The Elan SLX knows that the key to finishing the course is staying on track. Elan was in the vanguard of the carving revolution that, among other things, transformed the function of the ski tail. Instead of using the loaded tail like a springboard that launches the skier across the fall line, the classic carver follows the shape defined by its sidecut. For the modern slalom ski, the direct descendant of the first parabolic Elan SCX, the tail is considerably narrower than the tip, giving the pilot more control over turn exit. The SLX lives to maintain continuous snow contact in every gear from first to fifth.

The SLX is one of the rare slalom skis with a open mind about turn shape, defying the notion that SL skis are too specialized to serve as free skis. All it takes to produce a liquid, long turn is lay off the edge angle. But you don’t buy an SLX to make big turns but to link together a string of pearl-round turns that never feel rushed. Note the SLX’s especially high Finesse score, backed by above-the-category-average marks for Forgiveness and Low-Speed Turning.

One of Stacey Cook’s Chix on Stix extols the SLX as “solid underfoot. Makes good short turns,” this anonymous tester observes, adding a remark that speaks to the SLX’s predilection for laying down an unbroken, dual-rail track. “If you’re not turning the ski wonders what you’re doing.” The SLX is plenty powerful enough to run through the wickets yet has the range to respond to less aggressive pressuring. Lindsey from The Sport Loft finds, “I could push it and when I did, I felt I could push it even more. Very engaging, like the Kästle [RX12 SL].”

Few slalom skis are as easy as they are powerful. The SLX belongs to this exclusive fraternity of friendly SL’s.