20 Best Skis For Icy Conditions (2023 Updated)

The only reason that this isn’t a 5 star review is that I don’t think such a ski exists! Skier Profile: Tall guy, 6’5″ 210 lbs. Over 30 years of ski patrolling at a well known Tahoe resort that recently changed its name:) I’m not the world’s best skier, lots of people are way better than me (and I get to ski with them!), but I still manage to get down most anything without too much whining or screams of terror.

I purchased these skis after demoing them for a few days. I’ve now skied them in conditions ranging from extreme hard pack (where my other skis just wouldn’t hold), to power, to crud, to bumps, to variable.

Pretty much the only thing I haven’t tried yet is jumping into a lake to try water skiing with them. In all conditions they have been a blast to ski. Yeah, they get slapped around a little in variable conditions, but it’s not really a problem.

In particular, the edge hold on hard pack is impressive. I’m able to do a progressive edge set where I increase the edge pressure through the turn and all that happens is that the turn radius decreases.

I can ride that all the way to a stop instead of the classic hockey-stop. That just kind of makes me giggle. The sweet spot is just a little small when skiing variable conditions, and in particular if you allow your weight to drift toward the tail at all the ski will tell you in no uncertain terms that you shouldn’t do that.

However that’s not a problem, just stay centered! You don’t have to drive this ski real hard to get it to respond, which makes it just a fun all-round tool. At high speed they get just a little talkative and whisper that they are thinking that they would like to turn, even if you would not.

However they calm down easily if you just gently ride an edge as opposed to trying to run a flat ski. Bottom Line: Darned versatile ski that’s a blast to ride. Probably will be the first ski I grab of of my rack.

Very nicely finished from the factory , didn’t do a thing but wax them. Blew my mind how well these performed on scratchy frozen granular and at moderate speed. Spent the whole day changing turn shapes and speeds , the frozen scratch softened at lower elevations and with sun to a softish corn like surface which these skis LOVED.

Very impressed with the vertsatiliy , the skis carve quite well for such a light construction and don’t have that chattery feel so many light wood carbon skis do. The best part is the light swing weight.

Mounted per specs , can’t wait to ski these in more conditions , SUPER Happy with these skis , maybe my new daily driver. My former “Daily Driver” was a heavy metal Blizzard Brahma ( great skis too ! ), suffice it to say that’s a lotta ski to stand up to and this pair seems up to the task.

Didn’t get them into speeds above 40 , they will prolly not like that as much. Easy to ski , classic Austrian feel , lightweight , Sweet. The Masters of Mittersill do it again.

A lot of people get on this ski and immediately fall in love. I can see why. It’s hard to find a more predictable and stable ski at 100 underfoot that isn’t exhausting to ski all day. The enforcer 100 is stable at high speeds, easy to initiate turns on, and holds a consistent edge throughout the turns.

It also feels right at home when navigating tight transitions when cutting through the trees. My only complaints with this ski is there seemed to be a bit of a speed limit with the ski, and I usually prefer a ski that has some playful qualities to it.

This ski wants to be glued to the snow, so it doesn’t feel as natural when in the air, or when slashing or pivoting on snow as some of the other skis available in this width range. But, if that’s not your thing – you should be on this ski!.

I have skied the Mavericks 6 days so far and love them. The first three days I was getting acquainted with them and thought they may be a little unstable speed but that went away quickly once I learned how to set the edge properly, as these skis do not carve automatically when put on edge.

The upside of this is that you can leisurely cruise and smear the tails or get aggressive and carve that edge. I am 6’2″ 195 and 48 years old, aggressive all mtn skier who likes trees, bumps, steeps, and big GS turns at speed on groomers.

I went with the 180cm which is a tad on the shorter side for me but the 188’s just sounded unwieldy. The 180’s do everything I need them to do and are very spry. Like a scalpel, these skis react to those who give good input, but won’t punish you as much if you get in the back seat compared to other skis in the category.

The 180 is also nice for more subdued skiing with the family, allowing for a ton of maneuverability. I did get one day of 12″ of powder and I wished I had something longer and flexier. but that’s to be expected.

I just leaned back a little and they floated well enough. The cut up stuff, crud, icey moguls, groomers, and 3 day old crusty pow they perform admirably. I am stoked on these skis and think we’ll see them more often in the future.

I picked up the 2020 model, which I think is essentially the same as 2021. Hadn’t skied much previously but am basically an advanced intermediate. Have 7 runs on them so far this year Nov-Feb in local SoCal mtns, which means icy/groomed conditions for most part.

Bought wax kit so I waxed after 1st use and keep edges razor sharp. Easy to do quick, skid turns as well as can settle in for a carving turn. a big plus given my light weight. They’re flexible with a tight turning radius.

As I got more comfortable and picked up speed, found they chattered and become unstable. Especially when going through clumps/crud. But on a fresh groom, either 1st thing in morning or at beginning of night session right after a grooming, they’re a totally different ski and really at home.

