2020-2021 Majesty Havoc

Intro

We’re reviewing several of Majesty’s new skis, including the 118mm-wide Vanguard, 91mm-wide Superwolf, and the ski we’re discussing here, the 110mm-wide Havoc. All three are new for the 20/21 season, and we’re pretty excited about the new line.

The Havoc and women’s equivalent Vadera are directional freeride skis that fall into what seems to be a growing category: lightweight options that aren’t so heavy that they feel burdensome on the skin track, but that definitely prioritize downhill performance over minimum weight.

What Majesty says about the Havoc

“Havoc’s lightweight construction combined with 4×4 design concept delivers incredible maneuverability while the unique combination of quadrax fiberglass, full carbon layup, carbon/aramid fibers and durable engineered wood core embraces high performance and just the right amount of 3D flex.

We have built lightweight freeride skis that support dynamic responsiveness and unmatched skiing stability even in the sketchiest weather and terrain conditions.

The new 4R sidecut makes turns easier, giving more confidence, stability and control on all types of terrain. New 4R rocker tip reduces drag, maximizes control and top speed.

With Havoc, you can use the edge, keeping it engaged for longer and getting more out of the turn. You can do short sharp turns, long big mountain turns and release when needed.

Havoc is fast and at the same time very adaptive, it is smooth in turns no matter how fast you are going and no matter the conditions.

It’s a great technical everyday freeride ski.”

There’s a lot going on in the description, but if we had to pick out some highlights they’d be “everyday,” “stability,” and “adaptive.” Majesty is emphasizing the versatility of this ski, both in terms of conditions and the turn shapes / speeds that it suits.

The Havoc and several of Majesty’s other 20/21 skis feature what they call their “4×4” concept, which refers to the sidecut and rocker profile. Basically, both the sidecut and rocker profile consist of a blend of 4 different radii with the goal of, as noted above, making the skis versatile in terms of turn shapes and the ability to switch between carved and slarved turns. Let’s get into how that translates to the Havoc:

Shape / Rocker Profile

The Havoc’s shape doesn’t look particularly crazy / odd by today’s standards for a 110mm-wide ski. Its shape is fairly similar to the G3 ROAMr 108, Black Crows Corvus Freebird, Faction Agent 3.0, & Armada Tracer 108, with a pretty tapered tip and a less tapered tail.

The Havoc’s rocker profile is similarly directional, with a moderate amount of tip rocker and a much shallower, lower tail rocker line. Its rocker profile is pretty similar overall to the Corvus Freebird, its tail rocker line is similar to the ROAMr 108, while its tip rocker line is much shallower than the Tracer 108 & ROAMr 108.

Flex Pattern

Here’s how we’d characterize the flex pattern of the Havoc:

Tips: 7.5
Shovels: 7-7.5
In Front of Toe Piece: 8-9.5
Underfoot: 10
Behind the Heel Piece: 10-9.5
Tails: 9.5-9

This is a very strong ski overall, especially the back half. The front of the Havoc is still strong, though fairly easy to bend during a hand-flex. This is definitely a directional flex pattern though, with a much stronger tail vs. the tips.

Overall, the flex pattern of the Havoc is fairly similar to the Corvus Freebird and Faction Agent 3.0, though the Agent’s tail is a bit softer.

Sidecut Radius

The Havoc reportedly uses a blend of 4 different sidecut radii throughout the ski, with Majesty saying the average sidecut radius for the 186 cm length we have is 23 meters. 23 meters is neither super long nor super short, but we’re curious to see if the 4-radius design makes it feel notably better than skis with similar stated sidecut radii when it comes to making shorter and / or longer turns.

Mount Point

In line with the Havoc’s directional rocker profile and flex pattern is a traditional mount point of about -9.8 cm from true center.

Weight

At an average measured weight of 1820 grams per ski for the 186 cm length, the Havoc is definitely a lightweight ski (especially compared to any inbounds-oriented skis), though there are lighter options in the touring category such as the Volkl BMT 109, Moment Deathwish Tour, Atomic Backland 107, & Blizzard Zero G 105. But the Havoc’s weight is very much in line with some of the more downhill-oriented touring skis on the market like the WNDR Alpine Intention 110, Folsom Cash 106 Carbon, & Volkl Blaze 106.

Given that Majesty is marketing the Havoc as a “freeride” ski, this weight seems sensible and we’re curious to see how it will handle both the variety of conditions typically encountered in the backcountry, as well as more variable snow and higher speeds in the resort.

For reference, here are a number of our measured weights (per ski in grams) for some notable skis. Keep in mind the length differences to try to keep things apples-to-apples.

