Compared to a carving ski, Atomic’s Backland Bent Chetler is as abnormal as the brain Igor delivered to his master in the immortal Young Frankenstein. With only 40% of its undercarriage cambered and a forebody rockered both fore-aft and side-to-side, you expect it to ride like a stage coach with a broken axle.

What’s really strange about the Bent Chetler is how weird it isn’t. It takes about two runs to adapt to life à la Chetler, rotating around the multi-axis tip to start a turn, riding the solid midsection for a touch of directional influence and spinning to a conclusion. When it can’t be in the powder that it’s natural habitat, the Chetler keeps its composure where it’s cambered underfoot, so you can ride it comfortably on just a sliver of edge.

A Bent Chetler signature model has been part of the Atomic line for years, but over that time it’s been through a few metamorphoses. This year marks its most recent remake, replacing the wonderfully named Sprocket Power Boosters with a Carbon Backbone that gives the ski more stability and pop. The new Chetler takes advantage of the added strength of carbon to trim a little core mass, shedding 90g of fat.

The Backland Bent Chetler’s most distinctive feature is its HRZN Tech forebody that reworks the base and sidewalls into a prow-shaped surface that plies through powder unperturbed. It also allows the pilot to pivot 180 degrees at any moment, should you suddenly channel Chris Bent Chetler’s bent mindset and attempt to butter off the brink of a precipice.