The M-Line is Dynastar’s Mountain sport range of skis, for skiers looking to spend as much time as possible away from the groomed runs. It covers ski touring, ski mountaineering, freeride charging, a bit of all-mountain and backcountry freestyle.
The M-Pro’s are the directional freeride weapons, while the M-Free models are more about that freeski sensation. We’ve been testing the M-Pro 90, M-Pro 99, M-Pro 99 W and M-Free 99. In true SkiKitInfo style, we’ve made a video, below, to make it super easy for you to see just what we think of these models, as well as the rest of the M-Pro and M-Free ranges.
If firm-snow performance is what you’re seeking, then check out our test reports and full range review of Dynastar’s S-Line skis.
The E-Line is just like the S-Line, but tailored for female skiers. We’ve also been testing and reviewing those models, and the full report will be available soon.
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Test & full range review of Dynastar’s M-Pro & M-Free skis for men & women
Timestamps
There’s quite a lot of info in the video, so here are the timestamps so you can jump to the section about the kit your really looking at. These links will take you to YouTube, at the appropriate part of the video.
01:09 – Dynastar M-Line ski construction overview
02:05 – Dynastar M-Pro Rider specs
02:31 – Dynastar M-Free 118 specs
02:37 – Dynastar M-Free 108 specs
03:37 – Dynastar M-Pro 90 / 90 W
03:42 – Dynastar M-Pro 84 specs
03:47 – Dynastar M-Pro 84 W specs
03:55 – Dynastar M-Pro 90 specs
05:37 – Dynastar M-Pro 90 W specs
05:54 – Dynastar M-Pro 99 / 99W
07:47 – Dynastar M-Pro 99 specs
08:15 – Dynastar M-Pro 99 W specs
08:26 – Dynastar M-Free 99
09:51 – Dynastar M-Free 99 specs
11:22 – Dynastar Look SPX 12 binding
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Maybe you prefer to read rather than watch. Here’s the transcript from the video, with some other tit-bits, to get your teeth into.
Intro
Hi, I’m Al and in this SkiKitInfo review we’re going to look at Dynastar’s M-Pro and M-Free skis.
These are your off-piste and freeride style products but they’ve got some really surprising attributes that we’ll let you know about later in the video.
Thank you Hemel Snow Centre
A huge thank you to Hemel Snow Centre. This is an indoor snow slope just outside London in the UK and without that facility we wouldn’t be able to get our testing finished, especially given how hard it was for us to get to the mountains during the Covid pandemic so a huge thank you to them.
If you’ve got a local dry slope or indoor snow slope it’s a great opportunity for you to go along support the slope but mainly to get your ski legs back before you next head out to the mountains.
Dynastar M-Line overview
This is the M-Line from Dynastar, their mountain line. They do touring product in their M line with the M-Tour and M-Vertical but here we’re going to focus on the M-Pro and M-Free skis for men and women Dynastar’s M range offers a real mix of punch on firm snow which was a real surprise for us but then usability and profiling and construction that helps off-piste. The M-Pro and M-Free do differ even though they sit in the same family and have similar widths. The M-Pro pro have a stiffer, beefier construction, a much flatter tail, you’re mounted in a more traditional mount point and they are more directional. The M-Free has more of a freeski feel, you’ve got a big upsweep at the back, the bindings are mounted further forward and they’ve got a softer construction.
Dynastar M-Pro models
In the M-Pro we tested the women’s 99, the men’s 90 and the men’s 99, as well as the M-Free 99. They do other widths, so in the M-Pro they do a Pro Rider, which is 105, which is a full poplar core, full layer of metal; it’s a bit of a beast. It comes in one length in 192 and it’s got a long sidecut at 27 metres. That’s for full-charging, big mountain style skiing. The majority of people are gonna get something like the M-Pro 99 or the M-Pro 90 and that’s why we’ve covered them here.
Dynastar M-Free models
In the M-Free, then it goes as fat as 118 under foot, and it goes as narrow as 99. There’s a 108 in the middle but here we’ve got the M-Free 99.
Dynastar M-Line Hybrid woodcore & construction
Apart from the M-Pro Rider, which is the widest model in the M-Pro range, in all of the other widths they have a hybrid wood core. So, this is a poplar wood so great power and energy, keeps the skis really lively, but then that’s combined with polyurethane. Don’t think polyurethane is just soft and a bit limp and you’re not gonna have any life in the skis, it actually adds another dimension. So, it brings the weight down a bit, which is a benefit in wider skis because you don’t want them to be too heavy, but it adds dampening, which is brilliant because you don’t have to chuck loads of metal in the ski to get that dampening.
By adding the polyurethane it keeps the ride really smooth, really supple and you’re not losing snow sensation which can be a bit of a disadvantage if you chuck loads of metal in the ski.
