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.
The new Sheeva is an example of an increasingly common phenomenon: the intersection of women’s ski design and the recent explosion in backcountry R&D. Both domains depend on lightweight as a central feature, but you’re unlikely to see the all-business Zero G collection adopt Sheeva’s sassy twin-tip attitude. Its surfy baseline is insanely easy to push around in powder, but there’s enough camber underfoot to keep it on course when the powder is kaput.
If you think of the Soul Rider 97 as a skinnier Patron, it’s appearance among our Recommended models for the all-mountain Finesse skier should come as no surprise. Its twin-tip design, a rarity among our Recommended models, descends directly from the double-rocker DNA of the Patron. The turned-up tail isn’t an invitation to ski backwards – the Soul Rider 97 is a directional ski – as much as a silent plea to be taken off-piste, where this poppy, playful ski is in its element.
The Carbon Alloy Matrix proves to be the perfect partner for the metal-free Soul 7, magnifying its playful properties and stiffening its resistance to chatter without adding heft or stifling snow feel. The overall reinforcement of the Carbon Alloy Matrix gives the new Soul 7 HD more stability when traveling through day-old crud and more edge grip on those occasions when it has to cruise a groomer.
But please do not confuse “better on groomers” with “made for groomers.” While there’s no question the alterations to the Soul 7 HD palpably improved its stability and edge grip, they didn’t alter its width or the deliberate disengagement of its pretty Koroyd tips and tails.
