The Salomon S/Race Skin skis are a fantastic example of new technology and construction leading to an incredibly fast and strong-performing ski. This new ski has a lot going for it in terms of light weight performance, and it all starts with the shape. They have a perfectly straight cut at 44/44/44, and this gives the ski an absolutely direct line through the track. Built with a Nomex core and a fiberglass kick mounting zone, these skis are super-responsive and incredibly fast. With eSkin Race technology, you’ll get a great amount of grip and glide from the traction area, and the ski will perform much like a waxless ski, but without having to wax. Our testers were all very impressed with the speed and agility of the skis, and all peg it as a fairly serious race ski for upper-level skiers.
Chuck Waskuch skied the 206 and found it to be just right—and fast. He gave the ski 4’s out of 5 for speed, stability, glide, and overall impression. All of these scores lead us to believe that the skis are quite speedy. His lower score for versatility isn’t that surprising, as these things are built for the track and not much else. He notes that the skis are great “for going fast. It’s all about the kick and glide!!! They certainly feel like race skis.” Good enough, Chuck!
Owen Hall-Kocho skied the 188 and found them to be super-light and extremely fast. His top score of 5 out of 5 for weight is a fantastic sign for a race ski, and his other top scores of 4 for speed, maneuverability, glide, and overall impression speak to the strong-performing nature of the skis. Owen notes that the S/Race has “super grip with a good weight shift. Awesome glide!” That said, Owen’s a pretty good skier, and he comments that they “require a fair amount of skier ability” to get the most performance out of the ski. The “skin grips and glides as good as any race ski I’ve been on. They’re thin yet stable.”
Allison Ruschp notes that the S/Race Skin is “meant for the hard-charging classic skier.” She was on the 196 and loved the speed, maneuverability, and glide of the skis. How could she not? “The grip/kick point feels forward, meant to use for racing or true classic skiers. For an intermediate skier, the kick point was hard to find, making the skis feel slippery, but this is because I wasn’t trying to push the ski to its potential.” The point echoes Owen’s notion that the skis require some input to get the response.
Also on the 196, Sam Purnell noted the high-end feel of the ski. This is evidenced by her high scores, with 5’s out of 5 given for most categories, save for versatility and stability. Due to their speed, they can feel a bit twitchy and have a tricky balance point. She calls it a “race ski for advanced skiers. Requires more force and skill to get traction/kick. Light ski with good stability for its weight.” And in true copycat fashion, Sam notes that they are “definitely not for beginners.”
Carol Van Dyke skied the 188 and had a similar experience to the rest of our testers. She calls it a “nice ski with good glide. Had to be right ON the kick zone for the skis to work. Not forgiving, but turned fine on the downhills. A great ski for the citizen racer.” Again we see the “not for beginners” theme come out, highlighting the high-performance nature of these skis.
There are a lot of good Nordic skiers out there, and they would all appreciate the speed and power of the S/Race Skin skis. Just be sure to be centered and balanced in order to get the best performance.
