The sexy idea behind The Curv was to empower three former World Cup stars, the Italian Kristian Ghedina, the Austrian Hans Knauss and the Swiss Mike Von Grünigen, to create the perfect race ski, unfettered by FIS restrictions. With all of Fischer’s considerable technical capacities at their disposal, the trio spent two years concocting The Curv. The child they’ve created is an alpine assault vehicle.

There are 3 The Curv models, but the one clearly closest to the racers who conceived it comes with The Curv Booster plate, a 2-piece lifter that definitely affects how the ski beneath it behaves. The exponential explosion in power comes at the price of all-in commitment, as one might expect from a ski made by ex-racers.

The Curv is built on racing bones, a wood and Titanium sandwich with Diagotex™ Torsion reinforcement, Fischer’s version of a carbon weave stabilizer. Where The Curv parts ways with FIS orthodoxy is with its triple-radius sidecut, the key to The Curv’s confident hook-up and propulsive turn finish.

The Curv Booster isn’t for an advanced skier looking for technical training wheels. It expects the pilot to have one leg extended and the other tucked up tight, with hips suspended just above the corduroy, setting up for the next exercise in total commitment. Skiers who want carving control that doesn’t require quite this level of athleticism should look at The Curv DTX, built with the same amount of muscle inside but without the supercharger effect of the Booster.