What a lovely ski.

This was the first season that Realskiers engaged with Liberty, catching the brand just as it debuted a new series of Frontside models with a fresh technical story. VMT stands for Vertical Metal Technology, a process that uses two strips of 5000-series aluminum alloy – similar to Titanal but damper without the Ti part – laid vertically between bamboo laminates that straddle the core’s centerline. Two full-length, pre-cured carbon sheets and a central carbon stringer create a powerful platform that’s reinforced with steel mounting plates. While other brands are busy trying to make their tips lighter, Liberty has tacked on metal tip and tail protectors that add mass and consequent damping.

Put it all together in a package with a cambered baseline with just the slightest tip rocker and a 92mm waist and you have the V92. If you’re a western skier, this would probably be your pick of the VMT litter. If it behaves more like a wide Frontside ski than a genuine all-terrain ski, that’s because it has more Frontside DNA in its make-up. (Note the lack of tail rocker, allowing the ski’s camber to extend all the way to its square tail.)

The V92 is one of those skis you instantly admire because it seems to adapt to you, rather than the other way around. Skied with minimal energy, it skis a clean, round turn with a smooth finish. If you ask it to drift, it complies. Pump up the speed and energy and the V92 is right on the beat, whether making snaky, shallow slalom turns in rapid succession or popping off a hard edge set. It always manages to feel natural, balanced and with you all the way through a big-bellied arc.

If the V92 has a weakness, it’s that the ratio of its on-trail/off-trail suitability is closer to 70/30 than the category target of 50/50. Big deal. For the skilled skier looking for a companion, not a crutch, it handles fresh snow and crud just fine. As Bob Gleason, former Head of Boot Surgery at Boot Doctors in Telluride assessed it, “The V92 drives through a round turn with an eye on turn finish. It moves from steeper conditions and variable conditions to groom with easy-going predictability.”