The M-Pro’s do have a titanal layer on top whereas the M-Free skis don’t have those.
Dynastar M-Pro 90 & M-Pro 90 W
The M-Pro 90, of these three models that we tested in the M-Pro range, this is the narrowest.
They do an 84 but really people are going to be looking at 90 and 99 and wider for freeride skis.
Really interesting model the M-Pro 90; the grip from it was immense, it really does behave like a like an all-mountain, piste focussed ski on that firmer snow. In all three of these M-Pro models grip was really really surprising.
Then you’ve got this huge rocker at the front, it really is very pronounced. Quite a lot of taper, so the widest part of the ski is relatively far back.
Dynastar Ti Rocket Frame
But that pairs really well with that Rocket Ti layer, which is narrow at the front then it broadens out under the binding so you’ve got lots of grip and punch in there, and then the metal layer stays relatively wide. It does narrow a bit after the binding so it kind of tapers in from the sides but it’s still quite wide and it goes a good distance down through the tail of the ski. That means also you’ve got a lot of energy out of the turn, and there’s a lot of pop out of that tail.
So, if you do want to ski with power, you do want to ski with aggression, then the M-Pro 90 and the 99’s offer you that skiing experience and they are awesome.
The grip from it, this M-Pro 90, is more like a piste performance all-mountain kind of ski, it’s really surprising, but it is a relatively narrow footprint at 90. But then, combine that with that rocker, which really lifts up in variable, lumpy snow, that challenging conditions off-piste and especially in soft snow, so you get a good mix. For something that’s relatively narrow underfoot at 90 you do get a surprising amount of float in it.
Tip chatter
On firmer snow and especially at speed you do see the tip chattering. Now, that word ‘see’ is very important. If you’re looking at the ski you can see it. When you are skiing it, it doesn’t detract from the skiing experience. If you’re just looking where your skiing, not down at your skis, the tip chatter isn’t detrimental
It really is a true kind of all-mountain ski; it skis powder, it skis chop, it skis firm snow, it skis spring snow, and it does it really well.
Dynastar M-Pro 99 W & M-Pro 99
Moving on to the 99. So, we’ve got the M-Pro 99 for women and the M-Pro 99 for men; both poplar and PU cores, both have that Rocket Ti layer that is narrow at the front, widens underfoot and then carries on through the tail so you’ve got that energy out of it, but they are markedly different sizes. So the ladies is a 162, the men’s is a 186 and that length difference makes a huge impact on the ski itself.
Dynastar M-Pro 99 W skis short
We had men and women testing the ladies 99, the M-Pro 99. And everybody, and probably more so the ladies actually, so Sally from Ski Bartlett had a really good comment on this that it felt really, really short.
It’s a relatively soft ski, because it’s soft through the front of the ski, it’s got this huge rocker, it felt really short. So, even in a 162 you can size up from that. So if you’ve got good ability you may want to look slightly longer than you might normally have in this ski.
Dynastar M-Pro 99 for men is punchier
On the men’s it was a lot punchier, a lot stronger ski. You had to put energy into it, so you have to ski it hard to get the most out of it but when you ski it like that; I mean it is called an M-Pro so that kind of indicates where it’s at.
It was surprising if you want to do short turns. You have to work for it but I was amazed at how tight you could make the turns with good edge angles and good pressure through the ski but really it wants to do moderate to long arcs and it prefers moderate to higher speeds. That’s when you’re going to get the most out of the M-Pro 99.
For that kind of skiing, a bit of kind of big mountain charging; you want to ski some shoots maybe. If you want to ski tighter terrain then you may step down. Like, this 186 is the longest model but they do shorter lengths. I’m 80 kilos and that’s probably as long as I need to go in this ski. I don’t need to go 190 plus.
You can go 192 with a Pro Rider but that’s not the ski for most people. The 99 in a fatter footprint. If you want a more of an all-mountain feel then look at the 90.
Dynastar M-Pro 99 W is a ton of fun
The ladies is a ton of fun. It’s so easy to use, especially in the shorter 162 length. It’s very nimble, it feels really light on your feet and that’s a reflection of that poplar-PU core. It’s got quite a long tip rocker, so just be aware that with that tip rocker and taper you may want to size up a little bit.
Dynastar M-Free 99
The M-Free, you lose the metal layer, this Rocket Ti layer, but like all of the other skis you share the torsion box construction. So, you take the core of the ski and instead of just putting a fiberglass laminate they take the glass and they wrap the whole core. And this actually adds torsional stability into the core because it can’t then twist in this glass wrap. And that results in amazing amounts of grip for this.
For a non-metal ski that’s relatively wide at 99, the punch underfoot is almost comparable with the M-Pro which is high praise because this doesn’t have that full sheet of metal where this one does under the binding.
