Overview

If one were to distill Fischer to its essence, the resulting elixir would be made of equal parts precision and speed.   Rigorous quality control has been the defining feature of its corporate culture going back to the days of Vacuum Technic that ensured even distribution of glue in an era of loosey-goosey QC.   The infatuation with speed comes with the territory, namely Austria, where winning World Cups is considered a national necessity on a par with strudel and snow.

Despite the recent spectacular results of American racers on the World Cup, American interest in alpine racing remains a pale shadow of Austria’s national obsession with the sport.  As skiers, we gravitate towards models that are more forgiving than precise.  Except where Fischer is concerned.  Over the course of the past decade, the Fischer models our panelists have preferred ran contrary to the Zeitgeist of the smeared turn; they were unapologetically accurate and geared to run smoothly on the Autobahn.   In the language of Realskiers, Fischer has had its greatest success making Power models that reward speed and technical skill.

Fischer’s fortunes in the American market found a fresh foothold when the brand introduced its first boot a couple of decades ago. Fischer capitalized on its opportunity when it created a moldable shell material it could vacuum-fit around the skier’s forefoot. Overnight, Fischer went from being a bit player in the boot world to a market force.  As other brands with more market penetration entered the heat-molding fray, Fischer gradually lost ground to more convenient methods.

A brand is only as good as the people it can attract, and two years ago Fischer added one of the most admired men in the equipment world to its roster, Mike Hattrup. (BTW, 2019 marked the 20^th anniversary of Greg Stump’s magnum opus, The Blizzard of Aahhhs, in which Hattrup teamed up with Scot Schmidt and Glen Plake to create celluloid magic.) Hattrup is well known for his work in the backcountry arena, and his connection to American ski culture can only improve Fischer’s product development.

The 2021 Fischer Season

For 2021, Fischer has a new product story without any actual new products. The story is simply told: all 2021 Fischer women’s skis are identical to their unisex counterparts, save for a change in color and extended size selection at the short end of the scale. What new women’s skis there are, such as the RC One 82 GT WS and the Ranger 94 WS, still hew to this guideline as they are all escorted into the line with a male model by her side.

 

Fischer’s rationale is also simple: as far as the skis can tell, advanced women and men of equal size and ability feel the same to them, so what’s to change? A delightful side benefit to this philosophy in action is that men can choose a 191cm Ranger FR 102 in blazing, flamingo pink. (I think the shade was flamingo; my retinas are still recovering from the impact.)

 

Other changes to 2021 Fischer collection occurred in categories Americans rarely consider. The carve-centric Curv series was given a decent if poorly attended interment and 3 new Non-FIS Race models that bear the timeless RC4 imprint have been nudged a step closer to true World Cup performance.  The headliner is the RC4 Worldcup CT, with a svelte 113-65-98 figure that can arc turns of any shape at speeds that will warp your perception of time.

 

There’s every indication that Fischer’s fortunes in the American Alpine ski market are ascending. Given my professional preoccupations, I naturally look at a brand through the prism of its products, like a fortuneteller inspecting tea leaves. I like what I read in Fischer’s leaves.