When Salomon concocted the QST line, it didn’t just make one construction cut into 4 different silhouettes; it made 4 distinct skis, each with its own, adapted construction. In our panel’s opinion, the QST 106 is the best among unequals. We don’t just recommend the QST 106; we believe it’s moved to the head of its class in the Big Mountain genre.

If you attack the fall line like a German Shepard attacks his dinner, then you’ll probably find one of our Power picks to be preferable. But if you’re like most powder skiers well past their adolescence, you like to enjoy the embrace of every turn, sinking into a sequence of soft swooshes as gently as you’d slip into a warm Jacuzzi.

If the QST 106 were reduced to a single adjective, it would be “easy.” This is why single word descriptions suck, as justice requires that one at least adds an “effing,” to emphasize that the QST 106 takes easy to another level. It passes through a turn like a palette knife through paint, smudging at the top so there aren’t any hang-ups, slicing through the middle to build up energy and smearing a swath at the end to cool off exit speed and set up the next dive into bliss.

If you’re lucky enough to ski wind-battered powder on the QST 106 you’ll discover it loves to roll into berms, moving from bank to bank with the enthusiasm of Bonnie and Clyde. Despite its light construction it handles speed like a much narrower ski, and at “only” 106mm underfoot, it’s less stressful to ski deep into the day than a wider ride like its big bro, the QST 118.

For the way it handles every off-piste condition with aplomb, we award the QST 106 a Realskiers Silver Skier Selection.