The Salomon QST 92 is part of Salomon’s All Mountain Freeride collection. As the second narrowest ski in the line with its 92 mm waist width it has proved in past seasons to be a versatile all mountain ski that’s approachable for a relatively wide range of ability levels and is appropriate for a wide range of terrain and snow conditions. It relies on Salomon’s C/FX 3 Superfiber, a poplar wood core, and a strip of metal through the center of the ski for its performance. The 2019 version of C/FX uses twice the amount of carbon and flax as before, which is designed to further dampen the ski while increasing torsional stiffness and energy in and out of a turn. We had four testers on the QST 92, whose opinions varied slightly, but all tell the story of a fun ski for a lot of people. They were all testing the 185 cm length, which is the longest option.
Marcus Shakun clearly loved the QST 92. He didn’t give it a single score under 4 out of 5, which included fives for stability, playfulness, and overall impression. “Not a question, one of the most versatile skis I have ever had on my feet. Turn shape is consistent when on edge and solid. At 92 mm underfoot it has an impressive platform and feels stable. Can whip medium radius turns and lots of energy back into the next turn. When opening it up and long high speed turns hold great edge and blows through crud with confidence.” That’s high praise! The new version of C/FX seems to have worked wonders for Marcus. He thought it would be “great for a solid advanced to expert skier that loves a mixed bag of nuts.”
Noah Labow found consistency and predictability in the QST 92. He wasn’t as in love with it as Marcus, but still gave it high scores for flotation, stability, forgiveness, edge grip, and overall impression. He described it as being “easy to turn,” and having “good float.” He did think it has a preference for medium and long radius turns, and wasn’t quite as quick as Noah was hoping for, but it’s important to note that he was on a 185 cm, the same length as Marcus, but Noah is much smaller. He may have found more quickness in a shorter length.
Bob St Pierre had a similar response to Noah. He described it as a “natural, easy feeling ski capable of all style and shapes of turns.” Even though he found it relatively easy to ski, he did mention that “intermediates will feel overmatched.” The responsiveness and edge grip that the new construction achieves might be a bit too much for a less experienced, intermediate level skier.
Michael Carrol-Sherwin felt a lot of the same performance characteristic as Marcus. Michael gave the ski 5 out of 5 for both stability and forgiveness, which is always intriguing. “I expected a 92 to be sketchy and darty at speed, but I was completely off! Very intuitive and confidence inspiring. Scrubbing speed is super easy. Carbon dampens the ski very well.” We’ll add in that it’s partly the flax fibers that dampen the ski, and the metal helps as well. Michael thought “this ski should be on the radar of an aggressive on-trail shredder that likes to go fast.”
So, some mixed reactions from our testers on the QST 92, but they were all relatively impressed by the edge grip and stability that the new construction provides. It’s definitely a versatile ski still, but the new construction takes it to the next level on firm snow conditions. We think anyone who wants a light, quick ski for trees and moguls that can still lay down impressive turns on groomers and handle high speeds will likely enjoy the QST 92 very much.
