When it comes to ski design, Salomon is confidently contrarian. It’s been like that since the beginning, when Salomon rocked the ski world with its monocoque shell construction. The French brand’s latest tack against the prevailing wind is a new generation of lightweight skis that uses flax interlaced with carbon stringers to provide the flex resistance and damping roles previously occupied by fiberglass and Titanal.

As the “Ti” in the XDR 84 Ti’s name suggests, some Titanal is still employed to add torsional stiffness underfoot, but the rest of the ski retains snow contact with C/FX Superfiber, as Salomon calls its carbon/flax weave. It’s a formulation that works best when all dials are set to Medium: average speed, normal turn radius, modest edge angle and moderately firm snow produce secure turns with a little pep in their step.

Uncharacteristically light for the genre (1620g without a binding), the XDR 84 Ti has the reflexes to react quickly in twisty mogul runs. Rob Parent of Sun & Snow appreciates the XDR 84 Ti’s versatility: “Very smooth and relaxed, with excellent transmission into higher speeds. Surprised to feel so much rebound,” he adds appreciatively.