Salomon’s revised QST 92 is a great model for the first-time ski buyer who is ready to dabble in off-trail skiing. The upgrade applied to the 2019 iteration consists of crosshatching the strands of carbon/flax fiber – Salomon calls it C/FX3 – so the superlight material runs both laterally and longitudinally. The improvement in edge grip is instantly evident, which contributes to an impression of greater agility, rebound and vibration damping.
“A pleasant surprise,” notes Bobo’s Paul Alvarez, aka Alvie, who pinpoints the QST 92’s dominant traits. “Light and nimble, it does have a speed limit but a fun, refreshing ski to ride.” (Who wouldn’t want a ski that refreshes?) One reason the QST 92 is so forgiving – a blessed trait for a less-than-advanced skier – is that it isn’t fixated on carving but will happily drift part of its way downhill. This is particularly true in short-radius turns, a QST 92 specialty, where a bit of drift smoothes out turn entry and exit.
From a terrain preference perspective, the QST 92 is more attuned to life off-trail where its drift-ability helps smooth out the ruffles in irregular terrain. While its on-trail performance is much improved, the QST 92’s more shallow sidecut and lightweight chassis are better adapted to untamed snow than groomers.
While the 2019 QST 92 is a stronger, smoother ski than its original formulation, it’s still essentially a Finesse ski with an emphasis on ease. What the new ski embellishes are edge grip, for greater security, liveliness, for improved energy through the turn transition, and damping, reducing the rattle on hard snow. The new QST 92 raises the performance bar without losing its empathy for the less skilled.
Women should note that the unisex QST 92 comes in the same short sizes (153, 161, 169cm) as the QST Lux 92, the women’s version of the same ski. The two models are interchangeable and not coincidentally, both the men’s and women QST 92’s received nearly identical scores from our test panel.