Tester: Kim Beekman

This year, Liberty moves its VMT—Vertical Metal Technology—into its women’s line of all mountain skis with two new evolv models, and all I could utter after trenching up Steamboat’s corduroy during a ski test is a breathy, “Thank you.” The 84 is a built to be an all-terrain vehicle (between the racy V and freeride Origin lines), with a touch of tip rocker and progressive flex, but it definitely prefers to mach the groomed at eye-watering speeds. That’s not to say it’s impatient, however; it will hold your hand and coach you into a carve if you’re an advanced intermediate. As for the VMT (which made its women’s debut last season in the V frontside carvers), I’m not sure how this homegrown brand in the Vail Valley managed to invent something so groundbreaking, but I do know it works. Metal struts are laid vertically into the core, sandwiched between lightweight bamboo and poplar (as opposed to sheets of the stuff laid horizontally on top and beneath), to add strength and vibration damping without all the weight. In my humble opinion, it unequivocally puts this former pow-ski brand in the big leagues when it comes to edge grip and stability. The other guts of the ski include energetic polyethylene sidewalls (as opposed to damper polyurethane used in the V line), which helps give the ski more pop, liveliness, and versatility in all conditions. The rest is just sheer joy wrapped in a base and topsheet—it is so much fun.