Van Deer H-Power 78
By PTO Team, Based on Van Deer official specs; no independent on-snow test of this ski was found · Spec analysis on this ski ·
The take
“Race feel with ten millimetres of room to wander, and it pays for that range at both ends.”
The Van Deer H-Power 78 is the middle width of the H-Power line, and the middle is what you are paying for: a 78 mm ski that holds most of the narrow 68's grip on hard snow and spends ten extra millimetres of waist buying the right to leave the groomer. Whether that is worth $1,600 depends on how honest you can be about your own ski day.
The H-Power 78 pays for that range at both ends, and it is worth being blunt about it. The narrower H-Power 68 grips harder and changes edge quicker on pure hardpack. The wider H-Power 89 and the Freeride line float better in soft snow. The 78 wins neither argument. What it does is refuse to be bad at either, which for a one-ski resort day is the entire point of it.
On hard snow the H-Power 78 behaves like a race ski with a little of the edge sharpened off. Ash and poplar under two layers of Titanal give it stiffness, edge power and enough damping to hold a clean arc when you drive it, and the extra width means it changes edge a touch slower than the 68 and asks a little less precision of you to get it around. A strong intermediate can ski it without World Cup legs; an expert can still lean on it and get race-grade grip back. Off the corduroy those same ten millimetres keep it honest in fresh snow, cut-up snow and side hits. Deep powder is the wall: 78 mm on a firm race build floats modestly, and a deep day will overwhelm it.
Independent on-snow tests of the H-Power 78 are thin, because Van Deer only began building skis in 2021, so this read leans on official spec and the logic of the line rather than a test consensus. One source note while you are comparing: the 26/27 print catalogue lists a poplar-beech core for this ski. That text is stale. The live official page says ash-poplar, and that is what we go with.
Size the H-Power 78 for the turn you actually make, not for your height. The radius climbs from 12.5 m at 159 cm to 18.5 m at 183 cm, so the short skis turn quick and tight while the long ones want speed and space. It is a system ski: $1,600 buys it on its Marker FDT RACE PRO plate, the matching Marker COMP 13 binding (DIN 4-13) takes it to $2,000, and a technician mounts it and sets the release value. DIN is an indicator, not a guarantee.
Bindings we'd pair with it
Mount point: System ski on a Marker FDT RACE PRO plate; the binding is mounted and its release value set by a technician. Our pick: Marker COMP 13 FDT GW (DIN 4-13).
- Marker COMP 13 FDT GW (DIN 4-13)The matched fitting binding
Van Deer's fitting binding for this plate system, in matching khaki. DIN is an indicator, not a guarantee; a technician sets and checks the release value.
The H-Power 78 is a system ski: $1,600 buys the ski on its FDT RACE PRO plate, and the matching Marker COMP 13 binding brings it to $2,000. It is not a self-mount ski.
Common Questions
- What is the difference between the Van Deer H-Power 68 and the H-Power 78?
- Ten millimetres of waist, and what those ten millimetres buy. The 68 runs a tighter radius and grips hardpack harder; the 78 is wide enough to follow you off the piste into fresh snow and side hits. Pick the 68 to carve, the 78 for range.
- Is the Van Deer H-Power 78 good in powder?
- Not in deep powder. At 78 mm on a firm race build it floats modestly: it handles fresh snow and cut-up snow off the side of the groomer, but a deep day will overwhelm it. For real float, step up to the H-Power 89 or the Freeride line.
- What is the difference between the $1,600 and the $2,000 H-Power 78?
- Same ski. $1,600 is the ski on its Marker FDT RACE PRO plate; $2,000 adds the matching Marker COMP 13 binding (DIN 4-13). If you do not already have a binding for this plate system, you want the $2,000 build.
- What binding does the H-Power 78 use, and can I mount my own?
- It runs the Marker FDT RACE PRO plate with a Marker COMP 13 binding (DIN 4-13). Plate-and-binding systems like this are set up and the release value adjusted by a qualified technician. DIN is an indicator, not a guarantee, and this is not a self-mount ski.
- What size Van Deer H-Power 78 should I get?
- Size by turn shape. The radius climbs with length: 12.5 m at 159 cm, 14.5 m at 167 cm, 16.5 m at 175 cm, 18.5 m at 183 cm, and 20.5 m at 191 cm. Short skis give quicker, shorter-radius turns; long ones give faster, more stable arcs. Size to the turns you actually make, not just your height.
- What wood core does the H-Power 78 use?
- Ash-poplar, between two layers of Titanal. The 26/27 print catalogue prints a poplar-beech core for this ski, but the live official product page says ash-poplar; the catalogue text is stale. Van Deer states two Titanal layers and no thickness, so we do not quote one.
