Dynastar M-Tour 108 Skis

The M-Tour 108’s are a dedicated touring ski and will appeal to a more niche audience than compared to their heavier brethren, the M-Free 108 Skis which are more of an all-mountain freeride ski. While both the M-Free and M-Tour share the same Poplar/PU wood core, the M-Free 108 Skis use Dynastar’s newer Hybrid Core 2.0 construction which differs from that of the original Hybrid Core found in the M-Free 108 Skis. The M-Tour 108 Skis incorporates three directional wood layers (longitudinal, transversal and vertical) instead of one which requires less glued fibreglass layers which results in a lower environmental footprint. Basalt Fibre V2 is also used in the skis construction for their unique absorption properties. With similar mechanical properties to fibreglass, Basalt has a reduced weight advantage of around 25% so they are used for binding reinforcement in the M-Tour 108 Skis.

At 108mm underfoot, the M-Tour 108’s are Dynastar’s widest free-touring skis. Their super floaty dimensions and lightweight build are ideal for touring while their full tip-to-tail sidewall construction maximizes edge grip and precision. This results in energetic, fun skis with a stable ride for skiing deep pow and anything else you might find outside the boundary ropes.

With a directional shape and rocker profile the M-Tour 108 Skis are designed to be floaty and fun in deep snow. Their fat tips have generous amounts of progressive rocker to keep you on top of the snow no matter how deep it gets. Seriously, that tip-rocker is insanely huge.

Underfoot you’ll find an average amount of camber to provide some pop and personality, especially when snow conditions are less than ideal.

In the tail end of the skis, there is a much subdued early rise which ensures that more of the ski is in contact with the snow to maximize skin grip on challenging skin tracks. There is also an integrated tail notch which helps to keep your skins centred and attached to the skis.

Just like the M-Pro and M-Free Skis, the M-Tour 108’s use Dynastar’s Adaptativ Sidecut which provides a smooth transition between the sidecut found underfoot and that in the geometry of the tips and tails. This translates to the skis being more predictable and smooth in a variety of turn shapes and styles from short a quick to long and arcing.

To minimize weight and ensure the M-Tour 108 Skis are optimized for ski touring I mounted them with the Look HM Rotation 12 Bindings (these are the demo versions) which are a rebadged Dynafit ST Rotation Binding. Regardless of branding, the Rotation 12 Bindings are a lightweight, high-performance free-touring binding with a DIN range of 5-12. The pivoting pin-tech toe piece is what sets this binding apart as it provides increased elasticity and a more reliable retention and release. This means you get better performance in a sturdy package that weighs just 1270g for the pair. Prices at $729.99CAN / $629.95US, the Look HM Rotation 12 Bindings round out this dedicated ski touring kit nicely, allowing for more aggressive backcountry lines without slowing you down on the skin track.

• Hybridcore 2.0
• Poplar PU core
• Sandwich full sidewall construction
• Sintered Bases
• Basalt Fiber V2 binding reinforcements

• Adaptiv Sidecuts
• Hybrid 2.0 Light Poplar PU core
• Unidirectional Fibreglass
• Directional progressive rocker keeps the ski stable at speed and floaty in powder.

Much like Dynastar’s M-Tour 99 Skis that I reviewed previously, the M-Tour 108 Skis are made specifically for backcountry skiing in deep soft snow. While I always review skis with their intended purpose in mind it’s also nice to test them in terrain and conditions that they are not necessarily designed for—specifically resort skiing on groomers. I do this because not everyone can afford to have a dedicated touring ski as well as a ski specifically for the resort. Basically, I am always on the lookout for that quiver of one ski that can do it all, something with the right rocker profile, dimensions, flex and forgiveness. It of course can’t be too heavy given it is a touring-specific ski but should also not be too light (there is such a thing) as this would mean while it's great at touring it would be horrible in bounds.

The M-Tour 108 Skis have an ideal weight for touring at just 3000g / 6.6lbs for the pair, and still carry enough mass that they can win a battle with broken snow and chunder when needed. At 108 underfoot, they are definitely heavier than the M-Tour 99’s but this is not always a bad thing as the M-Tour 99 Skis are quite narrow underfoot for skiing here in the Southern Selkirks of British Columbia where we get more than our fair share of pow.

With more rocker in the tips than you'll ever see on most other skis, the M-Tour 108 Skis float without any real effort at all. Lapping deep pow lines in the backcountry was simply effortless but this generous rocker does mean that there is obvious tip chatter on firm groomed runs in bounds which compromises the ski's stability at speed. Luckily the M-Tour 108 Skis have a fairly soft flex pattern so they are forgiving and have an easy edge release when needed. The poplar core and PU built into the ski’s layup does an impressive job of ironing out the bumps and jitters found on days with less-than-ideal snow conditions.

Long radius turns in soft snow are what the M-Tour 108 Skis are designed for and with an aggressive camber underfoot they pop you out of turns and provide a fun and engaging personality. Edge-to-edge transition is quite fluid for a ski of this width but you will notice that they provide less grip on firm and icy snow. This is to be expected given how much early rise there is in the tips but thankfully the relatively flat tails finish out each turn as they provide more edge contact with the snow surface and more grip than the M-Free 108 Skis. This allows the M-Free 108 Skis to slarve and smear turns, something the M-Tour 108 Skis can also do to a certain degree.

The M-Tour 108 Skis have the best performance-to-weight ratio of any ski in Dynastar’s lineup especially for a ski of this width. They are energetic, easy to pivot and are a nice middle-ground ski when compared to the M-Pro and M-Free Skis. It’s nice to see a more powder-friendly touring ski from Dynatar, one with great all-round performance on a variety of terrain. If you want to go lighter and faster then you should consider the little brother to the M-Tour 108 Skis, the M-Tour 99 Skis. If you are after something even lighter then Dynastar also offers the M-Tour 90 and M-Tour 85 Skis as well.