To give you an idea of what a steal the Bent Chetler 100 was when it was introduced three years ago, Atomic understandably raised its retail price by $100 a year later, and it was still the best value in the category. But the Bent Chetler 100 is more than just a good deal; it’s a wonderfully versatile ski that’s as easy to ski in off-trail conditions as any AMW model at any price.
The key to the Bent Chetler 100’s charms is its Horizon Tech tip and tail which are rockered on both axes. By crowning its extremities, the littler Chetler feels like it can drift in any direction on a whim without losing control of trajectory. When in its element, it’s the epitome of ease, rolling over terrain like a spatula over icing.
The Bent Chetler 100 is all about freedom of expression rather than the tyranny of technical turns. So what if its liberty-loving tip doesn’t want to show up early in the turn? That’s not its shtick. It has talents Technical skis never imagined, like throwing it in reverse off a precipice. It’s light, it’s easy to pivot and it’s wide enough to float in two feet of fresh. If you evaluate the Bent Chetler 100 for what it does rather than what it isn’t meant to do, it’s an all-star in a league of its own.
The Maverick 100 Ti’s special sauce is the combined effect of its double-rockered baseline (25/60/15), tapered tip and unique HRZN Tech Tip that’s rockered on both axes. Atomic calls this combo the ski’s Flow Profile, a good term for how a ski meets the snow. In the case of the Maverick 100 Ti, the front rocker reveals a decided preference for off-trail skiing, sacrificing early connection at the top of the turn on firm snow for a better buffer when barging through cut-up crud.
The 100 Ti is the best of the new Mavericks at drifting, able to smudge over loose, sloppy snow whether meeting it head-on, sideways or somewhere in between. It also has a bit more metal than its bros by dint of its added surface area, so it surprisingly holds a better edge on sheer surfaces than its skinnier siblings. Because its front rocker shortens its effective contact length by 25%, the Maverick 100 Ti is one of the rare AMW models for which we suggest grown males consider a 188cm.
Even though they’re a great leap ahead of the Vantage Pro Lite series they replace, the Maverick models are still an exercise in minimalism. Atomic underscores how the Mavericks are built with “only the essential materials.” True enough, and the Maverick 100 Ti has enough of the essentials to earn a Recommended medallion in the hotly competitive AMW genre.
Lest there be any confusion, the new Atomic Maverick 86 C didn’t crack our Recommended ranks because it’s a great ski. It earned our appreciation because it’s a remarkably good deal at its target retail of $499, a price plateau mostly populated by dreck.
I learned more about the Maverick 86 C’s capabilities than I intended to when I stepped into a pair during a Peter Glenn demo event at Squaw Valley last March. I was just in time to join a group taking an end-to-end mountain tour led by Jonny Moseley. So, off I went on an excursion that included more than the usual dose of moguls, for obvious reasons. I was gob smacked by how well the doughty little (176cm) Maverick could snake through bumps, its loosely connected tips smoothly sliding over the tops and soft flex helping it slither through troughs. When it was time to gallop back to the lift, the tail was supportive enough to be stable within the normal recreational speed range.
The Maverick 86 C is a lot of ski for $499. However Atomic pulls it off, the beneficiary is the typical skier who only ekes out a few days a year and hopes to make the most of them. For its exceptional cost/value relationship in a ski that accentuates ease, we award the Maverick 86 C a Silver Skier Selection.
Depending on where and how you ski, the Maverick 88 Ti may be the best of the top 3 models in the new all-mountain series from Atomic, despite residing on the lowest rung of the pricing ladder. It arcs the best short-radius turns of the bunch despite a mid-radius sidecut that’s equally comfortable when allowed to run for the barn. Its tail is supportive without being flashy, gradually releasing its grip as it crosses the turn transition.
As the narrowest of the Maverick Ti trio, the 88 Ti is the best fit for today’s arrhythmic bumps, and its ability to access a short arc in a jiffy is a huge asset in the trees. When I let it run on a long, gradual ballroom on the sunny side of Mt. Rose, it remained predictable and trustworthy as I raked up the edge angle, banking off a receptive layer of solar-softened cream. Its baseline is more cambered than its siblings (15/75/10), so there’s a longer platform under the pilot in all conditions, without sacrificing its ability to swivel a turn in a pinch. Its tips would prefer that the snow find it, rather than the other way around. This makes it a hero in spring snow, where its rockered forebody can buffer the blows delivered by ever-softening conditions.
