ti” column. For the w96 it is marked that it has ti. The x96 no and the 106 no.
…mercy.
It doesn’t really matter because how they ski trumps the build but this should not be so difficult.
Hey you guys get some more time on this ski yet? Excited to hear more about it.
Hey, are you guys ever going to finish this review? There is quite a discrepancy between this pre-review breakdown and the blurb you gave this ski in the gear guide – clearly this ski wasn’t what you thought it was, and I’m quite curious as to why.
I’m shopping for a big mountain ski to replace my dying K2 Obseths. Today, I rode a pair of Legend X106 188s in a warm, coastal storm at Alyeska in AK. 12″ new, wind affected, variable conditions on the upper mountain…wet ice on the bottom…crud in between. I loved the ski. They handled everything well. They like going fast…very stable at speed on the run-outs, but they really shined in the untracked stuff. I’ll test drive some comparable skis before I buy, but it’s going to have to be a pretty remarkable ski to dissuade me from snagging a pair of Legend X106’s.
Loving the x106 as a touring set up in 182, had one day of lift served to get used to them, firm smooth and fast day, they ripped but were shorter than I’d buy for lift served. I’m 5’9″ & 170lbs. I got them last year and have skied a lot of pow, some corn and they handled some firm to bone rattling descents as well as i could expect. For background i had a lot of time on the green CHAM 107 so was already a fan of the shape. Cheers, Jim
I just bought these Dynastar Legend X106, 188 cm because of a recommendation…. and will ski them this weekend and come back for a review, if i remember and have a strong like or dislike.
With the amount of options on the market – i’m sure it’s hard for a reviewer to have enough ski days to test in multiple conditions, and still find the time to review.
I picked up a pair of Dynastar legend 106 from 2019 last month in 182cm and had a great time skiing them in resorts all kinds of conditions in SLC and elsewhere, and touring a few days with them. I mounted a set of Marker Kingpin M-werks on them and used Contour hybrid skins. I’m a heavy skier 200+ Comfortable at speeds (my watch says around 30ish mph) stable on corduroy, ice and chop. The ‘playful’ can get sort of squirrly at low speed on flats, but easy to turn on moguls, poppy even. They surf on powdery crud and tracked out lines with relative ease. Easy to turn on steeper non-ideal conditions, I think due to the tail taper, releasing the following edge. I’m not the best skier, but I liked them for challenging DBL Black resort terrain, and deep variable snow in Utah’s canyons in the Back country. If I could tour more than a few days a year, I would go with a lighter ski, but they work great as a part time quiver killer