Fischer’s work with the aerospace industry gives them access to cutting-edge technologies like featherweight carbon, and their legendary leadership in the cross-country market has honed their expertise in ultra-light cores, but their very best alpine skis, like the RC4 Worldcup RC, are also their most traditional.

Okay, the construction includes an element of Air Carbon that didn’t exist 20 years ago, but for the most part the RC4 Worldcup RC hews to a classic formula: a wood core bracketed by two sheets of Titanal on one axis and square, ABS sidewalls on the other.  As assembled by a meticulous factory with stringent quality control on every component and process, this enduring design demonstrates that traditional values retain their relevance in today’s what-have-you-done-for-us lately market.

If you pay any attention to the World Cup, you might notice that Austrian GS skis are on the podium ad nauseum.  The RC4 Worldcup RC isn’t as powerful and fall-line focused as a genuine FIS-sanctioned GS, thank goodness, but it gives us mere mortals a sense of what it would be like to have that level of control and authority.  It’s particularly exhilarating to drive through a long, banked turn that can’t be broken loose by boilerplate, wind-blown berms or heavy spring slush.

The Fischer RC4 Worldcup SC is the slalom counterpart to the Worldcup RC (reviewed above), built to identical specs except for sidecut and length.  As befits a slalom specialist, its turn radius of 13m in a 165cm mimics the mandated shape of a World Cup SL, and it’s available in sizes small enough to make a complete turn inside a cubicle.

To all intents and purposes a GS construction in a SL shape, the RC4 Worldcup SC has a speed ski’s affinity for running hot, but unlike any GS ski extant, the SC doesn’t mind backing off the RPM’s and slinking together a sequence of round, well-finished turns at what any racer would consider a sedate pace.

But racers aren’t the only experts on the hill.  Instructors in particular can use a tool to demonstrate how to carve a turn at speeds that won’t result in them pulling away from every student in the class.  The SC finished third in this elite genre for its tractability at low speed while also earning above average marks for its accuracy at high speed.

Among Fischer models, the Progressor probably has the largest fan base in America, in part due to the longevity of the nameplate and partly because over the years Progressors have been stout carving sticks with a lot of racing attitude.

The latest series to bear the Progressor family name retains the carving proficiency but takes the edge off, literally and figuratively. The flagship of the 2016 clan, the Progressor F19 Ti, is built around the Air Tec Ti chassis, a construction that shaves weight wherever it can.  The core is milled out following a formula Fischer mastered making über-light cross-country skis.  Material is also removed from the top and sides so the finished structure is domed, practically coming to a point over the edge.

Changing the core profile has altered the Progressor’s personality, toning down its aggressive tendencies while retaining its prompt response to pilot input.  The F 19 Ti feels lighter and more agile than its ancestors, with less emphasis on Power and more focus on Finesse.

Skiers who lament the passing of the race-bred Progressors of yore should dab their eyes and buck up: over in the Non-FIS Race winner’s circle are a couple of RC4 Worldcup models that should fill that void in your life quite nicely.

Fischer has been a leader in lightweight technology for many years, a history they continue to write with their silly-light mountaineering models.  The Progressor F-18 fits into this story as part of the first generation on the Progressor family tree to use Razorshape, that domes the core so the ski’s shoulders are sloped, not square.

The Progressor F-18 sheds more g’s by excising the 2 sheets of Titanal sported by its big bro, the F-19 Ti, and its Air Tec core uses a unique off-set milling method to subtract 25% off the usual core mass.

As for how the F-18 handles, its Dual Radius sidecut (more shape up front than in the rear) is largely responsible for how quickly it hooks up an endless stream of short turns without once feeling twitchy.

There are more powerful skis in this genre, but power isn’t everything.  The F-18 strikes a fine balance between Power and Finesse, making it a good choice for the skier transitioning from advanced to true expert.

The Motive 80 hasn’t changed since 2014, and likewise Fischer hasn’t lost their facility at making sublime Frontside cruisers.

Like its twin sister ski, the laureled KOA 80, the Motive 80 uses just enough rocker in the tip to ride over irregular terrain features without hindering the ski’s aptitude for holding an edge.  The Motive can’t compete with Fischer’s race skis for accuracy at speed, but it’s still energetic and grippy at the more moderate speed range at which both the ski and its intended user is comfortable.

With today’s emphasis on all-terrain aptitude, the Motive 86 attracts more attention, but for skiers who spend more than half their ski day on groomed slopes, the 80 is probably a better tool.  The ski comes with its own Tyrolia-bred Powerrail binding.

The KOA 84 might as well serve as the non-system version of the KOA 80, as its comportment on snow is barely distinguishable from its sister ski. The accent still falls on ease of use, lightness underfoot and facility at low to moderate speeds.

