The widest ski examined in these pages, Atomic’s Bent Chetler 120 not only doesn’t ski as wide as it measures, it actually behaves “normally,” instead of ultra-adapted for pow, which is what it is. The Bent Chetlers (there are now two, with the debut of a Bent Chetler 100) are adorned with HRZN Tech, extremities that are rockered both longitudinally, which is customary, and laterally, which is unique to them. HRZN Tech creates a 3D surface that behaves like the bow of a ship, forever in contact with the surface it’s shoving aside It also allows the skier to use either end of the ski as a point of rotation, a thought I must admit never occurred to me.
How many turns can you make in a run, in a day, in a season? It doesn’t matter what the answers are, for the Atomic Redster S9 has a bottomless well of SL arcs packed into its short and shapely frame. To the S9, every run must look like a racecourse. Its instinct for high-speed turning is so engrained it practically issues instructions to its pilot rather than takes them. If the S9’s desires were audible, the first prod to its pilot would be, “Go faster.” The types of whiplash turns it relishes need energy, so poking down the hill isn’t an option.
How is it possible to make a better Technical ski than Atomic’s Redster X9? It has the stability of a sumo wrestler and the reflexes of a fencer. If there’s a speed at which the edge breaks loose, chances are you’ll never touch it. Its imperturbable hold is amplified by a feature called Servotec, a long, thin rod embedded in an elastomer under the binding at one end and attached on the other end at a point just behind the shovel. The interaction of the rod and the elastomer during flexion both absorbs shock and actively restores ski/snow contact.
There isn’t an ounce of condescension in Atomic’s Cloud 12. Of course it doesn’t meet FIS specs, but that’s the whole point of the Technical category, to apply race room production to more versatile shapes. The Cloud 12 isn’t made for the lackadaisical carver who wants to hang out on the tail end of a turn long enough to check her messages. The second self-evident feature that helps define the Cloud 12’s behavior is its svelte shape. This streamlined rocket thinks of recreational runs as another opportunity to win something, taking off down the fall line as if suddenly freed from a bad relationship.
Atomic’s Vantage X collection is a predominantly Frontside family with its design roots in off-trail technology. The lightweight componentry pilfered from the off-trail Vantage series’ top models are Titanium Backbone 2.0, the main stabilizing element in the base of the Vantage X 83 CTi’s laminate lay-up, and Carbon Tank Mesh, which plays a similar role where it resides just below the ding-repellent topsheet of nano TPU. The Vantage X 83 Ti’s Firewall sidewall is radically sloped at the extremities to reduce swingweight and resist twist, but squared up underfoot for amplified energy transmission. All these elements translate directly to the on-trail objective of an unwavering edge at speed.
