20 Best Women’S Skis For Intermediate (2023 Updated)

I am an instructor and have worked with a lot of women who are good intermediate skiers, but whose skiing is held back because they don’t have skis designed for them. This is a lightweight and responsive ski but with great vibration control so it holds an edge in variable conditions extremely well.

I bought a pair for my wife who never believed she was good enough a skier to tell the difference between skis, and she was blown away by these skis. Great all mountain intermediate skis for most skiers.

Great style that harkens back to the great classic Rossignol strato skis of the 70’s, a major contributor to the Rossignol legacy.

Rented them as demos at Berkshire East. Had a choice between these and the blackops. Really glad i chose these; great carving on groomed and ice runs. Extremely stable and predictable. The control i had higher speeds was the best i ever experienced.

These are the skis i want to purchase for any groomed East coast skiing. Can’t recommend enough.

Bought these for my wife who is late to the ski game at 50. She liked their feel and as her abilities grew she had the ski to keep up. Great price for a pair of multi-season beginner to intermediate advancement.

Many compliments on their look. She is very pleased.

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.

These Head Kore 99 Skis have almost paradoxical characteristics; stiff and stable yet lightweight and easy to turn on a dime. At 99mm underfoot, these skis are capable in just about any snow conditions you might find yourself in.

Also, if you’ve skied (or read about) previous iterations of the Kore Series, rest assured that the 2023 version is virtually unchanged, with the exception of new and improved topsheet materials that are simply more durable and noticeably less chip/scratch prone.

If you’re in between sizes, I wouldn’t hesitate sizing up with these skis either! At 6ft, 180 lbs, I sometimes wish I’d gone with the 191cm length over the 184cm just because they’re so easy to ski and the extra length lends a bit more stability on landings.

The Black Pearl 88 has been completely redesigned for 2021 and is better than ever. All new sizes, side cut design, rocker profile, and construction specially designed for each size. The needs of someone skiing a 177 and someone skiing a 147 are totally different.

Size, ability level, and how they look at the mountain are totally different! Why would you build the same ski for both skiers? The Black Pearl series uses a different construction and flex profile for every single size with the goal of optimizing the performance at each size for that intended skier.

The new construction also means a slightly heavier ski. What? Heavier? I thought everyone was making skis lighter? Not anymore. The 2021 Black Pearl 88 goes up in weight to match the weight the first year it was introduced.

They?re not Light Weight they?re the Right Weight. Blizzard found that especially in the shorter sizes when the skis got too light they could become nervous and harder to control. By bringing the weight back up to the weight of the original Black Pearl the stability, control, and predictability of the ski has increased dramatically resulting in a ski that feels safer and more manageable for every ability level.

This is the best skiing black Pearl ever made. Specifically designed for every any size or ability level.

I’ve skied a lot in my life! I’ve skied on different products and brands. I’ve tested and tried skis in all conditions. I’ve lived in the east and the west – I know ice and I know powder. I have been spoiled enough to have a quiver of skis in the garage and rarely ski on the same thing two days in a row.

UNTIL, I got the Black Pearl 88’s this season. I keep wanting to reach out and grab my narrower ski for that wicked icy groomer day or my powder ski for that rad 7″ powder day – but I can’t seem to bring myself to leave the Pearl’s behind.

This new Black Pearl seriously does it all. I can make any kind of turn anywhere, anytime with confidence and comfort. I really think the TrueBlend Wood Core makes a huge difference. It’s almost like you can feel the various lengths of the stringers working with you to make each turn fun and easy.

I even like the bumps now, that’s new. I AM A BIG FAN!.

A race ski will out race it, a pow specific ski will out do it in the deep stuff but for staying out all day in most conditions and especially mixed snow or transitioning thru a mix this ski is great.

Good for ON, used it in Austria. Lightweight but has enough hardpack grip. Forgiving, easy turn initiation (some rocker) A fun ski. This ski lets u wander all over the MTN all day. It is easy going. One less thing to worry about.

Recommendation- buy longer than your normal because the ski has some rocker and so it would feel that it skis shorter than a regular length. Longer is also more edge on ice and more stable at higher speeds.

