The Salomon Aira 80 Ti is a women’s specific all mountain ski with a focus on carving performance, but designed with more versatility than most 80 mm frontside carving skis out there. Salomon uses their C/FX Superfiber, and this ski for 2019 gets updated with the latest rendition of that construction. It doubles the amount of carbon and flax fibers and extends it to the edges of the ski. This is supporting a full length poplar wood core and a titanal power plate, which is widest underfoot, then tapers and stops as it reaches the tip and tail. This construction results in a lighter weight ski than traditional carving skis. The Aira 80 Ti also uses a touch more rocker and early taper than we typically see, which suggests a relatively versatile ski for this width category.
Annie MacDonald referred to the Aira 80 Ti as a “snappy quick turning ski.” In fact, you’ll notice that its preference for quick turns is a theme among our testers, and that makes sense considering the turn radius ranges from 11 to 14 m based on length. Annie was on the 162 cm length, which is the second longest. She found it had “more torsional stiffness than the Aira 76 ST,” making it more appropriate for a “more aggressive skier.” She did, however, find it to be “still forgiving,” and noted that the “tip is rockered so it handles crud well.” Annie gave the ski 5 out of 5 for quickness, playfulness, and torsional stiffness, with all other criteria receiving 4 out of 5.
Chloe Wexler agreed that the Aira 80 Ti has a preference for short turns. “Really for a more traditional shorter radius turn skier.” Chloe did mention that it feels “a little chattery at high speeds,” so if you’re the type of skier that likes to ride long radius turns at high speeds, chances are you might want a heavier ski with a longer turn radius, but the Aira 80 Ti is “really quick edge to edge and fun” according to Chloe. Chloe’s highest scores were for quickness, playfulness, forgiveness, and torsional stiffness after her time on a 162 cm Aira 80 Ti.
Susan Dorn, who also skied the 162 cm length, was another to focus on the ski’s quickness. She described it as “playful, quick turning, (and with a) large sweet spot.” Quickness, playfulness, and forgiveness all were given 5 out of 5 scores, with other criteria coming in at 4 out of 5. Susan thought “advanced to experts will like this ski.” We agree, as long as you’re looking for a quick, super-responsive ski.
Mar Kuhnel, who also tested the 162 cm length, definitely thought quick turns were where the Aira 80 Ti excels. Mar did mention that the 162 cm felt short, which makes sense considering she typically skis longer lengths. “Short quick turns were what this ski wants to do, but was fine at medium radius turns as well.” Mar thought they “would make a good advancing intermediate ski,” which is interesting contrasted to Susan’s response. We think it makes sense, however. If you’re an expert skier who really likes to ski fast and drive a ski you might not find what you’re looking for in the Aira 80 Ti. An advancing intermediate, on the other hand, likely can’t yet push the ski past its limits and will benefit significantly from the lightweight, quick, responsive nature.
All our testers seemed to agree that the Aira 80 Ti loves to make short, quick turns. It also received a lot of high scores for forgiveness. That makes it a great ski for those who want a high performing, responsive ski for firm snow, but are looking for something that isn’t overly demanding and has a slightly more relaxed feel than some competitors’ carving skis. It’s also exceptionally versatile for a ski in this width category and would do quite well in moguls in our opinion.
