Wingman 82 CTi

The new Wingman 82 Cti from Elan demonstrates the proposition that the best way to imbue a Frontside ski with greater terrain versatility is to begin with an off-trail template. The Wingman series borrows its structure from Elan’s Ripstick collection, which uses twin 3mm carbon rods near the base to lend strength, dampening and rebound to its poplar and Paulownia core. To give the ski more poise on piste, Elan squared up and flattened out the tail and added a band of Titanal to the ski’s mid-section for good measure.

That the Wingman 82 Cti would excel at twin-track carving was foreordained by its TruLine Amphibio design, an Elan staple. Amphibio is the umbrella term for an asymmetric sidecut that puts a longer effective edge on the inside of the ski and a shorter camber zone along the outside edge. In other words, the ski is rockered along the longitudinal axis. This allows the skis to always remain in sync as they roll from one inside edge to the other. TruLine amplifies the Amphibio offset by concentrating more glass over the inside edge so the skier’s force is directed where it’s needed most.

Wingman 86 Ti

The new Wingman series from Elan is a fusion of its on-trail Amphibio models and off-trail Ripsticks. The bias of the new collection is intentionally tilted toward carving groomers, an acknowledgement that most “all-terrain” skiers spend the majority of...

Stormrider 105

Stöckli has been trying to domesticate the Stormrider 105 ever since the Swiss unleashed this beast what feels like a lifetime ago. For 2020, its evolution towards a lighter, more flexible Stormrider continues by tapering both layers of Titanal so they’re thinner at...

Stormrider 95

The one condition that separates the best All-Mountain West skis from the merely excellent is crud. It’s the dream of perpetual powder that drives the category – there’s no other reason to have a ski this wide – but the reality is uncut powder is over and done...

Laser AR

If one were to believe the pandering prose describing the new Laser AR in Stöckli’s 2020 catalog, it’s an all-terrain ski. BTW, Stöckli annually produces the most lavishly produced yet poorly written catalog in the ski world. Here’s a taste of the Laser AR’s thumbnail...