[The test results for the Stormrider 100 Motion are from 2016; its only changes for 2017 are cosmetic.] 

The Stormrider 100 Motion doesn’t like to wait. It’s as eager as every other Stöckli to show its owner what happens when a nation of watchmakers applies its fetish for precision to building a performance ski. It aims its prow into powder with the enthusiasm of a kid rope-swinging into a pond. It exudes an all-in attitude that inspires aerial entries.

Crud skiing requires courage. The herky-jerky gait of slow-speed struggles through the slop doesn’t auger well for ramping up the aggression. Yet stomping on the accelerator is the only way to make manky crud manageable. Some skis fold like a lawn chair under this stress. The Stormrider 100 Motion lives for it.

Stöckli has taken some measures to trim the Stormrider 100 Motion of excess mass, including decorating its Titanal topsheet instead of covering it and using linen as a dampener, but this is still a stout ski. There’s no getting around it: it takes a tough ski to part snow as thick as pitch. This is the secret to the Stormrider 100’s high Finesse rating: by staying calm at speeds that make other skis crumble, the Stormrider 100 indeed makes ripping through rubble a lot easier.

Burly enough to be a man’s ski, we wouldn’t recommend the Stormrider 100 Motion as the everyday ride for the petite. For women with the wherewithal to drive it, this ski can’t be recommended highly enough.