The Women’s Vantage 90 CTI from Atomic is part of their versatile all mountain collection. These skis are designed to grip like a carving ski, but with a more versatile feel and the ability to ski off-piste terrain. While the Vantage X collection holds a little more power, and is a little narrower for true carving, the Vantage series will allow women to explore the entire mountain without anything major holding them back. We had a series of women out on the Vantage 90 CTI throughout our Ski Test and they each highlighted certain aspects of the ski.
Ali Berlin, a long time Ski Instructor, feels that they are a “good ski for advanced intermediate skiers that could grow with them onto more difficult terrain.” The Vantage 90 CTI does have both Carbon Tank Mesh and Atomic’s Titanium Backbone and have the ability to hold up to pretty aggressive skiing, but are also quite approachable and forgiving enough for developing skiers. Ali felt the skis really shined when making “long sweeping turns across the hill” and added that they “did respond well to a short radius turn.” On the other hand, Ali did feel like she could push the ski past its comfort zone and experienced a small amount of instability at really high speeds.
Chloe Wexler’s opinions almost mirrored Ali’s, although she focused more on how much fun she had on the ski and how neutral it is. Chloe’s first comment was that they are an “all around neutral ski” and that they feel “playful, fun, and quick.” Chloe did experience similar instability that Ali did, but these are both pretty aggressive, expert women skiers and Chloe was skiing the 162 cm length, which might be a touch short for her. Chloe commented, “felt a little uncomfortable at high speeds”, but added that they are “really fun at slower speeds: light and poppy.” Chloe and Ali both gave the Vantage 90 CTI high scores for quickness, maneuverability, playfulness, forgiveness, and versatility, which we think is a good way to describe the ski.
Despite Chloe and Ali’s concerns with stability, the Carbon Tank Mesh and Titanium Backbone 2.0 does give the ski a relatively solid feel. Kristi Brown, who skis with an impressive level of finesse (our women testers rip, if you haven’t picked up on that yet), skied the women’s Vantage 90 CTI on arguably the worst conditions of the entire test: the first run on day two on some pretty frozen, ungroomed crud. Kristi agreed that the skis feel very neutral, commenting that they have a “consistent flex point”. On the other hand, Kristi didn���t have any issues with stability or edge grip saying that the “edges held with no surprises.” It’s been said that Kristi skis with so much finesse that she could hold an edge on a 2×4, so we think it’s important to consider Ali and Chloe’s comments alongside Kristi’s. It’s also interesting to note that Kristi was skiing the longest 170 cm length.
We think the Atomic Vantage 90 CTI W is going to be a great choice for intermediate and up women skiers who don’t feel like the need the stiffest, heaviest, strongest all mountain skis, but still want something that can hold up to relatively aggressive skiing. While they might not hold an edge like a race ski, the Vantage 90 CTI W gives skiers the tool they need to explore the entire mountain without feeling held back.
