Backland FR 109

The Backland FR 109 is lightweight, attractively priced and unequivocally committed to off-trail skiing. The component that sets the Backland 109 apart is its HRZN Tech forebody, a feature it filched from the Bent Chetler. HRZN Tech is an extended ABS sidewall...

Vantage X 80 CTi

Most men’s Frontside models are made for Power skiers who like to pitch their edges at a high angle and drive through the turn. That sounds like a lot of work to the Vantage X 80 CTi, a mellow ski with a penchant for short turns. You wouldn’t expect an Austrian ski...

Cloud 9

Our top Power pick for its genre last year, Atomic’s Cloud 9 underwent a significant transformation for 2018, mimicking the design concepts of Atomic’s new race series. The new Cloud 9 would certainly have kept its crown had we received enough feedback to qualify it...

Experience 84 HD

The Experience series isn’t a family of equals. The Experience 100 HD uses the richest construction, the 88 HD swaps out Titanal for basalt and the 84 HD loses the basalt. Each step down is associated both with ability and price. The intermediate skier the 84 HD aims...

Pursuit 800 Ti

If we ignored protocol and rated the Pursuit 800 Ti based on prior years’ results, it would easily qualify as a Recommended model. What kept it out of this year’s Recommended fraternity weren’t poor scores, but a lack of scores. During a season in which many western...