Cloud 12
The Cloud 12 isn’t made for the lackadaisical carver who wants to hang out on the tail end of a turn long enough to check her messages. The second self-evident feature that helps define the Cloud 12’s behavior is its svelte shape. This streamlined rocket thinks of recreational runs as another opportunity to win something, taking off down the fall line as if suddenly freed from a bad relationship. .
Redster X9
It’s unlikely that the new Atomic Redster X9 will instantly make you a better skier; it’s a certainty it’ll make you feel like one. The Redster X9 is built to turn speed into more speed by maintaining edge contact no matter how hard you try to make it fly. It’s signature technology, Servotec, is meant to impart the impression of power steering by making it easy to find an early edge and holding it for as little or as long as you like.
Redster S9
The new Atomic S9 is as close as a civilian should get to a true race slalom. Set it to a high edge once at the top of steep face and it will go off like a string of firecrackers, striking and recoiling with every pop, pop, pop. Despite the intensity of its grip, there’s nothing nervous about it; the ski remains calm, even at its fastest and most furious. Like its stable mate, the G9, the Redster S9 is considerably slimmer than the Atomic that preceded it. This helps keep its orientation in the fall line even though its 12.7m radius sidecut (165cm) can pivot on a dime.
Redster G9
The speeds this ski is ready to assume demand precision; events come at you quickly once you exceed 50mph. The relationship between ski and skier was like that between maestro and musician; when we work together, the music we make would make angels lay down their lyres to listen. Which of us was in charge didn’t seem to matter in the moment, as long as the notes we strung together formed a lilting melody. If you’re a former racer, you won’t need any introduction to the Redster G9. It will feel like what you used to race on, only smoother, less perturbed by rutted terrain and quicker on and off the edge when faster reactions are called for. If you’ve always loved the feel of a GS race ski, you’ll be head-over-heels over the G9.