For 2016 Atomic focused their R&D effort on the all-mountain Vantage series, and boy, did the investment pay off.  Atomic fiddled with how little expensive reinforcement might be required to stabilize a relatively wide, high performance ski in the previous generation of Vantage models; with Carbon Tank Mesh they’ve found the right formula. In combination with the 2.0 version of the Titanium Backbone, the grid of carbon fibers provides the strength and snap that makes the new series a tangible step up from Vantage 1.0.

The Vantage 85 CTI is not to be confused with the Vantage 85, which is the old Panic and therefore without Carbon Tank Mesh or Titanium.  The plain-Jane 85 can’t hold a candle to the CTI, which is a stronger and livelier ski in every respect.  Picking between the 85 CTI and the new 90 CTI, however, is not so simple.

The 90 CTI and 85 CTI are built the same, priced the same, rated the same for Power and Finesse properties and, after dozens of test runs, scored within one-hundredth of a point of each other for Finesse/Power Balance, a key metric of excellence.   The difference boils down to geometry:  the narrower 85 CTI can get on and off the edge quicker while the broader 90 CTI has better flotation in powder.

So the key to picking between the 85 CTI and the 90 CTI comes down to what off-piste conditions do you ski more often, moguls or powder?  If it’s bumps, the agility and overall ease of the 85 CTI will make it the better choice.

Of the three new Vantage models offered in the All-Mountain East category, the 90 CTI clearly out-performed its brethren in all-around aptitude for all-mountain skiing.  Wide enough for knee-deep powder, stout enough to bash through cut-up crud, quick enough to carve on corduroy; there’s nothing the 90 CTI won’t do and do with relish on top.

The 90 CTI doesn’t ski fat, meaning one doesn’t notice a balk at the top of the turn while the pilot pulls the ski up on edge, yet when it’s plopped down in a pile of powder it performs like it’s in its native element.  I had the blessed opportunity to experience this facility when I enjoyed one of the few powder runs of this execrable snow year when I happened to be essaying this model. No question I was in an ecstatic state and may have been smitten by any ski under the circumstances, but the 90 CTI nonetheless performed admirably, keeping the beat, holding the line, never letting it feel arduous. Sweet.

Lord only knows, not all runs are going to be powder.  Perhaps that’s why Bob Gleason, chief of surgery at The Boot Doctors, called the 90 CTI a “good climate change ski.”   It will make the most of whatever Nature provides.  “It drives through bumps like Audi through curves,” Gleason observes, noting an attribute that isn’t shared by all skis of this girth.

There’s little point to buying a ski in this genre if all one is going to do with it is swoop around on groomers.  (A Frontside or Technical ski is better adapted to this purpose.)  The Vantage 90 CTI is an ideal companion for anyone who’s bored with the bleak monotony of manicured slopes and is up for trying, well, whatever else is on the menu.

The Nomad Crimson Ti is an interesting case in how tastes change over time. When it launched, the Crimson Ti’s strength and unflappability in all snow conditions earned it immediate accolades for virtuosity. This year it’s not even the best All-Mountain East ski from Atomic, let alone a market leader. What in blazes happened? It can be summed up in an acronym: LIB, for Lighter Is Better, a design movement originating among backcountry and Big Mountain skis, where paring away weight is a priority. The latest manifestation of the LIB movement at Atomic is the new Vantage series, headlined by the sublime 90 CTi. Both the Crimson and the 90 CTi use Atomic’s Carbon Tank Mesh and Titanal in their lay-ups, but the 90 CTi pops out of the mold 100’s of grams lighter than the Crimson. One definition of versatility is how well a ski performs in conditions for which it wasn’t optimized. The Crimson Ti is essentially a carving ski willing to take its act off road. The 90 CTi is an all-terrain ski that looks at carving as just another skill set. In our crew’s estimation, the 90 CTi copes with carving better than the Crimson can manage all the vicissitudes one encounters off-piste. A torch has been passed.

The Vantage 85 tries to piggyback the reputation the new Vantage series will quickly accrue, but as the low-ball MSRP suggests, its not in the same league as its seeming siblings.  On the other hand, none of the other Vantage models are going to retail at around $399, as the 85 is likely to. At that price, you’re getting a reasonably competent carver as long as speeds and expectations are kept in check.

If we were counseling adults on where to spend their scarce ski budget, we’d advise stepping up to the Vantage 95 C as it’s a better all-terrain ski. But for teens spending their own coin on a ski they’ll outgrow, the Vantage 85 is “a perfect value ski at $399 that performs as well as other brands’ $599 skis,” says the perspicacious Pat Parraguirre, manager at Bobo’s and the unelected mayor of Reno.

The Vantage 85 W is an old girlfriend in a new outfit.  Dressed to match the new Vantage line, underneath the topskin is last season’s Supreme, as light and playful as ever.

