[The test results for the Redster XT are from 2016; the ski’s only changes for 2017 are cosmetic.]

Sometimes a ski’s shortcomings are directly attributable to its strengths. So it is with Atomic’s Redster Doubledeck 3.0 XT. If it doesn’t care to lollygag at slow speed it’s because it knows how to make 50mph feel as comfortable as 35. If it’s as out of place off-piste as a Lamborghini at a tractor pull, so what? Drops the reins on a steep groomer and you’ll discover why the Redster DD XT gets bored picking its way around rocks.

Like all race Atomics, the Redster DD XT is made to accelerate. As soon as it’s laid over, it hits the after-burners and rockets into a simulated race run. All you have to do to feel like Marcel Hirscher is hang on.

Once up to cruising speed, anything seems possible, even staccato slalom turns. The sense of unlimited power percolating under the skin of this Redster gives the skier the confidence to push it, secure in the knowledge that the DD XT can’t be flustered. To keep it on an even keel, the DD XT likes to be driven at a high edge angle, virtually obliging the skier to widen his stance and commit to every turn. You could consider this a demerit, as it shows little sympathy for the timid, but the DD XT’s insistence on being handled properly derives from its strength: Atomic-powered, race-caliber tranquility at warp speed.