When I called to place my order, Evo rep actually tried talking me out of these and put me into similar priced K2s as he thought I would quickly outgrow the Atomics, and he was spot on. They’re a good ski to get you onto the mountain if you’re a beginner or been away for a while, but I know I’ll be moving on to something else next season.

This is my second season on the Vantage 90 TI’s. I mainly use them on piste and this is where they really excel. These skis are very light, stiff and responsive. They turn very easily, and their versatility enables me to make both slalom or GS turns equally well.

If you stay over this ski it will hold an edge even on icy hardpack. The Vantage 90 TI absolutely rips on piste! I even ventured into the trees a couple of times with them. I was a little surprised that I was able to ski the 90’s through powder 2 ft.

deep without much trouble. Although they performed well, I really had to concentrate on my technique as these skis are rather stiff and relatively narrow to be used in the powder. If I had to choose just one ski to handle all conditions, it would probably be the Vantage 90 or the Vantage 97’s.

5’10, 150lbs, 178cm. Read about some durability issues from other reviews on evo but I ride hard and haven’t experienced any issues like that. Candide hucks double backy’s on this ski regularly and i think that the durability issues are no more than some one offs.

See his instagram for proof. Haven’t gotten to ski deep pow yet but i have spent many days on groomers, crud, park, and powder< 6" and these skis have felt absolutely awesome. Super happy with their ability to carve groomers while still being a whopping 112 underfoot.

Lets get real, even living in the pacific northwest, we all ski groomers like 75%+ of the time so its very important to me to be able to carve groomers and lay my hips right into the snow. Edge hold is unreal and the radius is short enough to have lots of groomer fun even going slow.

This ski was new for 2020 but 2021 I believe is the same but blue. I ski’d the 2019’s (108 underfoot) for a couple days and I felt like the tails were grabby and wasn’t too happy with them but the new generation 2020’s mellowaed that out and, in my mind, perfected the ski.

Super easy to ski switch because of the shorter radius too. Mounted mine at -45mm from true center (3 or 4mm back from the candide line i think) and the tips seem to stay up great in deeper snow. I would highly recommend this ski to guys that are slowly ditching the terrain park and starting to bring freestyle all over the mountain.

Super lightweight. Im a small guy so it suits me well but i have a heavier friend who tried them and thought they were almost too light for him to charge hard on. Might recommend anyone over 170 lbs to bump up to the 180cm+ range for all mountain riding.

Overall very impressed and cant wait to push them even harder. A+++.

I haven’t had the chance to try these out yet as I bought them after my local hill closed. But I’m super stoked about them. I wanted to find a reasonable deal for park skis that would handle groomers and these were my first pick.

I couldn’t find them anywhere else except for Evo! They arrived on the predicted date; however, the delivery date was moved forward then moved back again which was a minor inconvenience. But my experience thus far has been great.

So good I’ve bought one in every size over the years. Stiff enough to carve on ice, soft enough to butter, and super light. This particular ski is the perfect width to take into the backcountry and the park; and everything in between.

My first pair has held up well over the past 4 years, edges still intact. Graphic is simple and sexy. Stoked to be able to buy this pair on sale just in time to ski season! Thanks Evo, you guys rock!.

Height 5’6″ Weight 150 lbs Ski Hannibal 176 cm, G3 Zed/leashes Boot Fischer Travers Carbon Skimoco Type, breaking out of Type II, flirting with Type III when my wife isn’t looking. Thanks to the description of this ski by Skimo, at home in snow and able to hold an edge without crying uncle, I figured it would be worth a try.

For the first tour on this kit, myself and (we’ll call him Dave) skinned up to Point Supreme and dropped in. The snow had been tracked out two days earlier but pretty much filled in due to some light snow and wind.

Whoever was out there should be granted a farm subsidy. Nice work! When dropping in, would it be be bigger, open turns or smaller, tighter turns. As soon as the first turn was finished a new turn was started effortlessly.

This went on and on and on in moderately dense, loose snow approximately 8 to 10 inches deep. This ski is extremely easy to turn and stable. From Point Supreme we went over to Rocky Point and dropped into steeper terrain and much deeper, dryer snow.

This time turns were opened up and as speed increased I had this great idea to see if I could get the tips to dive. The tips were heavily pressured as thoughts of what kind of mess this could be flashed through my mind.

Nothing exciting happened and a new turn was started with tips heavily pressured, repeat, over and over. Never did get a different result. After Rocky Point, we followed the traverse back to above Albion chair and hit Clothesline/Powerline for a relaxing few turns.

From there, it was a couple of runs off Sugarloaf chair to get into some man-made grippy firmer snow. This ski holds a nice edge on “Utah ice”, carves nicely, doesn’t roll over when finishing a turn and when softening a turn, the edge breaks smoothly.

