The Salomon QST 99 is arguably the most versatile ski in their All Mountain Freeride collection. For 2019 it has been updated, along with the rest of the QST line, with the newest version of Salomon’s proprietary C/FX Superfiber. This doubles the amount of carbon and flax fiber in the ski, with the goal of both further stabilizing the ski and giving it more energy. The QST 99 has also been given a full layer of basalt under the core, which takes the stability up another notch. What’s been known as a relatively lightweight, quick freeride all mountain ski, the QST 99 should be a little more powerful for 2019 thanks to these changes in construction. Let’s see if our testers found that to be true.
David Wolfgang tested the 188 cm length and definitely thinks they made some significant upgrades. David gave the QST 99 a series of 4s out of 5, with versatility and overall impression coming in with 5 out of 5. David thought “the new QST 99 is a definite upgrade from last year’s model.” He described it as “a noticeable improvement in stability.” David also thought it retained the quick nature that made the original QST 99 popular, ending his comments by saying it’s “very playful, yet rock solid when you let it rip.”
Matt McGinnis was very impressed by this new version of the QST 99. “The QST 99 quite simply exceeds my expectations. Typically I can look at the “stats” of a ski and can guess at how it will perform. With the QST it performed how I guessed, and then some. In a word, these skis are versatile. Fast or slow, they’re capable of laying incredible trenches while being totally happy to pop out of their rhythm.” In our opinion that’s what the QST 99 is all about. It can lay over carving turns and has solid torsional stiffness, and can also be so playful. “I would recommend this ski to those who ski fast with freeride sensibility.” Matt was testing the 181 cm length and gave the QST 99 5 out of 5 for quickness, playfulness, forgiveness, versatility, and overall impression.
Mike Aidala skis the 181 cm length and was most impressed by the quickness and playful nature of the QST 99. Playfulness and versatility both received 5 out of 5, the highest scores Mike gave the QST 99. “If you are an advanced to expert skier that is over skiing skis that work you run after run the QST 99 is the answer.” Mike’s referring to the idea that there are a lot of all mountain skis out there, which perform at a very high level, but are also quite demanding. The QST 99 provides a refreshing alternative as it’s quite a bit more forgiving and lighter than skis that use, say, 2 sheets of metal. It still rips, however, thanks to Salomon’s C/FX 3 Superfiber, which is very commendable.
Justin Perry tested the 181 cm as well and was pretty psyched with the combination of stability and quickness that Salomon has achieved. Both stability and quickness, in fact, both received 5 out of 5 from Justin. Justin referred to it as a “great ski for a one ski quiver. Big long turns or short turns, the QST 99 can do whatever you want it to.” He also described it as “super lightweight, but stiff.” That’s essentially what Salomon is trying to achieve with this construction, and it certainly seems like they accomplished their goal.
Across the board, our testers all agreed that Salomon has significantly improved the QST 99 for 2019. That’s saying a lot, as we have always liked this ski and thought it provided a nice option among a sea of all mountain skis. It has a relatively distinct feel thanks to being lightweight, playful, yet still stable with good torsional stiffness. There is an obvious freeride-theme to this super fun all mountain ski.
