The Fischer Ranger series is aptly named, for over the relatively long arc of its career it has ranged from one end of the design spectrum to the other. It began several seasons ago as essentially an all-mountain ski with racing in its bloodlines, beefed up with square sidewalls and a classic wood and metal make-up.  For a skilled skier with strong legs they could pulverize anything in their path, but as a helpmate to the so-so skier looking for an easy way down a crud field, they were overkill.

So Fischer tacked back in the other direction, tapping into its expertise in cross-country ski design – where the brand has reigned for decades – to re-outfit the Ranger line with an elaborately milled out core.  This move was in keeping with the overall trend to lighter constructions, but for the most part this collection lacked the power and energy to match the performance of the top models in the Big Mountain category.

In 19/20 Fischer again re-designed the flagship of its Ranger Ti series, returning to a lay-up with twin Titanal laminates for stability and liberal use of carbon to make it responsive.  Carbon inlays in the tip and tail help make the extremities thin and light, so the latest Ranger 107 Ti is easier to foot steer when necessary.  “It’s user-friendly but still can be skied aggressively,” notes one admiring tester. “You can take your foot off the gas and it’s still responsive.”

Compared to the Ranger 108 Ti that preceded it, the Ranger 107 Ti has a slightly less shapely silhouette and a longer contact zone underfoot, giving it more directional stability and an overall calmer disposition in the sloppy seconds that prevail on so-called powder days. Its new sidecut favors the skier who can maintain momentum through a series of rhythmic, mid-radius turns that neither enter nor exit the turn too suddenly.

The Ranger 107 Ti is a Power ski that doesn’t take a lot of Power to handle. Its weight comes in handy both on hard snow, where its Ti laminates are of particular value, and in the kind of crud that bites back.  After years of struggling to find the right formula for its off-trail collection, Fischer is showing promising signs of getting its Alpine, in-resort act together.

I can’t mention Fischer, Ranger and backcountry in the same paragraph, as I just did now, without thinking about Fischer’s current collection of Ranger hybrid hiking boots. When they first appeared at the Masterfit Boot Test, they stunned the test panel with how well they skied, not just for a hiking boot, but a ski boot. I mention the Ranger boots because they’re the best boots Fischer has ever made, so if you’re thinking of a backcountry set-up involving the Ranger 107 Ti, you have to consider the Ranger boot as part of the system.