To sum it up, Hannibal is a well mannered ski that has all the bacony, cheesy, turny goodness that any skier will have boatloads of fun on.

This is somewhat of an apples to oranges comparison since I have the previous 100 underfoot version. But the construction is unchanged so I thought a review would be helpful. I love this ski. It is a nice balance between weight and performance.

As it was explained to me, “sure it is a bit heavier than the carbon ultra light skis. But you will appreciate that extra half pound on the way down. It will ski so much smoother and damper. ” I agree with that assessment.

It is light enough on the up. It does not rip all conditions like a heavier ski, but it is surprisingly nice on the down. A good balance.

Have been skiing 183’s this season with Plum Race 170 and TLT5, mounted at recommended line. So far, they’re really versatile skis–light but substantial, fat but not unweildy, turny but not hooky. I’d reccomend considering a slightly rearward mount.

Could be partially due to these being longer than recent touring skis I’ve owned, but I find I have to fight the tail to finish turns in anything but perfect snow. On other skis–mostly resort skis–I’ve found moving the mount point back 1-2 cm to help this.

Some may find the recommended mount point “quick and agile” or something else marketable.

With what seems like all the classic, long-standing European brands coming out with not just a touring ski but a line of touring skis, it was no surprise to see Nordica unveil the Unlimited line earlier this year.

Coming in at 1700 grams per ski, it hits a sweet spot between lightweight for the uphill and stable for the downhill. During our demo days, we didn’t get favorable conditions to test product off-piste, so I mostly just ripped laps on groomers.

Testing the Enforcer 104 the day before for the first time, the ski felt damp and stable like expected. Then when I got on the Unlimited, I felt a little bit more energy out of the ski, while mostly maintaining that stable feel.

This ski will be a great backcountry specific setup for aggressive riders or a slightly heavier, more stable option for new backcountry users.

There isn’t a whole lot of info on this ski out there so here’s as comprehensive a review as I can do after one day on them; tldr they’re a great option if you want a charger that’s versitile enough to ski the whole mountain in most conditions.

I’m 6’2″ 230 and have the skis mounted at -1 from recommended (-7. 25). They work well there but I suspect for overall performance mounting on the line (-6. 25) is going to be pretty ideal for most people.

In the terrain they were designed for; steep off-piste with room to carve; they’re fantastic. You can get them going crazy fast and they’ll remain stable and composed. They’re happiest if you keep them pointed down hill making smooth turns but it’s easy to release the tails into a drift or brake when required.

The not-very-tapered shape helps them carve beautifully with great edge hold but also means sliding sideways in rough snow causes the tips and tails to catch/grab, so in those conditions the more timidly you ski it the worse it feels and vice versa.

Skiing trees, the Squad feels quick and easy to pivot around. It handles the trees/bumps well considering it’s a charger, they’re not its forte but the Squad is a great choice if you want high speed stability AND lower speed maneuverability.

They can be a lot of fun but the same thing about skiing timidly applies here as well, ski them confidentiality and you’ll be rewarded. On groomers they want to go FAST, carving steep terrain is a lot of fun but on mellower (blue) terrain you really have to be charging to get energy out of the turn, I found myself just relaxing and letting them drift around when skiing blues.

Again, the shape works really well for carving but the skis are the most fun when you’re attacking steeper terrain, probably not the skis you’d want to be on if having fun making turns on shallower runs is a priority.

It should come as no surprise that these are very much (tall/heavy) advanced/expert skis. They need a skier with decent technique to work well but they aren’t the most demanding; they’ll let you know if you’re getting too sloppy/too backseat without trying to kill you for it.

Overall, great skis for someone looking for a no speed limit ski who values versatility.

My previous ski was the ultra-versatile Rossi Sickle 186 (RIP. Are you listening Rossi, make this ski again!). At 5-6 160 lbs I wasn’t sure if buying a 194 was a sound idea, but went with my gut and pulled the trigger.

I was even more concerned when they arrived and looked huge even compared to some 192 EHPs I still had from my salad days. But, it was love at first run. They’re shocking nimble and slarvey when you want or need to make short turns, and when you want to go fast they really do have no speed limit.

It’s like driving a trophy truck or riding a modern 29er enduro MTB, the bumps just disappear beneath you and the faster you go the better they get. Pick a line, point it, and go. Mounted on the line with P18s, 285 mm BSL.

Skied exclusively at Snowbird so far.

For reference I grew up 25 minutes from Alta/Snowbird. Started on the Alta rope tow at age 3. Skied there for 45 years. I was a boot fitter as well as worked in hard goods for 10 years. Every once in a while a ski comes a long that is a game changer.

In the 80’s for bump skiers it was the Dynastar Omeglass II. Super light and lively. Very fun to ski! Fast forward to 2013. I skied a Rossignol Soul 7 and it blew my mind. It reminded me of those days on the Omeglass II.