Expectation control – for a finesse skier. A heavier charging adult that is just coming off a race ski, will probably not find the utility value of this ski. This ski will support from intermediate to expert on hardpack, crud, moguls, fresh stuff or pow (not deep) and the transition between.

This ski has no metal layers and has a med-flex and u don’t have to push it hard to respond. If you want to stay out all day this ski will not tire you out. If your day has a variety of conditions and runs this ski is great.

So this ski helps you earn your end of the day celebration. Age 50’s, 125lbs female got 168cm length , have raced, have done heli-pow.

Wife loved demoing Volkl Yumi, but the local ski shop didn’t have any in stock. Peter Glenn from FLORIDA had them on our doorstep in two days. One day later, bindings mounted and on the snow.

I have only used these once so far on a city hill, but at first use, they were smooth and light. Noticeably maneuverable and responsive. I’m looking forward to more challenging terrain and I think these will be great in most mountain conditions.

I’m quite surprised at just how nice this ski rides. I took it through the powder, moguls, groomers, and backcountry and I had no issues whatsoever. In the past I had always chosen volkls, like the mantra or similar.

But I think I now prefer the ride of the mind bender, they have great balance at speed and are not too heavy to turn in the chop. Try these out, there is a reason people have been recommending them and I now know why.

If I lived in an area that got more snow, I would already own this ski. Stable, playful, strong and still forgiving. Hardest turns I made at the demo were on this ski. Mach speed can be shut down at will with slashes and smears.

Floats as good as you would expect a 108 waisted ski would. K2s metal Y beam really makes this ski business in the front and a party in the back. Metal over the edges in the tip give it good engagement and edge hold, while the tapered metal in the back allow the tail to break free from carves and smear in soft snow.

At 6’3 and 200lbs I rode the 186 and was very happy with the length. It was a good mixture of stable but still nimble. When I first took this ski out after riding something softer I was afraid that I wouldn’t like the way the ski performed.

After getting up to speed and slashing some turns I had been converted and really grew to appreciate the performance of this ski. This is a ski that gives back what you put into it. They are a powerful ski that can handle chopped up or hard conditions with ease.

I didn’t get a chance to ride them in powder but I’m sure they’d have no problem ripping through soft snow either. They are a hard charger that I would recommend to a powerful skier that wants a ski that can keep up and rip in any conditions.

The only thing unpredictable about this ski is how awesome it is. Though it may not initially stand out amongst the lineup of all-mountain advanced to expert skis for women, the Sheeva is definitely one you should consider for your next pair of skis! A true quiver killer, the Sheeva is not a beginner ski, but is great for someone who knows how to ski and is looking to increase their skill level, or for an advanced expert skier looking to push the limits of their skis.

At 102mm underfoot it is an ideal width to ski anywhere on the mountain and in any conditions. It is wide enough to float on top of any fresh snow or deep pow that you encounter and its medium turning radius allows for long sweeping turns as well as quick and sharp cuts wherever you find yourself on the mountain.

I predominantly found myself charging hard down packed and groomed terrain on an adrenaline high with a huge grin on my face. I would love to get a chance to take them out after a fresh snowfall as well to see how well they perform then too.

At 5’7″ I skied on the 172cm and it was perfect for me. This length allowed me to ski faster and still feel incredibly stable no matter what terrain I encountered.

On the hard cronch of morning mission ridge groomers, the Hustle 9 held their own fairly well for such a lightweight ski. In the words of my Rustler loving coworker, “They ski like a Rustler, but lighter,” Duh.

When I slipped under the lift for a few steep and rocky turns, the 9 felt a little too narrow to stop getting thrown around a bit in my turns, but I was able to push them into it eventually without having to sideslip or roll down the moguls, meaning the issue was probably just with me.

I don’t doubt the Hustle 10 would hold up better in these scenarios with the added width. For a lightweight ski they felt generally similar to everything else I’ve tried, which is how the vast majority of y’all reading this will probably feel when approaching your first touring buy.

My advice: pick a brand you like for in bounds ripping and invest in their lightweight counterpart. It’ll keep the spirit of the ski with a much better uphill. that’s the point after all! I’m happy that Blizzard has gone full unisex and this should be applauded and celebrated.

invest in brands that challenge the norm and deliver products that work. Keep on Hustlin’.

