First Look: Majesty Supernova Carbon

I have long had cambered skinny skis and a pleasant, easy-turning powder ski. I absolutely loved that powder ski, a pair of Fairweather Cathedrals, for what they are: damp, wide powder snarfflers (go talk to Graham, he really does make some amazing, beautiful skis). Skiing them has always felt like unstructured playtime. Any turn I want to make, whenever I want to make it, but with a flat enough tail to track through turns. The skis, like a golden retriever, never complained about how I skied them, no feedback ever apart from the unending stare from their beautiful topsheets. Turns could be unhurried. But that fun ends now. Mostly because I had the chance to ski a pair of Movement Alptracks 100s last spring in a surprise storm. Not that I loved the experience. The Alptracks, an extremely light, tight-radius, and cambered powder ski, battled mightily in variable spring powder covering wet-loose debris. They have a high-speed cadence, too. Each turn can only be so long before it’s time to crash or start the next one. It kind of feels like line dancing a beat behind the caller. But it got my mind going. What if powder skiing felt as engaging and responsive on big skis as it does on my toothpicks, without the added thrill that I just might drown in all that new snow? Would such a ski invariably feel like the high-paced death march of the Alptracks, especially in variable snow? Or could they feel like my beloved Fairweathers with a little back-talk, more cattle dog than dopey golden retriever?

So here we are. With some performance powder skis that are hopefully a neat compromise between the tweaker nonsense of the Alptracks and the unconditional love of my Fairweathers. They have another 1.5m to the radius compared to the Alptracks. And they’re somewhat perfectly in between the Alptracks and Fairweathers on weight (1200g, 1800g, and 1650g). I’m curious to see if that, along with the stability that weight brings, will be enough to slow down the pace of things without washing out into the lassitudes of unstructured skiing. 

Majesty makes unique skis. Lots of camber (nice), flat tails (also nice), and a modest tip rocker. See my first look at the Superpatrols for a little soapbox on the value of camber. Most notably, Majesty’s rearward mount point on these and the Superpatrols (they call it the COT, or Cut Off Tail) poses interesting questions for ski performance across a variety of skiing situations. This feature is what drew me to Majesty’s skis over all of the other “do it all” skis out there. It’s distinctive, especially at a time when most ski manufacturers continue to dull the sharp corners on their skis, a dollop of rocker at a time. It is remarkably hard to find a wide ski that doesn’t look and ski like a banana. But Majesty has turned the banana upside down. Or at least hopefully. 

The sensation I suspect these skis will provide – energetic, lively powder skiing and more than passable performance on the steep and firm – poses interesting questions for their place in a stable of skis. I imagine this will be an excellent 1 of 1 or 1 of 2, paired with a real-light, narrower ski (a Ski Trab Mistico is my immediate recommendation, though I haven’t spent real time on the Supernovas yet). Realistically, these are wide enough for the deepest days you’ll be touring, but thanks to the directional build and long effective edge, will likely work well enough in the steep terrain. Still likely to have a sub Freeride World Tour speed limit. I am suspicious these skis will be the gateway drug for the slarve-y, pivot-y skiers out there to try a cambered powder ski, but for those among us with a taste for the energy and versatility this kind of ski provides, I am not aware of much in the running with these skis. Don’t mention the Blizzards, toned down every year. Don’t want to hear about it. But who knows, maybe I live under a rock. Plus, when your banana-buddies skid and white-knuckle their way through firm, steep turns, you can laugh from your cambered throne, only to get bucked in the crust down below. 

Specs

Available lengths (cm): 161, 169, 177, 185 (tested length)

UnverifiedWeight (grams): 1300 (161), 1450 (169), 1540 (177), and 1630 (185) 

Dimensions (mm): 132-100-116 (161), 134-101-11 (169), 136-103-120 (177) and 138-105-122 (185)

Turn radius (m): 15.5 (161), 17 (169), 19.6 (177), 20 (185)

Shape: Flat tail, lots of camber, and modest tip rocker

Tip Rocker Length measured (mm): 600 (185)

Tail Rocker Length measured (mm): 300 (185)

Price: $1095