The Amphibio Black Edition seems to operate on its own volition. It’s like owing a pair of animated skis that previously belonged to Roger Rabbit. Step in and you’re off on a Disney-quality ride: exciting but never scary. That’s because it’s as smooth and languid as a Southern drawl. Even when it’s whipping around a corner, it doesn’t act hurried or nervous. If you’ve ever driven a ritzy sedan, you know how 85mph feels like 60; on the Amphibio Black, 40mph feels like 20. The added ingredient that distinguishes the Amphibio Black from its template, the Amphibio 16 TI2, is a top sheet of carbon that seems to smother whatever threatens to disturb its Buddha-like tranquility.
The Elan Amphibio 84 XTI is a Power ski conscripted into the ranks of our Finesse Favorites lest its ultra-silky moves be misconstrued as hard to extract. If you can stand up under your own power, you can ski the Amphibio 84 XTI. Any pressure to the inside edge and it’s “Look, Ma, I’m carving!” The Amphibio 84 XTI’s acts like a turn conductor, indicating when to tip, how long to hold the beat and when to snip off the end of each note to make room for the next. The sidecut acts as its metronome, cambered for early contact on the inside edge and subtly rockered on the outside edge. The shape of the top surface reinforces the to-and-fro rhythm, convex in the forebody to accentuate pressure on turn initiation, a concave tail to lubricate release.