I could turn the Soul 7 very quick side to side, drive it hard on groomers and rip Super G turns, maneuver it in tight tree lines, float it enough to ski deep powder. Like everyone said it is a 1 ski quiver.

This year I decided to look at the replacement series, the Blackops Sender. I just about bought a pair off the rack when the little voice in my head told me to demo them first. Best decision I made all year! The Blackops Sender is one of the most boring, dead skis I’ve every skied.

Sure it’s not as twitchy as the Soul 7 on hard pack and holds a line more solidly but it literally KILLED everything that made the Soul 7 such a fun ski. Back in the day. Dynastar discontinued the Omeglass II primarily for durability.

I still remember wishing I’d bought 5 pair before they all disappeared! Well I’m not making that same mistake twice. As soon as I finished up my demo day on the Sender I immediately logged on to Evo and bought another pair of 2020 Soul 7’s as well as Super 7’s.

If more Soul 7’s pop up on deals I’ll probably buy those also. Do yourselves a favor and DEMO the Blackops series before you buy. Especially if you are a fan of the 7 Series!!!.

Good versatile skis. I didn’t love them the way I wanted to, but I’m giving 4 stars because they are so versatile. There is something lacking in the flex that I can’t quite put my finger on. What I think is that the flex underneath the foot is softer than the rest of the ski, and they feel a bit “bouncy”, like they are moving around more under my boots even though they are still stable at high speeds.

I guess I just wish they were a bit stiffer. I wish that in a lot of modern skis though, and these are more stable and versatile than most powder skis. They do everything well, firm or packed groomers, powder, trees, bumps, you name it they will conquer.

They float better than some other 115mm skis I have tried, that’s probably their strongest attribute after versatility. Sometimes I have issues with very tapered tips, but Armada has figured out how to do taper the right way, without any “catching” in certain conditions when you’re driving them hard.

One other thing is that they seem less durable than my Armada ARG II skis. The 2020 Declivity X seem more durable, idk what they changed in the constructions, but the 2020s feel stiffer and built better.

This is just feeling in hand though, I haven’t damaged them skiing at all, so this minor flaw could be all in my head.

The review that says the Declivity is softer than the Stranger and ARVs doesn’t make any sense. Note he is Staff Reviewer, maybe he took one run on them, I doubt anyone that spends a good amount of time on these would call them soft.

The tip does have some give with the way the ti is cut on the tip, but push them deep into a carve and the ski gets really stiff. Maybe it’s the mount point being more rearward, but this is a stronger ski than both the ARV and Stranger.

Armada rates the Stranger waaaaay softer at the ends and I do too. This is Armada’s best directional all-mountain ski ever and if you can actually drive and carve a ski, they are a much better carving ski than the ARV and Stranger, both much more freestyle oriented skis.

If you like a centered mounted ski, the Declivity may not be your cup of tea, BUT if you want a ski that can rip it up all over the mountain in package that is more versatile than most 2 sheet metal skis, these are amazing.

I also work in the industry (not affiliated with Armada) and I have over 10 customers on this ski from last season. Not one ever came back and said they were too soft. If you weigh a lot, then maybe they would be, but I put an advanced level skier who has been skiing for 40+ years on these at 185 lbs and he says they are his favorite ski EVER (owned many pairs before these), said he has never skied moguls better in his life.

They are indeed great in moguls and bumps, flex pattern is spot on.

Fantastically fun ski, but durability a serious issue. I’ve now had two sets of the Declivitys – the 2020/2021 102s and the 2021/2022 108s – and the cores have cracked on both of these, with absolutely no signs of notable impact.

No core shots, no busted edges, but both sets of skis essentially cracked in half in the same place. Worst of all, it happens quickly – maybe skied the 102s for 3 months before this happened to both skis, and only had the 108s for a few weeks.

After the 102s, I thought “hey, that could be me, let’s try again”, only to face the same exact issue weeks later with the 108s. I really love how this ski rides and wish I could trust the skis enough to get a third set, but am really disappointed from a brand like Armada to be producing such fragile skis.

I had a unique experience with these skis. My riding style is Big Mountain, Hard Charging and I was underwhelmed by these. Unfortunately the day I took these out we had little-to-none fresh snow so I could not enjoy these to the fullest so I gave them a 4 star rating, but if I had fresh snow and they performed how they did, I would probably rate them lower.

I’ll start with what I really liked. The float on these would have been amazing. You can tell they were built for that deeper day and meant to be ripped all mountain. The camber profile was good when you could get on edge, however, I found the edge hard to find.

At low speeds they were very good and I felt fully supported through whatever I went through. Here are my drawbacks. I felt like the ski was hard to get on edge and when you were on steeper terrain, the lack of that edge made them hard to stop.