1476 & 1490 K2 Wayback 106, 179 cm (18/19–20/21)
1547 & 1551 Black Diamond Helio 105 Carbon, 185 cm (17/18–19/20)
1605 & 1630 Line Vision 108, 183 cm (19/20–20/21)
1606 & 1641 Blizzard Zero G 105, 188 cm (19/20–20/21)
1642 & 1651 Renoun Citadel 106, 185 cm, (18/19–19/20)
1642 & 1662 Atomic Backland 107, 182 cm (18/19–20/21)
1660 & 1680 Moment Deathwish Tour, 184 cm (19/20)
1692 & 1715 Moment Wildcat Tour 108, 184 cm (18/19–19/20)
1706 & 1715 Volkl BMT 109, 186 cm (17/18–20/21)
1725 & 1774 Faction Agent 3.0, 180 cm (20/21)
1745 & 1747 4FRNT Raven, 184 cm (16/17–19/20)
1752 & 1771 Amplid Facelift 108, 189 cm (18/19–20/21)
1784 & 1790 Volkl Blaze 106, 186 cm (20/21)
1787 & 1793 Fauna Pioneer, 184 cm (19/20–20/21)
1787 & 1806 WNDR Alpine Intention 110 – Cambered, 185 cm (19/20)
1806 & 1862 Armada Tracer 108, 180 cm (19/20–20/21)
1818 & 1823 Folsom Cash 106 Carbon, 184 cm (20/21)
1820 & 1821 Majesty Havoc, 186 cm (20/21)
1825 & 1904 Black Crows Corvus Freebird, 183 cm (16/17–19/20)
1828 & 1842 Elan Ripstick 106 Black Edition, 188 cm (19/20)
1848 & 1903 Line Sick Day 104, 186 cm (17/18–20/21)
1918 & 1931 Sego Condor 108, 187 cm (19/20–20/21)
1951 & 1953 Elan Ripstick 106, 188 cm (20/21)
1959 & 1975 Volkl V-Werks Katana, 184 cm (15/16–20/21)
1993 & 2026 Black Crows Atris, 184.2 cm (17/18–20/21)
2005 & 2035 Liberty Origin 106, 187 cm (19/20–20/21)
2006 & 2065 Head Kore 105, 189 cm (19/20–20/21)
2011 & 2028 Moment Wildcat 108, 184 cm (19/20)
2027 & 2052 K2 Reckoner 112, 184 cm (20/21)
2030 & 2039 Rossignol Soul 7 HD, 188 cm (17/18–19/20)
2041 & 2059 J Skis Slacker, 188 cm (20/21)
2046 & 2120 Black Crows Corvus, 188 cm (18/19–20/21)
2047 & 2049 Moment Deathwish, 190 cm (19/20–20/21)
2079 & 2105 Kastle FX106 HP, 184 cm (19/20–20/21)
2096 & 2100 Salomon QST 106, 181 cm (19/20–20/21)
2097 & 2113 DPS Alchemist Wailer 106 C2, 189 cm (19/20–20/21)
2110 & 2119 Moment Wildcat 108, 190 cm (19/20)
2112 & 2125 4FRNT MSP 107, 187 cm (18/19–20/21)
2120 & 2134 Blizzard Rustler 10, 188 cm (19/20–20/21)
2153 & 2184 Rossignol BLACKOPS Sender Ti, 187 cm (20/21)
2165 & 2211 K2 Mindbender 108Ti, 186 cm (19/20–20/21)
2165 & 2219 Icelantic Nomad 105, 191 cm (19/20–20/21)
2170 & 2180 Dynastar M-Free 108, 182 cm (20/21)
2177 & 2180 Moment Commander 108, 188 cm (19/20)
2182 & 2218 Nordica Enforcer 110 Free, 185 cm (17/18–20/21)
2188 & 2190 Prior Northwest 110, 190 cm (19/20–20/21)
2190 & 2268 Armada ARV 106Ti LTD, 188 cm (18/19–19/20)
2202 & 2209 Shaggy’s Ahmeek 105, 186 cm (19/20)
2232 & 2244 ON3P Woodsman 108, 187 cm (19/20)
2318 & 2341 J Skis The Metal, 186 cm (16/17–19/20)

Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About

(1) Just how versatile will the Havoc feel, in terms of conditions, terrain, and skiing style?

(2) Given its stiff and fairly minimally rockered tail, how demanding will the Havoc be if you end up backseat?

(3) At 110 mm underfoot, we’re curious to see how well the Havoc will handle both deep and firm snow.