The Backland FR 102 is the narrowest, and arguably the most versatile ski in Atomic’s Backland Freeride collection. These skis are designed to have excellent floatation in soft snow as well as solid stability on firm snow, all while having an overall playful feel. Atomic thinks of them as powder/freeride/touring hybrids thanks to their impressive strength to weight ratio and combination of performance characteristics. The ski uses a poplar wood core and a Carbon Backbone. This gives the ski good vibration dampening from the poplar alongside additional energy and power from the Carbon Backbone. There is a range of rocker/camber profiles within the Backland collection with the 102 having the most camber with a 20/70/10 profile. (20% tip rocker, 70% camber, 10% tail rocker)
The Atomic Backland FR 102 proved to be a popular ski among our testers. Justin Perry gave the Backland FR 102 5 out of 5 for both playfulness and overall impression. Needless to say he had a blast bouncing around on them. He did think they skied a touch short (Justin was skiing the 180 cm ski) and thought he might have preferred the 188 cm, so it’s potentially a ski you’d want to size up on. Justin was impressed by the skis strength saying that the ski “has extremely good hold on every turn through every sort of conditions.” Sure, it won’t hold an edge on boilerplate hard pack like a race ski would, but given it’s a rockered freeride ski it’s pretty gosh darn impressive. Justin also found it to be very maneuverable adding that “the rocker profile made it easy to come in and out of short radius turns.”
Rory Burke, a man of few words, gave the ski a 5 out of 5 for overall impression with floatation, stability, playfulness, and torsional stiffness all receiving high scores as well. Rory, unlike Justin, was skiing on the 188 cm ski and felt that it skied true to size. While Rory is bigger than Justin, we think the 188 cm was a more appropriate size for Rory than the 180 cm was for Justin. Rory left us with a short, simple statement that supports his highest possible overall impression score. He thinks the Backland FR 102 is “definitely going to be a fan favorite!” and added that you can “let ‘em run” thanks to the stability provided by the Carbon Backbone.
Mike Thomas, our biggest tester out of everyone who skied the Backland FR 102, skied the 188 cm and like Justin felt that it skied a little bit short. That isn’t to say he didn’t like it, however, as Mike gave the ski 5 out of 5 for playfulness, forgiveness, and versatility, as well as a high score for overall impression. Mike thought they were so versatile that he went as far as saying that “this would be a great choice for a one ski (quiver) for an adventurous western skier looking for a versatile, forgiving ski.” He also added that eastern skiers will enjoy it as well, but comments that it is most appropriate as “an eastern tree ski” because of its maneuverability and forgiveness.
Whether you’re mounting them with alpine bindings or with an AT touring setup, the Backland FR 102 from Atomic is a great ski to take into a variety of terrain. Playful, adventurous skiers will love the feel of the rocker profile and the relative light weight achieved by the poplar wood core and Carbon Backbone. It’s easy to throw around, yet holds an impressive amount of power.
We don’t often quote catalogs, but Atomic has a nice summary of the ski:
“…it is an easy-going powder ski for any mission.”