Why choose the Dynastar M-Free rather than the M-Pro
It is a ton of fun. If you want that drifty freeride feel then that’s when you would probably look at the M-free. The M-Pros actually were surprisingly drifty but they are slightly more aggressive skis. If you ski with good technique and you want a directional ski the M-Pros are your choice, and then you’ve got a choice of width. The M-Free comes from a free ski heritage. They’ve got a much bigger sweep at the back, the bindings are mounted further forward.
Tails can catch in heavier snow
Now, this is noticeable. If you find yourself on the back seat a bit, in more challenging conditions; maybe some grabby snow off-piste or some dense snow, then you’ll find it harder to get the tail through in that turn because it’s got quite a big sweep and you are mounted quite far forward so proportionately you’ve got a longer tail on the ski.
If you’ve got good technique, if you are well centred or far forward it isn’t an issue, so that’s not a problem. And if you’re used to that style of ski, where the bindings are quite far forward and you’ve got this big kind of almost twin tip style at the back, then that won’t be a challenge for you.
M-Free fun
You gain in playfulness; they are such fun. Good grip on firm snow but take them into the softer stuff and that’s when you’ll have just the best time. I think the graphic on the M-Free is much stronger than the M-Pro.
While the bases of the skis look really good this muted graphic is just that, it’s quite muted, so it’ll suit some people who’ll want that toned-down look. Whereas some people might want a bit more energy in the graphic of the ski, and you get that with the M-Free range.
Is 99mm wide enough for a freeride ski?
The M-Free is a great width in this 99 model. You can go fatter if you want to, absolutely, and you’ve got shared construction. In the 108 you’ve still got this poplar-PU core, you’ve got that fiberglass torsion box, but you do have a wider footprint for the softer snow days.
So North America will probably be looking at the wider models. In Europe, where often we ski narrower models than North America, then the 99 is a great choice. And for getting back home at the end of the day on firmer snow you still have that performance.
Look SPX 12 bindings
All of these skis have Look bindings, because Dynastar and Look are sister companies. They all have that 180° release at the toe. The Look bindings are just superb.
Often people look at them and think they look really small in the toe, and you might be used to other bindings that are really beefy in the toe; don’t think that doesn’t give you the hold, don’t think that doesn’t give you the performance. You’ve got quite a lot of elastic travel in the toe and then you’ve got around 27mm in the heel, which is a lot. So, that 45mm of elastic travel at the toe means that you can correct a situation before it all goes horribly wrong and you eject out the binding.
But you’ve got the added benefit that with the Look toe, not only does it release sideways, you’ve also got that vertical release so in a backwards fall the toe of the boot can lift out of the binding because this can rotate up, which is really good. You don’t get that on a lot of bindings.
So for performance orientated skiers, the Look SPX 12 is a really good option and you do feel really held into the ski, really connected to that skiing experience.
Grip-Walk ready
All these bindings are Grip Walk ready, so that means once adjusted to your boot sole length it doesn’t matter whether you’re in a flat KISO 5355 regular Alpine sole, or whether you’re in a curved ISO 23223 Grip Walk sole, you can just step in the bindings you don’t have to adjust anything in the toe like you used to with the older Look models.
If you want to find out more then check out the ski boot binding compatibility article that we’ve got on SkiKitInfo.com.
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So that is Dynastar’s M-Line range, their M-Pro and M-Free models for winter 2021-22
Happy skiing and we look forward to seeing you in the mountains sometime soon.
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Want to see more of what Dynastar’s got to offer, you can visit their site at Dynastar.com.
Consumer testing
Dynastar is a strong believer in involving consumers in their ski design and evolution process. Dynastar states that 10,000 consumers test Dynastar skis every season, across a range of resorts. This review and feedback process is a fundamental part of how Dynastar improves and optimises their products. They also work really closely with their team of elite athletes, across a wide range of skiing disciplines, to innovate and develop new products.
If you’re interested in testing Dynastar skis, you can find out about dates of up-coming tests on the Dynastar Facebook page. Dates typically appear on there from early October, for the coming season.
Independent, honest, unbiased reviews & tests
All of the info, reviews and testing by SkiKitInfo.com is independent and unbiased, to give you a full and honest appraisal of the products. Brands don’t pay us to review their kit or have any say in how the review turns out. We’re all passionate ski experts and want you to have the best information available.
Quoted Prices
*Prices quoted here can be a mixture of recommended retail price from the brand and prices that you can currently get the kit for from retailers in that territory. The prices may therefore be less or more than you can find in-store / online and are only intended to give you a guide as to what you may expect to pay.
N/A means a price, or the product, was not available to us in that territory at the time of writing this article.
Always ensure you do adequate research when buying ski equipment to ensure you’re getting the best service and advice from the retailer, combined with a price that works for your budget. Don’t always assume that cheaper means better value.
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