2024 Atomic Maverick 86 C

Lest there be any confusion, the Atomic Maverick 86 C didn’t crack our Recommended ranks because it’s a great ski. It earned our appreciation because it’s a remarkably good deal at its target retail of $549.95, a price plateau mostly populated by dreck.  Atomic has made a habit out of making a superior carbon ski with an 86mm footprint, going back to its first Vantage series. The Maverick 86 C continues in this grand tradition. The Maverick 86 C is a lot of ski for $549.95. I’m not sure how they pull off this pricing coup; maybe just sharing tooling and most materials (save Titanal) with the Maverick 88 Ti is enough to generate the usual gross margin. I suspect Atomic is able to make this model very efficiently and is passing the savings down the wholesale chain. However Atomic pulls it off, the beneficiary is the typical skier who only ekes out a few days a year and hopes to make the most of them. For its exceptional cost/value relationship in a ski that accentuates ease, we award the Maverick 86 C a Silver Skier Selection.