I am an ex-alpine ski racer turned all mountain skier. I am approximately 6′, weight about 175 pounds, and rode the 188cm length. Conditions were not ideal to test out a 114 mm underfoot ski, but this ski excelled despite the firm conditions.

I am coming back from a shoulder injury so didn’t test the ski off-piste as conditions were variable to say the best on a few cold mission ridge days. But even on-piste, you can feel all of the things that make this ski special.

It rolls over onto edge extremely smooth and initiates the tip of the ski easily, but also might have been the most stable ski I rode all weekend. It also did great slowing it down and trying to adjust turn size to mimic skiing steeper terrain where you might need to keeps turns tight at the top but let it run down low.

All in all, I was super impressed and this ski immediately joins the top contenders for an everyday ski for me here in the PNW.

For past 36 years, I have been on various skis from FIS world cup skis to wide powder skis and this pair is one of few pairs made me wow right away. After three separate days of skiing in different snow conditions on all three days, Experience 82 TI quickly became top of my favorite pairs without any doubt.

In my view, this is the pair truly performs both “Stable and Versatile. ” What I loved the most was that 82 TI felt to bring back the 1st generation of Experience line’s strengths and blend with the 2nd generation by blending two and adding new technologies into this pair, which was almost a shock to me.

Out of tons of good things I have been feeling so far, most impressive feelings are strong edge grip & stability on hard-pack groomed slope and quietness at the tips even on ice ball filled slopes. In my humble opinion, not all skis with metal can do what I mentioned based on my 36 years of ski life and I can say without doubt, this is very strong firm snow carving capable all mountain pair.

Along with strong carving side aspect, this pair still shows what we expect from all-mountain categories – Versatile and playful. This may be little narrow to be claimed as all-mountain category in big mountains out west, but 82 waist is perfect for every-day all-mountain fun skiing here in OH.

A day after a foot of white gift from the sky, I skied on 82 TI and surely had so much fun going thru off-trail areas and the light fluffy powder snow. Hate to say this, but one thing I also noticed was that this pair may not be for all levels of skiers.

As much as this pair does everything it promises, definitely it requires a skier to do their duty to feel all those. But as long as you do your part, you will feel all those good things just like I felt.

Very very happy with Experience 82 TI and will not hesitate to recommend to other fellow skiers. Bottom line is, if someone is looking for a strong carving all-mountain pair, Experience 82 TI is the one without any doubt.

I ski on Nordica Enforcers and Head SL rebels. These rossignol E86 are replacing Volkl Tigershark 10s. And these Rossis fill the bill. They are super stable and can switch from big deep carving turn to right short right turns.

They are nimble and agile. Great overall ski. These will be my new daily go to ski.

Phenomenal skis! Took out for a few hours and could not believe how well they turn, regardless of terrain. Great on icier patches and powder and work great in moguls! Can’t recommend enough!

Since this is my first pair of ski de randonnée, I did not know exactly which pair I should take. I received good advice and I am pleased with my choice of K2.

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TranslateShow in original languageSki très lights. Parfait pour la montée mais pour la descente je les conseils pour des skieurs confirmés car il peuvent donner l’impression de flotter un peut et il faut être confiant.

Attention ski leger = skier fragile. Il fait faire attention aux cailloux car il n’y a pas bcp de matière sur la spatue.

Stable, light and comfortable! What else could you want in ski boots!

Absolute beginner, fell in love with skiing. Light and easy to control

Very good skis, light and maneuvering, challenging to find if ski stuck in the snow:)

Perfect for an intermediate skier who approaches the first curves in conduction. It does not require special effort to conduct it. Lightweight and soft, tolerant of errors.

I try a small taille for my height an level so to me they were difficult to handle and very light. Good for short curves only in piste, I would recommend them for beginners and intermediate.

Love the colour and how light they are.

Purchased from a local reputable ski store, but ordered from their warehouse because my length not in stock in the store. One ski color darker than the other. After first time skiing, noticed the edges chipped and minor slight peelings of top sheet.

