Review: Dynastar M-Free 99

Powder aims to feature only the best products and services. If you buy something via one of our links, we may earn a commission.

The M-Free 99 returns for 24/25 with an unchanged footprint but a new core layup, the Hybrid Core 2.0, which is essentially a more environmentally friendly version of the Hybrid Core from the previous ski. So, does it change how the ski behaves? Not really, as far as we can tell. The M-Free 99 is still an absolute banger of a ski, a versatile all-mountain jib ski that almost anyone could enjoy.

Groomers & Resort Skiing:

The M-Free 99 has a lot of rocker for its width class, so icy snow isn’t its strongest suit. It’s a perfectly usable daily driver, it holds an edge on anything but the iciest of snow, and it’s stiff enough underfoot that it doesn’t wash out. But with fairly mellow camber and long rocker lines, it doesn’t have as much energy between turns as some skis in this width class. That said, our testers did enjoy this ski for morning groomer laps, and it easily outperforms the softer, more park-oriented skis in this bracket.

“I was very impressed with how it performed on groomers, it allowed me to load up aggressive turns and stay in them.” - Asa France, ski tester

“Considering that the M-free is 99 mm underfoot It can crank out the short turns easily. The sidecut is generous so it snaps from turn to turn making carving quite fun.” - Dave Frick, ski tester

Powder & Mixed Conditions:

The generous rocker profile of the M-Free 99 makes it a blast in powder. It’s got lots of taper, too, so despite a relatively small footprint, it goes sideways naturally and floats well for the size. The flip side of this coin is that it deflects a bit in cruddy snow, and the less strong flex compared to the M-Free 108 definitely exacerbates this.

“For me, this is the best ski under 100mm in soft snow, bar none. A clever piece of ski design from Dynastar.” - Adam 'Twig' Spensley, Adam "Twig" Spensley, Content Director at Newschoolers

Park & Jibbing:

The M-Free 99 isn’t marketed as a park ski, but it certainly could be. Our testers really enjoyed these in the park, with the generous rocker profile and progressive flex (solid underfoot and then mid-soft in the tip/tail) making them really fun to butter on. They aren’t the easiest ski to get into there, but once you have the ski flexing, they are solid enough to support you and provide energy popping out of butters, too. The swing weight is pretty good on jumps, too, and the midsection of the ski provides enough stability to land comfortably.

“Surprisingly, it was a very fun ski in the park as well, I really enjoyed it for buttering,” Asa France, ski tester.

Conclusion:

If you’re looking for a ski under 100mm then the M-Free 99 is hard to beat. It would be a great powder ski for the East Coasters and still holds up well enough on groomers that it could be a daily driver just about anywhere. Push the mount point forward (we rode these at -4cm from the true center) and they work nicely as a park ski, too. A really fun, versatile ski that pretty much anyone could enjoy.