Most women don’t want a ski this wide as their everyday ski, limiting their market appeal to second-pair buyers. Less demand leads inevitably to lower model turnover, so there’s very little in the way of new models in the 2019 field. Only one new ski, Atomic’s Vantage 97 C W, cracked our short list of Recommended models.
The list would be longer – and probably different in other respects, as well – if only we could capture more feedback on women’s AMW models. Because of the paucity of data, the numeric scores that determine Power and Finesse ratings aren’t as reliable indicators of behavior as they are in other, more popular categories. A ski listed among our Power Picks could easily flip to the Finesse side, and visa versa.
The holes in our data allowed several potential Recommended models to ride below our panel’s radar, including the returning Fischer My Ranger 98, Head Great Joy and Völkl 90Eight. The new Line Pandora 94 and the improved Salomon QST Lumen 99 also merit consideration.