Like Ferris Buehler, Line understands that sick days mean freedom. Freedom from the tyranny of technicity that says all turns must be carved. Freedom from metal that puts the kibosh on pop. Freedom from costly designs when all you really need is a lightweight, aspen core infiltrated with carbon stringers that go by the colorful name of Magic Finger Carbon Filaments.

The Sick Day 104 acts avant-garde and rebellious, but it’s actually a retro design that uses fiberglass to dictate flex pattern – soft tip, stiff tail – and rebound (4mm of camber). The energy the Sick Day 104 releases as it crosses the fall line lends the impression it’s quicker to the edge than most skis its size. As befits a ski with a name about slacking, the Sick Day would rather drift than carve, a skill that’s essential in the wildly variable conditions that prevail off trail. Short turns are okay, but they’re a lot like work, so the Sick Day 104 prefers a longer, lazier radius. “Quite the upgrade from the 102,” lauds the tester known as Han Solo. “Added carbon stringers give this ski insane rebound and a ton of forgiveness. Surfy and playful all around the mountain, this is a true one-ski quiver.”

Whether the Sick Day 104 is a viable everyday ski depends on where and how you like to ski. The 12mm of rise of its rockered and tapered tip is always going to make it as late to the top of a turn as a truant is for class. It can make a short turn, just not a short, carved turn. If you have to make a sudden, sideward move, throw the Sick Day 104 into a power drift and it will rise to the occasion. As noted before in this space, the Sick Day 104 is always prepared to slack off and drift. Its eagerness to drift in lieu of etching an arduous slalom arc is another manifestation of its rebellious, stick-it-to-the-Man attitude.