We did not see this coming, although in retrospect, we should have. Our testers have always loved the Bent Chetler, now in its tenth year, but how would its radical baseline translate to All-Mountain use? Would it ski like a plump Pipe & Park twintip or a fully rockered Powder ski? And at a mere $600 MSRP, how could it hope to compete in a field where $800 – $850 is closer to the norm?

Then you ski the Bent Chetler 100 and it’s all you can do to stop grinning.

Even though its HRZN Tech tip and tail are built to drift first and think about carving, well, never, the BC 100 nevertheless doesn’t feel squirrelly or hard to manage. Au contraire, it seems up for anything that doesn’t entail being bored to death on groomers. “This was a nice surprise, a perfect balance between stability and playfulness,” says Kelli Gleason of Telluride’s Boot Doctors. Her Dad, the ever-ebullient Bob, also pegs playfulness as a cornerstone quality: “In the blending of playfulness mixed with precision, these are the top of the heap. Easy to ski in variable conditions. Arcs and scrubs with dexterity,” he adds.

The Bent Chetler 100 is not a full twin-tip nor is it symmetrical, but it shares with Pipe & Park models the awareness that the whole mountain is a playground. If it has a preference for soft snow, who can blame it? While it’s certain to be identified with youth culture – who else is likely to butter off the multi-rockered tip on the lip of a precipice, as the BC 100 seems designed to do? – this ski is too much fun to be monopolized by kids. Their parents might shy away from it, but we think it has the ease and enjoyment any age can appreciate.