QST Stella 106

Salomon’s R&D department must be constantly fiddling with fibers, for every few years they re-arrange carbon, flax and basalt into different combinations that somehow out-perform the previous generation.  In 2023, Salomon applied the same, end-to-end layer of C/FX’s latest incarnation that debuted two years ago in the QST 98.  The 2022 Stella already had a Titanal mounting plate in its mid-section, a critical component in that its stabilizing influence extends beyond its borders. The fact that the skier has trouble defining the metal/non-metal border is a testament to just how substantial a weave of fabric can be, for the presence, or more accurately, the absence of Titanal is usually instantly detectable. In the Stella, the full-length C/FX factor is more dominant than the metal element, delivering a balanced flex stem to stern with a bite underfoot that won’t wilt in the face of boilerplate.

Any Big Mountain ski is going to offer plenty of flotation for lighter weight women; the differentiator is how well it handles its business when the freshies are shot. Not to worry, the Stella has you covered. The same imperturbability it displays in tracked-up crud fields carries over to just about any condition you can encounter.

QST Lux 92

Like a fairy tale princess, the Salomon QST Lux 92 was born in humble circumstances, endured an awkward adolescence and gradually transformed into a raving beauty. You see, the first edition of the Lux 92 was clearly intended for intermediates, first-time buyers and bargain hunters, as it sold for $499 and didn’t share much of the high-tech construction of its wider siblings, the Lumen and Stella. The latest Lux 92 has top-of-the-line features, including a full-length allotment of C/FX, the carbon and flax amalgam that provides the principal structural support for all the QST’s.  Also onboard is a Titanal plate underfoot that improves stability throughout its mid-section.  

The QST series is a unisex family, so the Lux 92 received the same bundle of upgrades as the “men’s” 2023 QST 92.  Part of the 2023 package is a segment of injected ABS underfoot that boosts edge pressure in this critical zone.  The combined effect of all these embellishments is an elevation in performance that makes the latest Lux 92 one of the top performers in the genre. It isn’t $499 anymore, but it’s still only $550 – one of the best deals in the sport – with a performance range that runs from the basement to the penthouse.

Stance 96

Last winter I was able to ski all the new Stances from Salomon on several occasions, from a foot of fresh to manicured corduroy.  More by accident than design, I even skied them with two different boots. The more I skied them, the more I was led to a conclusion that, at first, I didn’t quite believe: they all ski remarkably alike.

That may sound like a particularly unremarkable observation: if they’re all built the same way, why shouldn’t they ski alike?  Fair enough, but it’s rarely the case that all members of a product family ski identically, and in the case of the new Stances, they don’t just ski kinda like their siblings: any two adjacent widths are all but indistinguishable on the snow, particularly in the off-trail conditions they were made for.

The obvious implication of this interchangeability is that the middle-of-the-range, All-Mountain West Stance 96 not only exhibits the same quickness to the edge as the All-Mountain East Stance 90 displays on a groomer, it also mimics the Big Mountain Stance 102’s Finesse properties in broken powder. That’s a great thumbnail description of what one hopes to find in any All-Mountain West model. 

Skiers who want to smash through crud at max velocity have plenty of other options; the Stance 96 is more for the technician than the daredevil. It doesn’t rush through the turn, nor does it explode off the edge; its talent is for maintaining contact on a secure platform that adapts to terrain rather than trying to subdue it. Its defining trait is its predictability, moving confidently from turn to turn whether the snow surface is perfectly manicured or a hot mess that’s never seen a grooming machine.

Stance 102

When Salomon launched the first edition of the Stance series in the 20/21 season, they were well aware that they were entering all-mountain categories already brimming with options. Most of the established image leaders in the pivotal All-Mountain West genre were Power models loaded stem to stern with dual Titanal laminates. To create some space for Stance in this crowd, Salomon had to both match what the category leaders were doing yet somehow be different from them. The solution was to replace swatches of Ti in the top sheet with its proprietary C/FX fibers, so the Stances would feel a bit less ponderous than the competition.

The changes instituted in the new Stance series took this effort at differentiation a step further, slightly disengaging the Ti top layer from the core, creating the sensation of a softer-flexing ski that’s still torsionally rigid enough to bite into boilerplate. Sally also lightened up the core by adding Karuba to what had been an all-poplar affair.  The net effect is a high octane ski that is simplicity itself to steer. As incarnated in the Stance 102, the new changes transformed what had been a back-of-the-pack wannabe into one of the very best Finesse skis in the over-served Big Mountain market. Its nickname should be Crud Lite, for it excels in soft snow, where it maintains a mellow, fall-line orientation through thick and thin.

Among the traits that substantially boosted the Stance 102 in the Finesse rankings is its unusual ability to feel narrower than it measures at the waist. At least part of this sensation is due to a tail that is, in fact, narrower than the norm in the Big Mountain genre, so the ski has a tendency to gently release the turn after it crosses the fall line. The perception of being on a more tapered platform is accentuated by smooth, even flex that bows under modest pressure.

Jim Schaffner is an innately powerful technical skier with a penchant for speed. He found the Stance 102 to be “balanced and dreamy for my style and today’s packed powder conditions.  Versatile and playful fun.  Loved drifting into the soft stuff on the sides of the trail.”  While it isn’t perturbed by hardpack, there’s no question that it’s in its bliss in soft snow.  While some Big Mountain skis feel like battering rams that bludgeon crud into submission, the Stance 102’s svelte shape slices through tracked-up snow like a stiletto.

2024 Salomon Boot Brand Profile

I was one of the many midwives who attended at the birth of the Salomon boot in 1979.  I translated Salomon’s encyclopedic Boot Bible into English and later condensed parts of it into one of the first bootfitting manuals.  I trained the North American field force,...