Power Picks: Shredding the Gnar
Any ski over 113mm underfoot can be thrown into a skid, but some would prefer it if the pilot knew how to point ‘em. Our Power picks not only aren’t afraid of speed, they live for it and to one degree or another, require it. Imagine you’re heli-skiing on a pitch...The Naturals: Brilliant Balance
As I was sorting the Powder skis I’d essayed at Snow Basin and Mammoth into Finesse and Power piles, three models emerged that resisted categorization. To pigeonhole them as Power skis would obscure their exceptional willingness to operate from any stance and remain...QST 118
I posted a video last spring on the current state of the Powder ski genre. My principal argument was that despite being made for the same purposes, every ski in the category has its own distinct personality. Some beg to run hot, staying close to the fall line until they hit their tipping point. Others are loosely linked to the snow and are much better at smearing than carving.
The Salomon QST 118 resides somewhere in the middle, a Finesse ski that hides its power reserve in powder, where it drifts lazily through a mid-radius turn on its own volition. When the powder is kaput, so are a lot of made-for-powder models, but the QST 118 handles the transition to carving conditions as if it were a gentleman’s cruiser. It doesn’t take much edge angle or pressure to engage it, so there’s no need to exaggerate the degree of edge elevation in order to get it to hold.
Line Sick Day 114
There’s a lot of subtext to the Sick Day collection, of which the 114 is the fattest and ipso facto the floatiest. Sick days are all about not showing up, and with a tip rocker that rises two centimeters off the deck, mated with a pulled-back forward contact point, the Sick Day 114 always cuts the first class. Even when it’s asked to turn nicely, it doesn’t sit up straight but sort of slouches through the turn. Riding a high edge on a ski this wide is a lot like work, so it drifts through the turn stress-free.
If this sounds like the Sick Day 114 would rather get terminal acne than carve a turn, let’s just say it performs like the solid “C” student that surprises you on test day. It’s actually very simple to steer, taking the hint from light pressure to find its way across the fall line. Its most unexpected talent lies in short turns at slow speed, not normally in the Powder ski playbook. Of course it doesn’t make short, carved turns, but it smears its way side to side without a hitch or a great deal of pilot input.