If the Line Pandora 95 had a theme song, it would be “Surfer Girl.” When she isn’t surfing she’s swimming sideways, setting up for the next wave. Asking it to carve a clean arc on hard snow is like compelling an adolescent to stay after school and clean the erasers. It will do it, but only at her own pace and she will resent you forever for it.

You’d understand this sullen attitude if you could see how the Pandora 95 lights up in powder. Now its mildly rockered tip and tail have something to push against, settling their tendency to squirm on groomers. Moderate flex depresses a slightly (3mm) cambered center, producing the pop that energizes the transition to the next turn. In new snow, this breeching action is called “porpoising,” as it mimics the swift rise and fall of Flipper and friends. (Please, no letters about porpoise bias. There is no “dolphining,”)

The more accomplished or aggressive woman who is accustomed to powering through her turns will likely unhinge Pandora’s box. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) But lighter women – including, but not limited to, adolescents – will find the Pandora 95 playful as a puppy. An anonymous tester annotated her stellar score with all-caps comments and underlining for added emphasis: “SO FUN! SURFY. LOVE. AWESOME GRAPHIC!” ending with the pang of unrequited ski-tester love: “WANT.”