My face made contact with the snow 3 times on these because of this. This could be because I had the wrong size as I feel like a smaller one would have worked for me better but I typically ride an 180-185 so I cannot say for sure.

On hardpack, as I mentioned above, the performance lacked compared to what I was used to. Edge was hard to hook up on and it felt like a burden to start your turns. I will say when you found the edge they were very enjoyable minus some more aggressive chatter.

Finally, they just did not fit my riding style which is something I’m taking into account. If you are a rider who likes deeper snow and smooth turns at lower speeds these are the skis for you. They would truly be a great pair for that kind of day.

I unfortunately did not have that weather. Demo these before you pull the trigger but I could see how the right skier would love them.

Everything about the QST 106 is Solid, clean, and easy to love. The QST lineup is the perfect medium of a soft freeride ski and a hard charger, that can go everywhere, do almost anything, and simply, vibe.

At 5’6″, the 173 is the length I’d pick for wide open spaces, hikes, and basically anything but trees. Before I tried this ski, I watched my friend, fellow reviewer, and probably the best technical skier I know Jarett deftly maneuver steep slopes and rip impeccable carves down runs I could only bumble over.

The point is, I knew the QST was a powerhouse, but experiencing it myself was something else. Carves on the icy snow felt effortless and secure compared to my every day driver which crumbles under the pressure of the extra high speeds I’m drawn to.

When I worked at the Seattle Evo, the QST series was an easy sell for this very reason. If you’re looking for something that’ll do it all without overwhelming your weight, height, skill, style, or number of other factors that impact how we drive skis, the QST 106 is for you.

I’m a “girl,” but the construction has been standardized across genders, so pick what colors and lengths match you best. They SKI SHORT, which means if you’re waffling in between sizes it’s okay to go taller.

Although again, I prefer a shorter ski for the trees so make sure you consider your priorities. Love this ski. If you find yourself overthinking and stuck in between your next quiver addition stop. Come here.

And buy this.

The Salomon QST Blank is a true freeride ski at heart but also has capabilities of an all mtn ski as well as a touring ski. Just like the rest of the QST line the Blank falls into its own category but can still be used for other types of skiing.

The 112mm waist width and 137mm nose width help tremendously in fresh snow but surprisingly still hooks up on a groomer here and there. The Blank also serves as a great touring option for the Salomon team but with more emphasis on the down hill aspect.

While its not the lightest ski out there the Blank is just light enough to throw a Shift or even a frame binding on them without being too heavy for the uphill. They also serve as great resort all mtn ski that you can honestly take anywhere.

It’s quick, snappy, and super playful in a range of different conditions. If you’re looking for a diverse all mtn ski that thrives in the soft snow but can also throw down some carves on the groomers the Salomon QST Blank is for you!.

Please consider that it really helps no one if you have not skied the dang things. Posting just to post that the company gave great service, or the skis look cool or that your expectations are high really help no one that wants an on-snow performance review.

Quit posting stupid stuff! Ski them use them then get all giddy or nasty but at least the next consumer can make a scientific wild a$# guess whether it’s a good product for them. I digress. I have skied these, and they are probably a good decision if you are a one ski quiver person or maybe more but would not be my first choice in the 100-106ish width range.

These to me are more of a directional ski. After skiing these on refrozen groomers I find they will hunker down, and rip carves well if you drive them although their stiff tail doesn’t really allow a clean finish or exit out of the turn.

They will tend to buck or pop if you hit certain rough patches at speed. I skied these at a very fast pace on every run and the bases do run fast and the grip for a 102 although not spectacular is quite good.

It is 102 not 88 or 94 and, on the surface, I was flying on they did admirably well. They are very stable on edge, but you need to be an active pilot. There is not a lot of metal in this ski so to some they may feel glassy but are surprisingly quiet.

Are the quick? Maybe jury is still out, and my feeling is that you will enjoy medium turns that are a heck of a lot of fun especially railing off embankments etc. If the surface has a bit of less than glass like surface or a touch softer than frozen, they are indeed worthy tools.

Not super heavy skis but again surprisingly stable and probably would also be great with a touring binding. They don’t deflect when I purposely aimed them at frozen chunks. On a one to ten scale an 8 is the number that I think is fair as an all-around 1 quiver ski.

Have been using the Ranger 102FR (184) for two seasons, and am pretty happy with them. I use them as a daily driver and find that they work great in most conditions. They float in powder, and can rail on groomer, but lack a little bit of confidence on icy hard.

I think this is because of modest metal underfoot. What i love: don’t have to think about the turn initiation – super easy (long low tip rocker), Not heavy, reasonable weight make jump turns and flicking in tight spaces easy, hold an edge on groomer really well, don’t feel like a 104 ski.

The tail is firm, yet releases easily with the rocker. Pink, i love pink, ok i said it out loud. Things i don’t like: Wish there was just a little more confidence/grip on icy hard surfaces. Could easily see this as a quiver of 1 for the west coast states.

