by Jackson Hogen | Aug 16, 2019
The Elan Ripstick 96 is in the vanguard of the Lighter is Better movement. The core combines vertical laminates of two lightweight woods, poplar and Paulownia, sandwiched between sheets of fiberglass. To dampen the ride and add energy out of the turn, two 3mm-diameter carbon rods run the length of the ski near the edge, tracing the path of the sidecut in CNC machined grooves near the base of the core. Inlays made from a synthetic dampening agent, called Vapor Tip inserts, are integrated into the shovel to boost the lightweight chassis’ ability to absorb shock.
Another major contributor to the Ripstick 96’s high scores for ease of operation is Elan’s unique asymmetric Amphibio design that abbreviates edge contact on the outside edge – i.e., adds rocker to it – while maximizing snow contact on the inside edge. For practitioners of continuous carving in which two edges are always riding on an unbroken, parallel path, the Amphibio design makes carving feel as natural as walking.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 16, 2019
There’s nothing like swaddling an already excellent ski in a rich coating of creamy carbon. We skied an Amphibio Black Edition last season that finished tops among Technical skis, and in the past we’ve skied Kästles that were also encapsulated in a carbon sheath. They, too, won their category, so the Elan Ripstick 106 Black Edition came with high expectations.
It did not disappoint. It snaked all around the mountain like a fat, black mamba, coiling around a medium-radius turn as if it were alive. The Ripstick 106 on which it’s modeled is already a fairly soft ski; slathering it in carbon didn’t change it compliant nature but complemented it. The carbon coat calms everything down, muffling shocks before they can cause any trouble. If your mind aches to go off-trail but your body aches if you do, the Ripstick 106 Black Edition is a brilliant buffer between heavy snow and balky joints.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 16, 2019
Like every model in the Big Mountain category, Elan’s Ripstick 106 has lighter weight near the top of its design criteria. The Ripstick 106 is also in step with its competition in its use of carbon to replace heavier components, but the Slovenian ski maker deploys it in a unique fashion that takes full advantage of carbon’s capacity for shock damping and elasticity. Two 5mm-diameter tubes reside in CNC-machined grooves that follow the sidewall along the base of its all-wood core. Positioned as they are near the snow and the edge, the carbon cylinders can keep the Ripstick 106 on a calm edge when navigating rough terrain.
If you’re familiar with Elan, you’d be correct to surmise that the Ripstick 106 uses its signature, asymmetric sidecut, dubbed Amphibio. Given the Ripstick 106’s inherently looser tip and built-to-drift girth, the Amphibio effect isn’t enough to keep its tips cool, calm and collected on brittle hardpack.
But crispy corduroy isn’t where the Ripstick 106 longs to roam. It would like nothing better than to find a soft berm to sink into or bank off of. In its happy place in soft snow, it’s “super smooth and buttery,” according to an anonymous tester who tried in wind-affected crud.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 16, 2019
At 82mm underfoot, Elan’s new Interra 82 seems to occupy a no-man’s land between traditional carving skis, such as sister ski Insomnia, and the current focus of the women’s market, All-Mountain East models with a midriff between 88mm and 93mm. No doubt about it, the All-Mountain East genre, with its promise of all-terrain mastery, has charmed the market into believing that it’s the Promised Land of women-specific skis.
But as I argue in “82 is the new 88”, the gradual shift to narrower footprints has inspired several suppliers, including Elan, to lay a new stepping-stone in the path back to more realistic sidecuts. The reason the Women’s All-Mountain East genre assumed a dominant position in the U.S. market was its presumed superiority in off-trail conditions. But there are several reasons why many women would be even better off on a ski like the Interra 82.
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
No other brand in our sport owes as much to the records and legacy of single athlete as Elan. The athlete, of course, is the incomparable Ingemar Stenmark, winner of 86 World Cup wins, all on Elan. There would be no second act on the World Cup for Elan après Ingemar,...
