Often “wider” translates as “less maneuverable,” but Atomic’s Vantage 95 C W confounds the conventional in more ways than one. The widest of the women’s Vantage series, the 95 C W manages to mask its width by being more effervescent, coming off the bottom of a powder turn as light as a Champagne bubble rising upwards to the surface of a flute.
The Vantage X series debuts this season, finally retiring the Nomads to their tents. The improvements are many and manifest, making the Vantage X 83 CTi, lighter, stronger and more connected to the snow than the Crimson Ti on its best day.
The single most significant new component is the Carbon Tank Mesh, a full-body weave of reinforcement that punches way above its weight class. Another new feature that intensifies edge grip without adding many ounces is Firewall, a square sidewall that’s extra-high underfoot, increasing torsional rigidity and energy transmission.
The Backland FR 102’s blend of agility with stability give it an All-Mountain accent with Big Mountain dimensions. It hooks up earlier in the forebody than wider Big Mountain models and its cambered midsection, in conjunction with its absence of metal laminates, injects energy into the end of the turn, an uncommon sensation in the Big Mountain armada of floaty boats.