Laser AX

How to describe perfection? Is it a list of all the ingredients the perfect thing contains? Is it the meticulous construction that assembles all the pieces into a fluid whole? Is it the action the product makes possible, the interconnection between man, snow and gravity?

It’s all of these elements, of course, but to Matt Finnegan of Footloose, perfection entails the alchemy to make their amalgam evaporate, leaving only sensation behind. “This ski just disappears underneath the skier,” he marvels, capturing the sense of unfettered freedom the Laser AX inspires. Nothing is impossible on an invisible ski.

Stormrider 100 Motion

The Stormrider 100 Motion doesn’t like to wait. It’s as eager as every other Stöckli to show its owner what happens when a nation of watchmakers applies its fetish for precision to building a performance ski. It aims its prow into powder with the enthusiasm of a kid rope-swinging into a pond. It exudes an all-in attitude that inspires aerial entries.

Crud skiing requires courage. The herky-jerky gait of slow-speed struggles through the slop doesn’t auger well for ramping up the aggression. Yet stomping on the accelerator is the only way to make manky crud manageable. Some skis fold like a lawn chair under this stress. The Stormrider 100 Motion lives for it.

Stormrider 107

Average test scores don’t always align in lock-step with the on-snow behavior they’re intended to reflect, but if you look at the highs and lows of the Stöckli Stormrider 107’s scores, a clear – and accurate – image appears.

Looking at the lows, slow-speed turning has never been a Stöckli priority; you only have to ski a pair once and you’ll discover why. Short-radius turns are tough for any 107mm ski and the multi-level metal structure doesn’t make the Stormrider feel any quicker. It would be earlier to the edge if Stöckli hadn’t rockered the 107’s tip in a rare kowtow to conventional wisdom for the Swiss.