Super fun, and stable, yet playful and easy to carve with the option of slashy endings.

A love letter to the Fischer Ranger. I originally skied these last year in a 170 and felt like all of a sudden I really couldn’t push them at all – which was a HUGE bummer. Now I’m skiing these in a 177 and it’s made all the difference.

They’re table at speed, absolutely rip groomers and I feel that with a little extra length for me personally, they’re more stable and maneuverable especially in chunder and bumps. If you like a stiffer all mountain ski, buy this one asap before next years model comes out! #pinkskigang.

I’ve been skiing for 20+ years, and while I’m no pro, I can totally appreciate the quality of construction of these skis. This is the first pair that I ever bought brand new, and I was overwhelmed by how much better the Bonafides were compared to anything I’ve skied on before.

I live on the east coast and ski here frequently, but I also do at least one trip out west per year. The Blizzard Bonafide skis handle all types of conditions and I felt very comfortable ripping through powder and hard pack all the same.

LOVE this ski! Aggressive all mountain ski will engage when you will it to yet slide right through junk like it wasn’t there. Ran bump runs as well, and maybe this isn’t designed as a bump ski but you could have fooled me.

It was great skiing the tops or the troughs! And evo was great — quick, responsive, and they arrived a week before I expected.

Blizzard’s original Cochise was maybe their best ski of all time. FINALLY this rendition of the new Cochise 106 is everything I loved about the old ski plus some. I find it’s burly and stable and skiable in all conditions! Ideal for the chop we ski following a powder day but I’ve been enjoying time on the groomers with this bad boy as well.

My wife and I turn 50 this year, so we are both approaching the part of our lives where we look for ways to extend our time on the mountain. Because of that my wife switched from snowboarding to skiing two years ago.

She had not skied since high school, and even back then she didn’t ski much. The transition was hard, and she was skiing on a pair of decent demo skis that were 88cm underfoot. She was having a very hard time enjoying herself, and never felt truly stable.

She was describing to me how her skis chattered after a particularly rough session where she talked about giving up the sport entirely. I had been eyeing the MSP CC for some time, and after that convo, I took a chance on buying her a pair.

We are both so happy I did. I was nervous about her moving to a wider ski since she has knee troubles, but immediately she felt more stable. In her words on her first day on them: “these skis make me a better skier”.

It’s true too, with each session on the hill she is gaining in confidence and she is starting to enjoy skiing as much as she loved snowboarding. I could not be happier. It’s not en exaggeration to say that these skis might have saved the sport for her.

If you are on the fence about skiing something 99 underfoot I say do not worry. I think it is the perfect width for a one ski quiver.

What struck me about the ski, which is now my daily driver, is just how easy and forgiving it was for its relatively damp feel and how well it responds to good technique. It’s not as damp as the new bonafide or M6 Mantra but it is a far more forgiving ski and more versatile off-piste while providing at least a similiar level of dampness.

the mount point at 8. 25 back v 11. 25 back for bonafide and M6 is pretty significant but it still feels like there is enough ski in front of you. Very smooth flex and kind of a unique smooth feel to the ski.

Very good in bumps and tight spaces v. its competitors. Very easy to bend into a turn. As a bigger guy at 6’4 205, I wouldn’t necessarily want longer, but I wonder what another 150 – 200 grams of weight with the same smooth flex pattern would do for dampness? For me, a little added dampness is the only improvement I could think of, but I wouldn’t want it at expense of the ski’s unique smooth feel on good snow.

So I waited to review these until I had a solid amount of days on them on various mtns/conditions. These ski’s are insane~ super stable at speed, stomp machines off jumps cliffs, great float in powder, incredibly nimble for their size.

You will land features you had no business landing while you tear past every jealous tourist on the mountain. These skis thrive on fresh snow and big lines but I honestly break them out way more than I thought I would.

I can not praise these skis enough and I would highly recommend them. My only complaint is that getting them in the air takes work, the stability on the landing comes at a cost of initial pop off a feature.

Once they are airborne your off to the races. Also graphics are 10/10 they look so good on hill and you will be the envy of every skier at the apres. Buy these skis, chase powder, be happy.

So ive been looking at reviews on these skis for quite some time now, and just had the chance to try them out yesterday. It wasnt a pow day, but there was still a goof amount of soft snow with a blanket of maybe 1 or 2 inches of freshies.

These skis rip. Very stable at speed, eats pow and crud with an appetite, and is surprisingly nimble and easy to manuever. I love the more centered mount point as it makes you feel very balanced on jumps and cliffs.

Only complaint is that its difficult to carve with them and to use edges. Overall a much more surfy drifty feel, but thats what you want for powder. Overall I could easily use these as a one ski quiver.

But they are a perfect powder ski in my opinion.

