The Stöckli family tree has its roots in racing, so any Stöckli bearing the Laser name has a stellar reputation to uphold. The bulk of the Laser clan is devoted to one gate-bashing discipline or another, and its second tier is comprised of high-octane, on-piste carvers. For several years, the only Laser with even the slightest pretension of being an all-mountain model was the magnificent, 78mm Laser AX, which is about as close to an all-terrain ski as a Mazda Miata is to an SUV.
The backstory behind the Laser AR is that it was created with western American skiing in mind, because Americans can’t be trusted to stay on groomers, the terrain all other Lasers call home. To open up its aptitude for soft, lumpy, side-of-the-trail snow, the AR expanded its waist dimension to 83mm and slit its top Titanal laminate down the middle through the shovel so it could bend more freely when cruising though chunder.
These accommodations aside, the Laser AR behaves as if it only retired from the race circuit last season. For any skier with a racing background, it will take about ten seconds to figure it out. Just because its tip is rockered (mildly) and split (cleverly), doesn’t mean it can’t sniff out the top of a turn, and its hold from its midsection to its barely rounded tail is immaculate. Of course, it’s not going to float like a Big Mountain model, but it has as much stability in one foot of tracked-up terrain as the best of its fatter cousins.
When a Laser AR is pointed towards ten inches of wind-affected crud, somewhere inside its wood and metal laminate make-up it must be smiling. The ski feels so unperturbed by roughed-up terrain, its self-confidence can’t help but rub off on its pilot. Any expert will tell you that the secret to skiing crud is to stay near the fall line and charge. Given how wide its shovel is (130), the Laser AR’s 112mm tail is unusually narrow; this engenders a turn that tucks into the top with feline agility, but opens the radius of its arc the instant it crosses the fall line.
On the feet of a skilled skier, the Laser AR will feel like being granted magical powers. They’ll quickly sense that the Laser AR is completely calm because it knows it has nothing to worry about. It truly doesn’t care what the conditions are ahead. In soft, fluffy snow, it doesn’t even try to float on top; it simply demolishes whatever is in front of it. If you need assistance with your off-trail technique, the Laser AR is not going to help you figure it out. But if you have the skills, you’ll find it rock solid, quick on and off the edge and totally connected to the turn.
The Laser AR succeeds as an all-terrain tool largely due to a feature created to control torsion in race skis, the domain the Laser family calls home. Called Torsion Racing Technology, it consists of longitudinal splits in the bottom Titanal laminate that allow the tip and tail to deflect. What helps maintain edge contact on hard snow also lets the extremities adapt to irregular terrain without over-reacting.
But even TRT can’t turn this exquisite carver into a deep snow ski that’s fit for all the conditions western American skiing throws at you. Just because the Laser AR can and will ski anything, doesn’t mean it’s the perfect ski for all conditions. It simply means it treats all conditions with equal contempt.
