[The test results for Cham 2.0 W 97 are from 2016; its only changes for 2017 are cosmetic.]

Rossignol and Dynastar have lived under the same corporate roof for most of their lives, and they still dance together with as much distance between them as 10-year old cousins doing the fox trot a wedding reception. A fine example of how differently they view the same problem occurs in this category. Dynastar’s Cham 2.0 W 97 and Rossi’s Temptation 100 Ti both belong to the All-Mountain West genre, yet they have as much in common as oil and water.

All the essentials – sidecut, baseline and construction – are from opposite playbooks. Dynastar departed from conventional wisdom when the first Cham debuted with a 5-point sidecut that effectively disconnected the abruptly rockered tip and tucked-in tail from the cambered midsection where all the carving took place. With Cham 2.0, Dynastar lessened the severity of the front rocker and further relaxed the overall structure by saying au revoir to Titanal. Cham 2.0 wasn’t just more forgiving than its forebear; it stayed in contact with the snow in more conditions than just powder.

Cham 2.0 W 97 is essentially a fat ski with a slalom sidecut (14m @ 172cm) that skis shorter than it measures without resorting to smearing sideways. As with any of our Recommended models, it can cope with the monotony of groomed slopes, but these aren’t the moments it lives for.

Like its prospective owner, it would prefer to make first tracks down a pristine pasture, but if all that’s left is a mishmash of old tracks with scattered powder pockets, the Cham 2.0 W 97 will make the most of the situation.