Clare from Peter Glenn in Atlanta was smitten, awarding it 5 exclamation points.  “I loved this ski!! It took hold and showed me the way without over-powering!  Not too heavy, not too light!  It made me feel like a better skier than I really am!”

Clare’s concluding sentence encapsulates the feeling that a lot of women want from their next pair of skis.  The Vantage 85 W has just the right amount of energy for women who want to explore more of the mountain and need a little encouragement from their gear to get them going.

Most of us don’t need much added motivation to save money, and the Vantage 85 W is significant contributor to this cause, often retailing for $200 less than the benchmark models in this category, earning our kudos for best value in its class.

Atomic makes a full array of women’s skis, from skinny and slight to stout in all senses of the term.  The Vantage 90 CTi W is of the second sort, a full-bore ripper that lays into the mountain as if it had stolen its boyfriend.

The things that make the Vantage 90 CTI W great are also its potential liabilities.  “Titanal and carbon gives the ski liveliness but [makes it] harder to control in bumps and chop,” writes Kelli Gleason of The Boot Doctors.  “It bucks you out of the turn, although it is stable,” she admits.

It attacks the fall line like Homer Simpson assaults a box of donuts, but ask it to back off the juice and it wants to know what for?  Somehow the Vantage 90 CTi W knows that life is too short, so it wastes no time getting from the top of every turn – and every mountain – to the bottom.

If this doesn’t sound like the most tolerant of rides, it isn’t.  If the 90 CTi W were taking applications, it would be as selective as Harvard.  But if you’re an A student, don’t you want all that hard work to pay off? As Kelli’s sis Galena contends, this Vantage is “powerful out of the turn → for advanced skiers  only!”

Atomic removed the metal elements from the Vantage 95 C in order to tuck it into a more aggressive price point, depending on the new Carbon Tank Mesh to provide sufficient support for high performance all-terrain skiing.   As it turns out, the Carbon Tank Mesh performs above expectations, delivering plenty of energy in the turn transition.

The ability to bring some juice to the party at the end of the turn works as well for All-Mountain West skis in the choppy conditions one encounters off-trail as it does for Technical skis on hard snow.  A lively lilt is the key to rhythm, and rebound energy is its source.

The raison d’être of this entire genre is to deliver more or less uniform (and excellent) performance across the full spectrum of snow conditions, so the skier never has to worry, “Do I have the right ski for today?”  If you own a Vantage 95 C, the answer is always, “yes!”

If you’re looking for a great value – and if you’re researching on the Internet, you’re probably on the alert for a deal – you just found it.  We don’t rate skis based on their price/performance ratio, but if we did the Vantage 95 C would be at the top of the list.

Our cast of very talented skiers were awe-struck by the performance attributes of the 95 C, showering it with praise normally reserved for much more expensive skis. “Lively yet stable.”  “Easy turn initiation and holds well.” “Smooth and accurate on edge.”  What else do you want in a ski?  With a probable price tag in most markets of only $499, it’s a crazy-good cost/value relationship.  As one tester summed it up:

“Price point vs. performance = amazing.”

In the fat-fatter-fattest line of new Vantage models from Atomic, the 100 CTI occupies the superlative position.  Its girth, while noticeable compared to its more slender siblings, can’t mask its inherently lively nature; the 100 CTI moves briskly edge to edge compared to most other 100’s.

“It doesn’t feel heavy,” confirms Pat from Bobo’s, adding, it’s a “nice, stable ride with a smooth feel.”  Lou from Sport Loft concurs, calling the 100 CTI “lively but not squirrely.”

The only qualm expressed by our test crew was the admonition to stay forward to get the best behavior. “Skis best from the tip,” suggests The Boot Doctors’ Gleason.  Taylor from Peter Glenn notes the 100 CTI’s preference for a skier who can stay forward and drive it, penning appreciatively, “Pay attention and these will take you anywhere.”

Stepping back for a moment to look at the all the new Vantage line as a family, our test experience confirms what one might have forecast a priori: the 85 CTI has the best on-slope performance, the 100 CTI the best off-piste comportment, the 95 C is the best value and the 90 CTI is the most versatile all-around performer.

Atomic’s new Vantage 95 C W isn’t one of the All-Mountain West genre’s strongest skis or it wouldn’t be holding down the final position among our Recommended models.  But it has several redeeming qualities, not the least of which is its relatively low retail price.

But price alone won’t buy you a point on a performance-based test card. The Vantage 95 C W earned its place here on merit, with performance that raised the value quotient in the cost/value relationship. (An awkward way of saying you’ll get more than what you pay for.)

Galena Gleason of The Boot Doctors was impressed with the 95 C W’s all-around athleticism. “Perfect for Telluride every day conditions,” she wrote. “The lack of Titanium makes it more versatile. Winner, winner!”