I am not a beginner. My old Rossignol skis I’ve used for years still look great and these Salomon’s look like they’ve been used by a beginner. Disappointing for spending $600. I had read negative reviews about the top sheet problems, but figured they were the minority.

Really would prefer my money back.

These skis were exactly what I was looking for and I love them. They are super fun and allow me to make tighter, faster carving turns versus my powder skis and the fat skis that we’ve all been skiing.

I call them my morning carving skis and I love them. I believe people who are having problems with the top sheet chipping off are banging their skis together on the lift. This is my second season on them and they are in perfect condition.

I mainly ski Utah, Colorado and Idaho. My only complaint is that they don’t hold an edge on ice or plow through crud but that’s not what I bought them for.

Really happy with this package. Adjusting the binding to my boot size was a breeze and allowed me to let a friend try them and they were smiling the whole time. The edge hold was great for the New England firm snow.

The 84mm waist worked surprisingly well for soft spring corn. The tips do not catch the piles and toss you. The weight is just right for longer days. Found myself taking extra runs!.

I love these skis! Fun for racing down groomers and carving it up in variable snow conditions. They eat through crud like nothing and give great stability without being overly heavy and stiff. Very confidence-inspiring! I feel like I can ski faster than ever before, partly because they are extremely stable at high speeds but also because the high tips make it very unlikely to get stuck on any chunky crud.

I am 5’6″, 140 lb and am loving the 172 length. They do not feel unwieldy at all- in fact, I love the extra length and wish I had upgraded to longer skis sooner. They are even fun and responsive in moguls despite their length.

For reference, I have been skiing on Blizzard Vivas in 160 length for the last few years. I honestly think moguls and short, fast turns are easier with the SA’s than they were with my Blizzards, even though they were significantly shorter!.

I’ve been touring on the Unlimited 88’s all winter and found them incredibly playful and versatile for skiing with confidence in a variety of conditions. I’ve found this out the hard way because it’s been a low-snow winter with challenging conditions ranging from corn to bulletproof crust to windboard, condensed powder, loose powder, and everything in between.

The Unlimited 88’s have really sailed through anything I’ve thrown at them. I’m super happy with this everyday hard-charging ski, and it’s light enough that I can cover some serious mileage.

Great weight. Nice edges. Love the top sheet.

Very, very pleased

The Blade feels more conventional than anticipated. I really thought it would be pulling me hard across the hill on its own agenda. But it waits for skier input. Also very easy to slash around. I ended up skiing several bump runs and had no issues – in fact the tail is quite nice in the bumps and I never found myself fighting the tips.

FYI, my bump style is much more carving, and minimal zipper line. Skiing 3000′ vert non-stop runs with a mix of bowls, bumps and groomers. My legs definitely got the burn a lot more than usual on the groomers compared to every other ski in my quiver.

All in all pretty versatile – could even be a daily driver. I did not get to the higher edge angles like I was anticipating. Knuckle dragging on my Enforcer 88’s, Mindbender 90’s came on day one. This ski is a bit different, and I was not driving the tips as much, but standing more centered, and really getting a lot of power out of the tails.

After one day of skiing the topsheet near the edges began peeling up and exposing ski core, as a very high level skier who has skied for a long time I was thrown off by this and took the skis into a shop.

The techs at the shop said that “Line skis are notorious for bad top-sheet durability” and that it was likely a defective epoxy in the ski. After sending the skis to line for warranty they rejected the warranty.

Bottom line is this ski is extremely fun but not worth dishing out a single dollar for if you plan on skiing these EXTREMELY hard as they are just not high quality, I would suggest Black Crows Mirus Cor.

I will be buying this ski next season and believe it is just a better Blade.

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+++.

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!.

This is a really nice ski. Took them out for the first time today on solid east coast hardpack and they were a lot of fun. They’re not super heavy and are pretty easy to move around despite a fairly substantial waist width.

They finished turns nicely in the softer snow. They’re pretty stiff so this is definitely a ski for someone who is comfortable getting aggressive in order to make the ski do the work for those clean arcs.

Didn’t seek out any bumps today but I expect they’ll do pretty well based on the weight and feel. I was looking for a solid ice coast expert womens all mountain ski and I think I found it!.

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!.