If you attack the fall line like it insulted your mother and spend so much time on your QST’s looking for pow that you inevitably have to send them down groomers, the new QST 118 is your kind of stick. Last season the 118 led the list of Finesse skis in this genre. This year, the infusion of torsional stiffness and shock dampening puts the 2019 QST 118 squarely among the Powder Powers.
All the qualities that made the original QST 106 such a fabulous off-trail ski remain intact in the 2019 edition. It still has a smeary smoothness that makes skiing powder and crud idiot-proof. What changed for this year is the QST 106’s comportment on hard snow, which now has more bite and energy. The componentry that adds an aggressive side to the QST’s personality include a shock-dampening layer of basalt and a cross-weave of carbon and flax (C/FX) fibers that reinforce the original’s longitudinal C/FX. The latest improvements fill the only gaps in the QST 106’s resume. It was always better than expected on hard snow; now it’s just plain better. If you have any concerns about the new QST 106’s stability, try the 188cm out for size. It will change your mind about what skis without metal in their make-up can do.