Maybe the best variable condition ski on market. The edgehold is excellent and the skis are damp enough to comfortably ski pretty much everything up to and including avalanche chunder. Stability as speed is superb.

At my weight, I have not identified a speed limit. I ski these a little shorter (175 vs 192 for my powder setup) because I like them in tight, steep terrain where quick jump turns are sometimes necessary.

At that length, they have some of the strong rebound energy and feel of a GS ski. You don’t ski these casually. They require consistent input and engagement. Demo before you decide to go long, and I say this as a fan of longer skis.

They really shine in the spring as they carve well on firm mornings and stay lively when the snow corns up later in the day. They also have surprisingly decent float but, at least for me, they do not have the fun jibby characteristics I look for in a powder ski.

That’s not really a knock on the ski though, just a preference. Dust on crust and breakable performance are excellent. Get a playful twin for the powder days and these for everything else. Good to go.

As an all-mountain skier who favors longer skis and carving fast and hard on groomer days and surfing powder on pow days, I was a little thrown by the performance of this ski. The skis reacted a lot faster than I was anticipating of a ski with lots of metal in it.

It was much lighter weight and more damp than I anticipated as well. All things which are awesome to have in a ski! I think given more time to try it out, I would have enjoyed these SR 95s much more than I was able to in the brief time I was able to demo them.

The elite level of performance that you get from these skis certainly sets them apart from the rest of the aggressive all-mountain skis that you see on the market today. At 5’7″ and 250+ I skied on the 175cm, but I believe I would have also been comfortable, and maybe even more so, on the 166cm length.

The Stockli Stormrider 95 likes to get fast. Really fast. This ski absolutely rips and will be begging you to turn up the speed. Despite it’s hard charging aspects, I did find the Stormrider 95 surprisingly maneuverable when I needed it to be.

The Stormrider 95 would be a great ski for someone looking to blend both hard pack with soft snow. I would definitely recommend this ski for a more advanced skier looking for a hard charging frontside ripper.

At 5’10 and 180lbs the 184cm fit me well.

The Atris has been around for a while now. It is an amazing all mountain ski that does everything well. For the 2023 version, they somehow made an already perfect ski better! I typically like this ski in a 184 cm length at 5’10” 185lbs, but was super impressed by how much power and drive the 178 had.

Overall, they stiffened the ski ever so slightly by adding a full sidewall instead of partial and it made a huge difference in arcing a deep, long radius turn on these skis. These playful poppy, all mountain/big mountain skis carve even better now, so this truly makes this the ultimate daily driver.

I am 6’2″ and 210 lbs. riding a pair of 188’s, perfect size for me. Snow conditions were not good, very hard pack on piste, off piste was 1″ of new over chunk ice. Off piste was essentially not skiable.

I was pleasantly surprised by how well the Atrias handled the hard pack. They could carve clean tight turns at low speed as well as as well as GS cruise the groomers at 40+ with minimal chatter. I would expect this ski to be a blast off piste in decent snow.

Can’t wait to ride them in decent conditions.

I always hold my breath when companies “redo” a ski I love and own. The new Atris goes from a 108mm waist to 105mm, with less taper and less overall area to the tip. I’m not sure any of this is what skiers in our neck of the woods are asking for, but maybe for a demanding area with less overall snowfall (think Jackson or Chamonix) the changes make sense.

Edge hold seems to have improved with the thicker bevelled sidewall design and straightline stability also seems better.

I had a pair of Kore 93’s from last year 2021 and I thought they were great. Unfortunately I watched Ski Essentials reviews and they raved that 87’s were much improved for bigger heavier guys that like to go fast.

Wrong. I am 250 lbs and I could not get these new Kore 87s to do anything. They are lifeless stiff planks on your feet no fun at all and all the bumps go directly up into your legs because they are pretty lightweight.

The 87s unfortunately are just a do nothing, no fun ski. I gave them to my neice’s boyfriend. The good news is I just tried a pair of Fisher 94 FR at Deer Valley over New Years 2022 and they were a ton of fun.

Super easy to turn and great edge hold on the groomed. I was railing connecting turns. Under foot is thick and stiff and gives you total control. I bought a pair to bring home. I was so impressed I might also buy a pair of 92ti.

I normally ski a 181cm-`184cm and I was in a hurry to get out on the hill. At the end of the day I noticed I was on the 94FR in a 177cm. And I read that they ski short due to the rocker. That my be true but because of the beefy construction under foot the 94FR’s did not exhibit the typical unstable behavior of a shorter ski at speed.

Anyway, my advice is buy the previous generation Kore’s or check out the Fisher 94FR’s which are a lot of fun.

You’re not ready. They are the Ferrari of all mountain skis, and much like a you wouldn’t put a new driver in a Ferrari, you wouldn’t put a beginner on these skis. They are absolutely relentlessly fast, in fact, the only way to ride these skis is FAST.