Falling in the Fischer line between the award-winning KOA 80 and KOA 88, the 84 is a “tweener” ski that isn’t as well suited to groomed snow as the 80 and isn’t as comfortable off piste as the 88.  This doesn’t disqualify it on performance grounds, but it does explain why it tends to get overlooked in favor of its sisters with narrower and wider waists.

When you step into a Fischer Motive 86 you can imagine the ski inquiring, “Where to, sir?” for it behaves like an all-terrain limo. You’re instantly comfortable and effortlessly in control. You just slide in the saddle and go, confident your transport is going to cling to a carved arc no matter where it’s aimed.  You don’t have to adapt to it; it’s there to take care of you. Of course it helps to have expert technique, the better to extract its premium behaviors, but it’s not so burly it can’t be enjoyed by lesser lights. If you’ve been a fan of Völkl or Head carving tools you’ll recognize in this Fischer the same race-room heritage with its emphasis on precision. At heart a Carver Without Borders, the Motive 86 can take its edge-etching act on the road, meaning it’s more than willing to meander into off-piste crud that would deflect a less determined ride.

The Ranger series puts the emphasis on ease, and the 90 Ti, as the narrowest of this off-piste lot, spreads its mellow attitude all around the mountain. Its featherweight aspect is impossible to overlook, setting our testers up for the surprise pay-off: it still knows its way in and out of a technical turn.  “Amazing,” wrote the brow-wrinkled Winks of Cal Ski Co, “felt like nothing on my feet.  The thin profile made me nervous at first, but as soon as I put my foot down this ski impressed me with its edge hold, which never let me down. Surprisingly quick edge-to-edge as well: just un-weight and go.”

Quite the testimonial, yet methinks Winks doth wax a bit effusive. His cohort Charles at CSC, who also much admired the Ranger 90 Ti, had a more grounded assessment: “Great ski for intermediate skiers and people just getting into wider skis, as it’s very easy to ski.”

Sticklers for statistical details will scratch their heads over our scores for the Fischer Motive 95 TI.  What’s a ski with a higher aggregate score for Finesse properties doing on our list of Power Picks?

We confess to exercising editorial override and positioning this ski among our Power elite because the Motive 95 TI is in all respects a strong, technical ski.  It just happens to be mindlessly easy to ski as long as one brings some skills to the party.

The Motive 95 TI’s Power properties derive from its classic wood and metal sandwich construction, with two sheets of Titanal and square, ABS sidewalls.  Its surprising Finesse attributes can be traced to its Air Tec Ti core that borrows technology from Fischer’s market-leading XC department that mills out offset core sections to reduce weight without losing torsional strength.

Put it all together and you have a ski so responsive it feels energetic even in wet spring snow.  Its peppy reflexes help the Motive 95 TI to earn high marks for short-radius turns in a category where they’re generally in short supply.

Whether you consider the Motive 95 TI a powerful ski with a light touch or a gentle ski with a spunky, can-do spirit, both camps can agree it’s a well-rounded ride.

Don’t let the “Ti” in the Ranger 98 Ti hypnotize you into thinking this will be another Austrian World Cup ski blown up to dirigible dimensions. It’s almost the opposite scenario: a decidedly buttery knife that uses but a slip of metal underfoot and is responsive to the lighter pressure exerted by recreational skiers.

Skiers who hit each turn like it insulted their mother will drive the Ranger 98 Ti right off the road unless they back off the aggro-meter. However, skiers who are just getting used to the hang of a wider stance on a wider ski will discover this Ranger is ready to roll over and ride a modestly angled edge, laying down lovely railroad tracks from a laid-over stance.

With all the weight-saving technologies on board, the Ranger W 98 makes for a relatively agile off-trail ride, well suited for the woman who is getting her first skis this fat.  Skiers of less developed powder skills need to be able to swivel their skis sideways; its rounded Aeroshape design allows the Ranger W 98 to slice through the snow with almost no resistance.  The Carbon Nose pares weight from the rockered forebody, doing its part to make off-road skiing easier.  On the Finesse/Power spectrum, the Ranger W 98 lands in the Finesse bandwidth, light, lively and easy to steer in off-piste chop.

The wider the ski, the greater the benefits a bantamweight construction bestows.  So it shouldn’t shock anyone that among the Rangers, the 108 reaps the greatest rewards from its Air Tec Ti construction that peels 25% of the core away.  Skis of this girth can ski like garbage scows, but the Ranger 108 Ti is so malleable it can be tipped to a high edge where it’s even amenable to carving a short turn instead of smearing it sideways.

Big Mountain skis are meant to spend their lives in soft snow, and this is indeed the Ranger 108’s stomping ground. “Perfect skis for today’s conditions,” crowed Cal Ski Co’s Charles, who caught a demo day at Mt. Rose that allowed their finest attributes to strut their stuff. “OMG! So easy to ski this thick, heavy Tahoe snow!  It’s lightweight, maneuverable and FUN!” Charles concluded.  “Unexpected combination of Finesse and Power,” concurred co-worker Paul.