Two modifiers keep coming to mind as we ponder the predominant traits of Salomon’s new QST 92: lightweight and value. At a most probable price of $499, the QST 92 delivers confidence and a measure of competence to eternal intermediates and early-stage advanced skiers who want to break the bonds of boring groomed trails and tackle off-trail terrain.   That’s it’s as light as a salad for lunch makes it all the easier to toss around in tight quarters like trees and chutes.

The QST 92 shouldn’t be mistaken for a slimmer QST 99 or a plumper QST 85, for Salomon chose to slot each QST model in a different price point, in descending order, beginning with the QST 118. As the QST 92 is closer to the lobby than the penthouse in this vertical arrangement, its construction is geared to the skier whose aim is high but current talents need nurturing to develop.

The QST in the 92’s name is a compression of Quest, the brand’s umbrella term for products adapted for OB exploration. (The Q series that preceded it already took the monogram option.) Point being, the QST 92 wasn’t bred for running laps on groomers, in thrall to the speedometer on your cell phone, but for moving with the calm assurance of molten metal around tree wells and moguls, carving where it can and smearing on command.

If you want to ski the same terrain with a more balls-to-the-wall attitude, move up to the QST 99, as there’s nothing the QST 92 can do that the QST 99 can’t do better under the guidance of a true all-terrain skier.