It’s possible that the 2018 version of the Stöckli Stormrider 95 isn’t the best all-terrain ski extant. It’s just as possible that it is.

The previous version of the Stormrider 95 incorporated polyamide inserts in the tip and tail to enhance its ability to conform to irregular terrain. These proved to be a QC issue Stöckli decided it could live without, so it dropped them from the design. Since taking the inserts out required a mold change, Stöckli’s design team elected to reevaluate the ski’s construction from top to bottom.

By trimming the thickness of its Titanal laminates, Stöckli made the 2018 iteration a little softer tip to tail. This makes the new Stormrider 95 feel more forgiving and easier to bow into an arc that cuts as clean an arc as a Technical ski. Paul Jacobs of California Ski Company composed this panegyric to its virtues: “Stable, powerful and precise. The faster you go, the smoother it skis, yet not difficult to ski at lower speeds. Feels like a Mercedes AMG Hammer, composed over the worst surfaces. Probably the best executed ski on the planet.”

Cal Ski Co proprietor and longtime Stöckli support Greg Whitehouse tries to pinpoint what makes the Stormrider 95 so extraordinary. “Seems better at almost everything it does well, if that’s possible? Tip is soft, but a remarkably technical- feeling ski for its dimensions. You feel like you could run GS on this thing and be competitive.”

“The lack of rocker compared to category makes it less proficient in powder,” in Whitehouse’s view. “It floats okay, but prefers to be used as a crud-busting, groomer-ripping cruise missile in the cut-up snow the day have a big dump.”