In June of 2019 I posted a video titled “82 is the new 88” in which I observe that a new sub-genre is coalescing around an 82mm waistline. Some of the new 82’s are descended from off-trail designs, like the Blizzard Brahma 82 and Elan Wingman 82, while others, such as the Fischer RC One 82 GT are derived from a narrow Technical template, in its case the RC4 The Curv.

The new RC One 82 GT doesn’t get quite as large a dose of Titanal as its running mate, the All-Mountain East RC One 86 GT, but it’s hardly a delicate flower. A Titanal sheath rolls over the top of its Air Carbon Ti core, and another TI laminate gives it race-caliber grip underfoot. In the shovel and tail, the Ti is replaced with Bafatex®, Fischer’s own shock-absorbing synthetic. The RC One 82 GT uses the same triple-radius (short-long-short) as The Curv, so the softer zones on the ski curl more easily while the middle delivers unshakeable support.

Given its origins and substantial construction, you’d expect the RC One 82 GT to be “a blast at speed as much as mellow cruising,” as Ward Pyles of Peter Glenn discovered. “Super quick edge to edge,” he adds. “Fast, quick, rips everything,” concurs a Jan’s tester, whose boss, Jack Walzer managed to be even more succinct. Walzer’s one-word review: “Money.”

What makes the RC One 82 GT rise above the mundane and into the “money” class is how well its carve-centric personality travels. When pointed down Broken Arrow at Squaw Valley late on a spring morning, the snow on its exposed flank had turned to a slurry that peeled off when pushed. The RC One 82 GT never asked for special treatment but kept it moving through heavy snow that would have submerged a more persnickety carver.

One way to measure the range of an all-terrain ski is to test its performance in conditions it wasn’t made for. By this standard, the RC One 82 GT is a helluva ski. And it’s a bargain, to boot: the $899.99 price tag includes a Tyrolia Powerrail binding (DIN scale 3-11), so it’s a better deal than it appears at first blush.