They don’t like to do slow wide turns, and they will not forgive you for doing anything but achieving maximum velocity. They are incredibly versatile, as long as you’re going FAST in whatever it is you’re skiing on.

They will cannonball down a run and take all the snow with them so you can bring it home with you as a trophy for taming these skis. They don’t like you, as much as you love them. Their love language is sheer speed, and nothing else.

The edges grip with the might of Thor, and like Thor strikes down his enemies, these strike down anything in their path. If you consider yourself a good skier, these will promptly inform you otherwise.

They are the best of the best, get yourself a pair, if you’ve got the gonads.

I hadn’t been on a NEW pair of “real”comparably traditional alpine-touring skis since the early 2000 BD Arc Ascents. And what an improvement. Neither squirrelly nor noodley, the damp yet responsive performance from these solid ski-mountaineering tools is a breath of fresh air— and an improvement on the classic 90-70-80 dimension that really ought to be revisited.

I chose the BD Cirque 78s over the Austrian-manufactured mainstay due to the underfoot metal mounting plate. It sounds like the previous reviewer is more of a hard-charging skier going back to “old Atomic Backland 95’s”, after breaking the BD Cirque 78s.

A buddy/patrolman on California snow did the exact same thing right in front of me in three short turns, because he simply didn’t know better; so he deserved it and snapped them good too. They were his first pair of real back-country skis.

It must be a skier thing. The 20/80 soft/hard categorization is only a guideline referencing natural mountain terrain. This ski is for MOUNTAINEERING, among other things, depending on who is wearing them with knowledge and consideration.

It is a reference irrespective of one’s recreational proclivities. Traditional AT skis are great for in season soft snow conditions with a perennially built-in design parameter for negotiating ICE— year round, like on a late-season knife-edge ridges or huge sweeping shaded slopes that have to be traversed with a pack.

This would be beyond the ken of your average recreational skiers’ skills, experience and psychology.

I previously owned the Blizzard Zero G 85’s, in the 185cm length. Those were my resort dawn patrol -> rip fresh cordoruy ski. And my spring/summer glacier rip steep corn ski. I liked them because they were stiff, light, and came in a “real” length.

The Cirque 84 is made by Blizzard, and is near identical dimensions, but it’s a very different ski. The Cirque is *much* softer than the Zero G. It’s a more forgiving ski, doesn’t need to same level of speed to make it work, but it also won’t do big turns the same way.

My Cirques are the 171cm, a lot shorter, because for me the Cirques are about cutting weight, long traverses in soft snow, skinning for skinning’s sake, etc.

I’m new to touring but on the up they felt crazy light. On the downhill they turn whenever and wherever you want in 3 feet of blower pow, giving great confidence in the trees that you can get a quick turn in, if/when you have to.

They also float long deep turns popping up and out easily from left to right and back again when you just want to enjoy the deep snow in open areas. On hard snow, they tend to smear and are difficult to carve, but that’s hardly their intent, and perhaps a base grind might help what feels like a slightly convex base.

It made me make a b-line for softer snow where they ski very softly and effortlessly. Highly recommend for any snow on the soft side, where they are smile inducing.

This is for the inner racer in you! Get ready to turn. Although you can ski this ski all over the mountain it certainly accelerates on groomed terrain. The particular pair I tried was very edgy out of the tip which really made it fun on groomers.

Press into the tip and you are on a rail to your next turn. super exciting and very responsive. The metal of course allows you to hit top speeds with total control. This is not your average skiers ski, you need to keep on your toes because the Stockli SR88 is not for sleepers!.

I’m still a VERY new skier, and after trying a couple of different skis/rentals I was stoked to purchase my own pair. I used these skis last week for the first time and they were a game changer! I felt like I had so much more control and felt so much more confident by the end of the day.

I was worried that I had ordered the wrong size, but the 156 ended up being perfect (I’m 5’7) and it took no time at all to get used to the width. So many people commented on how pretty the color is also, so that’s a plus.

😉 I had originally ordered a different set of K2 skis through Evo, but they ended up being back-ordered. Customer service helped me cancel my original order and processed this one within a few hours, and the shipping on these was so quick! Would highly recommend the K2 Disruption 76 Alliance skis to anyone, but especially beginners.

I’ve become a huge fan of K2 quality. I’ve own K2 snowboards, bought K2 skis and snowboards for family members and have always been pleased w the quality and craftsmanship. I bought this for my sister based on the photo of the evo.

com website believing that the color is white-ish and that it would match her new ski outfit. I was disappointed to see that the color is actually green. Real bummer as I knew the skis would have been perfect for her otherwise.

I was looking for ski and binding combo and evo had just what I wanted. When I went into the Portland store everyone was so helpful and friendly! I wanted my boots fitted to the bindings and they noticed a problem with the my boot heel a possible safety issue.

They worked with me and figured out a way to fix the problem. They went over and above to help. I really appreciate evo Portland.