A case could be made that Nordica has been building the best all-glass (i.e., non-metal) skis on the planet for the past several seasons. Models like the Steadfast, Hell & Back and Patron raked in best-in-show awards in their respective genres since their introduction. Nordica’s La Nina is cloned from the Patron, purloining every aspect of the unisex model but two center channels of its wood core, which La Nina replaces with foam.
K2 earns our eternal admiration for keeping their focus on making off-trail skiing easier. This is particularly apropos in the Big Mountain arena, where the best skiing isn’t on the groomers. The Pinnacle 105 possesses the magical quality of making previously unplayable terrain part of the daily routine, like playing the forward tees allows the average golfer to enjoy a tough course.
The Pinnacle 105 might be the best application of K2’s Konic technology that concentrates practically all mass over the edge. The Nanolite material used in the central core fans out at the extremities, forming the tip and tail entirely from this featherweight stuffing. The reduction in swing weight is one reason the Pinnacle 105 steers like a narrower ski.
Rossignol recognized some years ago that their off-piste unisex skis came out of the mold ready for the women’s market. What hadn’t Rossi already done to the Soul 7 (or Savory 7, as renamed for womankind) to make it female-friendly? The tip and tail were fashioned from Koroyd in see-through patterns reminiscent of stained glass, so swing weight was already low as basso profondo. Every shred of metal not named “edge” was omitted a priori.
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.
Average test scores don’t always align in lock-step with the on-snow behavior they’re intended to reflect, but if you look at the highs and lows of the Stöckli Stormrider 107’s scores, a clear – and accurate – image appears.
Looking at the lows, slow-speed turning has never been a Stöckli priority; you only have to ski a pair once and you’ll discover why. Short-radius turns are tough for any 107mm ski and the multi-level metal structure doesn’t make the Stormrider feel any quicker. It would be earlier to the edge if Stöckli hadn’t rockered the 107’s tip in a rare kowtow to conventional wisdom for the Swiss.