The Vantage 95 C W works its magic without metal thanks to the new Carbon Tank Mesh that seems perfectly calibrated for strength and flexibility. Kelli Gleason’s card cut to the chase:  “Money,” she said succinctly, adding only, “Great drifter yet stable @ speed.”

Big Mountain skis usually cost big coin, but the Automatic 102 continues the Atomic tradition established by the Access, delivering above-average performance for a bargain-hunter’s price. The Automatic 102 wouldn’t be a deal if it didn’t ski well, and it acquits itself admirably as long as the snow conditions aren’t too vicious.  It delivers a round, easy-to-bend arc that’s reliable throughout the recreational speed range.

Skiers just getting accustomed to off-piste terrain or those who by nature want to keep their speed in check will find the agile Auto 102 keeps its cool in all but the most manky off-piste conditions. Best of all for less-than-expert skiers, the Automatic 102 can be steered from an upright stance.  Light but not fidgety unless pressed into duty at silly speeds, the Auto 102 favors the Finesse skier who wants to keep their play from feeling like work.

The Automatic 109 is like early Jerry Lee Lewis in that there’s a whole lot of rockin’ going on.  While it’s cambered for roughly 65% of its baseline, the other 35% serves primarily as surface area to elevate the ski in soft snow.  In concert with the 109mm waistline, the double rocker baseline makes a ski that’s best suited to off-piste terrain, lift-accessed or not.

Despite being amply rockered, the Auto 109 is still a decidedly directional ski, like a New School kid that still managed to get into Harvard. Its stability on edge is partly attributable to the feature with the best name in ski equipment—Sprocket Power Booster—a carbon inlay that gives the Auto 109 its spine. (One has to wonder: didn’t anyone at Atomic notice that the group behind the withering character of Dieter, the Germanic talk show host played by Mike Myers on SNL, was the Sprockets? Or did they?)

Although Atomic’s Automatic 102 and Century 102 are male and female twins cut from the same cloth, apparent parity isn’t what it seems. That’s because the Century 102’s “Lite Woodcore” is a better fit for the lighter gender than it is for meatier men. “Playful and easy to maneuver for a small person,” wrote a petite test pilot from Telluride.  “Being the smallest kid in the pack, it skates real well so I can keep up.  Awesome one-quiver ski – big fun!” she enthusiastically concludes.

Equally adept at both short and long turns, the Century 102 will carve as accurately as any ski in the women’s Powder pile and plays around in the soft stuff with aplomb.  The Century 102 is as well-rounded and even-tempered a performance ski as the genre as to offer.

The Century 109 is every centimeter the ski that the men’s Automatic 109 is, only the size range downshifts to fit a smaller clientele.  Made around a lightweight but reactive poplar core, the Century 109 serves as an ideal sidecountry escape vehicle.  Amply rockered at tip and tail, the cambered midsection has all the oomph one needs to help the powder ski lift the skier into the next turn.  This wide ride gets some extra stability in the chop from carbon inserts in front and behind the binding area with the marvelous moniker of Sprocket Power Boosters.

The only athlete’s signature ski in Atomic’s lineup since time immemorial, the Bent Chetler has built a large and passionate fan club. Now they all finally have a reason to get a new one, as last season Chris Bentchetler and Atomic concocted the most significant changes since the first innovative iteration appeared.

As if the original model weren’t smeary and playful enough, the long forebody of the latest Bent Chetler is rockered on both axes, so it’s both bent upwards and crowned like a boat prow.  The 3D change in the baseline, which Atomic calls HRZN Tech, adds 10% more surface area, just in case a 120mm waisted ski isn’t quite buoyant enough for you. The additional curvature makes deep snow mindlessly simple to ski forwards and easier to throw into reverse and see how a prow works in the stern.

With almost exactly the same dimensions as the Rossi Super 7, the Automatic 117 shares several other similarities with its French competitor, including a disdain for short turns, but at the end of the day the two skis don’t feel all that alike.

That both are in their heaven in three feet of fresh goes without saying, but while the Rossi wants to porpoise downhill with a lively disengagement between each arc, the Atomic wants to hunker down in the turn and blast a trench through whatever you position in front of it.  While this Atomic does indeed make navigating off-piste conditions automatic, the level of facility one feels does depend on the pilot’s proficiency.

Which is a fancy way of saying the better the skier, the more probable it is he’ll appreciate what the Automatic delivers. Tapered tips and tails mean the Automatic 117 skis shorter than its dimensions, a sensation seconded by a long front rocker that keeps the tip from ever twitching into a turn. Surprisingly secure once one commits to the turn  – it earned high marks for continuous carving despite the stain of a low grade for always being late to the edge – the Automatic is ever ready to smear, you guessed it, automatically.