2023 Maverick 86 C

Lest there be any confusion, the new Atomic Maverick 86 C didn’t crack our Recommended ranks because it’s a great ski. It earned our appreciation because it’s a remarkably good deal at its target retail of $499, a price plateau mostly populated by dreck. Atomic has made a habit out of making a superior carbon ski with an 86mm footprint, going back to its first Vantage series. The Maverick 86 C continues in this grand tradition. I learned more about the Maverick 86 C’s capabilities than I intended to when I stepped into a pair during a Peter Glenn demo event at Squaw Valley last March. I was just in time to join a group taking an end-to-end mountain tour led by Jonny Moseley. Moseley and I were already well acquainted, going back to the days when I recruited him to ski for Head. I wasn’t going to miss the chance to spend some time with Jonny, no matter what skis were on my feet. So, off I went on an excursion that included more than the usual dose of moguls, for obvious reasons. I was gob smacked by how well the doughty little (176cm) Maverick could snake through bumps, its loosely connected tips smoothly sliding over the tops and soft flex helping it slither through troughs. When it was time to gallop back to the lift, the tail was supportive enough to be stable within the normal recreational speed range. The Maverick 86 C is a lot of ski for $499. However Atomic pulls it off, the beneficiary is the typical skier who only ekes out a few days a year and hopes to make the most of them.