Most of the skis in this genre lean more to the off-trail side of the terrain ledger, but the Stöckli Stormrider 85 Motion is partial to hard packed powder. Skiers familiar with Stöckli’s history know that its roots are in racing, so much so that for several seasons some of their Stormriders skied more like obese Super G skis than freeride models.
But the Stormrider 85 Motion has trimmed down since that era and the current incarnation is, if anything, too flexy in the forebody for some of our crew who’ve essayed the Motion for years. But comparing the 2017 Motion to previous editions isn’t as useful to the current ski buyer as comparing it to the rest of today’s market and in that context, the Stormrider du jour comes across as a powerful carving machine.
Some carving-centric skis are built beefy, the better to handle the shocks of riding hard snow at speed. But the Total Joy feels sensationally light and responsive, thanks in large part to Graphene™, the only material measured by the atom. Graphene allows the Total Joy to be both super light and torsionally stiff so the edge stays calm in all but the roughest terrain.
Skiers looking for a skills-improvement pill in ski form should take two Total Joys and go skiing every morning. All a lightweight skier has to do is tip it and the Total Joy takes over. “Easy peasy,” purrs Kelli Gleason of Boot Doctors, “it’s forgiving and light yet maintains a big sweet spot for recovering from a backseat turn.”
Once upon a time, Secret deodorant’s slogan was, “Strong enough for a man… but made for a woman.” The same could be said about the Rossignol Temptation 100 Ti, a poplar and Titanal powerhouse that demands to be driven at high edge angles and higher revs.
An examination of the Temptation 100 Ti’s shape reveals its predisposition to carve on firm snow. The sidecut extends all the way into the Air Tip, allowing edge contact to commence as soon as the ski is tipped. Edge hold in the belly of the turn is all but assured by two Titanal laminates. The tail is shaped to hold on or let go, according to the pilot’s bidding.
The most prominent impression left by the Venturi 95 is of smoothness that remains unruffled no matter where it’s led. It holds an edge even when there’s no surface to edge into. When all semblance of softness has been pounded away, the Venturi 95 doesn’t bat an eye but continues to spool off medium-radius arcs as easily as a Vegas dealer spins out cards.
The Venturi 95 pulls off this neat trick by using a proprietary design that adheres a matrix of shock-sucking elastomer covered in a fiberglass shell to both the tip and tail. This feature is to shock what black holes are to light.
