[The test results for the RC4 Worldcup RC are from 2016; the ski’s only changes for 2017 are cosmetic.]

Fischer’s work with the aerospace industry gives them access to cutting-edge technologies like featherweight carbon, and their legendary leadership in the cross-country market has honed their expertise in ultra-light cores, but their very best alpine skis, like the RC4 Worldcup RC, are also their most traditional.

Okay, the construction includes an element of Air Carbon that didn’t exist 20 years ago, but for the most part the RC4 Worldcup RC hews to a classic formula: a wood core bracketed by two sheets of Titanal on one axis and square, ABS sidewalls on the other. As assembled by a meticulous factory with stringent quality control on every component and process, this enduring design demonstrates that traditional values retain their relevance in today’s what-have-you-done-for-us lately market.

If you pay any attention to the World Cup, you might notice that Austrian GS skis are on the podium ad nauseum. The RC4 Worldcup RC isn’t as powerful and fall-line focused as a genuine FIS-sanctioned GS, thank goodness, but it gives us mere mortals a sense of what it would be like to have that level of control and authority. It’s particularly exhilarating to drive through a long, banked turn that can’t be broken loose by boilerplate, wind-blown berms or heavy spring slush.