If we ignored protocol and rated the Pursuit 800 Ti based on prior years’ results, it would easily qualify as a Recommended model. What kept it out of this year’s Recommended fraternity weren’t poor scores, but a lack of scores. During a season in which many western test venues were wiped out by weather, and all the new Rossi 7 series models to test, the updated Pursuit 800 Ti didn’t attract enough attention to pass muster.

What a pity, for the Pursuit 800 Ti is quick, accurate and quiet, everything you’d want in an elite carving tool. Its Prop Tip is a close cousin the Air Tip found in the Experience series and serves the same purpose, lowering swingweight for faster turn initiation. Prop Tech consists of two vertical channels that cut through the top Titanal laminate, so it’s less resistant to twist. This allows the forebody to adapt to terrain that’s coming up at 40mph without losing edge grip. The new Pursuit 800 Ti has a touch wider waist and bit more tail flare than its forebear, giving it a more carvilicious turn finish.

What we wrote about last year’s Pursuit 800 Ti still applies to the latest incarnation. “Peppier edge to edge than a GS ski but every bit as solid, the Pursuit ‘really cranks out quick turns down the fall line,’ notes Footloose’s Matt Finnegan, summing up the duality of the Pursuit’s personality thusly: ‘Very technical ski… but fun!’”