The FX95 provides an instructive case study on the virtues of Titanal laminates in an All-Mountain ski. The FX95 has none; its beefier bro, the FX95 HP, does, and therein lies the lesson.

The presence of metal imbues a ski with extra stability in general and three cases in particular: hard snow, high speed, and day-old crud riven with multiple tracks. The FX95 is fine as long as it isn’t forced to run hot, which is the nut of the problem: the only way to ski old, set-up snow or perverse conditions like wind crust is to ski them with a little wind in your sails. Without the Titanal to calm it down, the FX95 gets flustered by the constant battering that goes on in broken snow and pouring on the gas only makes matters worse.

Lighter skiers who prefer the reactions of an all-glass ski will find the FX95 more maneuverable than its 20m-sidecut radius suggests. The well-rockered tips and tails are also tapered so they won’t get hung up on turn entry or exit, a design that’s at its best in soft snow.