2025 Men’s All-Mountain East Skis

The “East” modifier is meant to imply that this narrower collection of All-Mountain skis (85mm-94mm underfoot) is a match for skiers who opt for groomed trails most of the time but want the freedom to foray into the untamed backside of the mountain when conditions merit.  The cream of this crop have settled on a waist width between 88mm and 94mm underfoot, creating a very versatile profile that qualifies for the “All-Mountain” moniker.  Some brands differentiate their “88” from their “98” (All-Mountain West) model by making the former in a less burly construction that will slip into a slightly lower price point.  They make suitable “re-entry” skis for consumers who have been out of the ski market for several years.

Bear in mind that only a decade ago, a ski 90mm underfoot, such as the Salomon Pocket Rocket, was presumed to be a pure powder ski.  This collection has no such pretensions in a market inundated by an avalanche of skis over 2cm wider – and therefore inherently that much more buoyant – at the waist. But if an 88mm board could float just fine in boot-top powder in 2004 it can manage the feat in 2024, and the best of today’s crowded field don’t care what the snow condition is.

Digging deeper into this genre’s make-up, it’s divided along behavioral lines into two bundles: the friendly, easy-going rides versus the high-performance, Type-A personalities.  The former are accessible to almost any skill level and as such are great transition skis for those caught in intermediate limbo. At this width they are easy to balance on yet retain most of the properties of Technical skis so they still cut a precise arc when so instructed.  The latter, high-energy bunch either require elite skills or are best appreciated by those who know how to occasionally achieve a high edge angle and/or drive a directional ski over 40mph.  

The 2025 Men’s All-Mountain East Field

The All-Mountain East family is a wildly diverse ensemble that can be divided into two unequal camps: a few wide carvers that sit atop a family of Frontside models, and a slew of narrow off-piste models, which have come to dominate the genre. Every sort of snow connection imaginable is on display, from fully cambered to double rockered.  Despite the wide range of design diversity, all AME models purport to solve the same problem: creating an all-terrain tool that is equally happy off piste or on.

Think of the AME field as the Compromise Category, not quite as precise as Frontside skis on hard snow nor as surfy as Big Mountain models in powder, but built to perform ably in either circumstance. None of the many members of this crowded field strikes the perfect, 50/50 balance between hard and soft snow performance as each retains a slight bias, depending on the traits of the larger family of models to which it belongs. Because off-trail baselines accentuate forgiveness over steering accuracy, the AME genre is lopsided in favor of Finesse skis. Of the many new models infiltrating the All-Mountain East ranks, only two, the Fischer Curv GT 85 and Kästle MX88, are the widest models in a Carving collection; all the other fresh faces represent the lowest rungs in an off-piste-oriented series.  

Among the notable freshmen in the Class of 2025 are two new Enforcers from Nordica and a dynamic duo from Blizzard.  The Nordicas are the Enforcer 94 and Enforcer 89, both upgrades from their current incarnations, and the Blizzard Anomaly 88 and Anomaly 94, which do a great job following in the formidable tracks of the immensely popular Brahma 88 and Bonafide 97.  Another impressive debut comes from little Liberty, whose Radian 92 can keep up with the big boys in this competitive genre. 

Any skier beyond entry-level ability should consider adopting an AME model as his or her one-ski quiver. There are a great many forgiving models in this field, ideal for masking the technical foibles of weekend warriors.  There is also a sizeable contingent of thoroughbreds that should appeal to advanced and expert skiers with a full skill set. No matter where you fall along the Power/Finesse divide, you’ll find your match in a category with more flavors than Baskin Robbins.

If you’re one of the many lapsed skiers who are returning to the sport after a long lay-off, the All-Mountain East genre is probably the best place to shop for a ski that embodies the best of current technology without feeling weird or unnatural to an Old School skier returning to the skiing fold.

Power Picks: High-Geared & Gifted

The better your ability, the more you’ll appreciate one of our Power Picks.  Not that one has to be a flawless technical skier, but there’s not much point in saddling up a Power ski unless one has the talents to extract its best behaviors.  If honest self-appraisal suggests that you might be more into recreation than perfection, you’ll find a better match among the plentiful supply of Finesse winners.

But if you have the talent, boy, are you in for a treat. Our Power Picks are crazy versatile, up for any turn shape at any velocity from puttering to pedal-to-the-metal. Best of all, they’re ready for any snow condition from knee-deep to boilerplate. They turn the entire mountain into an all-you-can-eat buffet. Bon appétit.

Finesse Favorites: The Friendly Fraternity

Our Finesse Favorites are dedicated to making life easier for their owners. They don’t require a high edge angle to be responsive and flex under relatively light pressure.  Unlike many of the Power Picks, they don’t need to run at high rpm’s to elicit their best behavior.  Most of our Finesse Favorites are built with an off-trail bias, with double rockered baselines and tapered tips, which facilitate the development of off-piste technique. The umbrella trait of all our Recommended choices is forgiveness, providing off-trail access without penalty.