Unchanged for 2020, the Salomon XDR 84 Ti continues its dominance of the mid-width all-mountain skis. This is a nice little niche for a ski to live in, and they have a surprising amount of versatility for being 84 mm underfoot. With a nice combination of wood, metal, flax, and carbon, the skis sound like they have a lot of ingredients, and they do, and Salomon makes them all work together in harmony. They have a pretty short turn radius, and that makes things a lot more fun, especially at slower speeds. The metal laminate is not a full one, so the tail is easy to maneuver and the tips are light and swingy. Overall, the Salomon XDR 84 Ti is a fantastically versatile ski that is equally at home on the trails as it is in the woods or bumps. The XDR 84 has a broad and universal appeal that a huge range of skiers will enjoy and advance on, and our testers loved the simple and natural character of the skis.
Marcus Shakun is a tall dude, so he should be on the 186, but tested the 179 and, not surprisingly, loved the quickness and maneuverability of the setup. The rest of his scores were consistent 3’s out of 5, meaning that the versatility and well-roundedness really stood out for Marcus. “An easy ski for all,” he proclaims. “You can give this ski to anyone and not be worried thanks to its nice, forgiving flex and the great transition from edge to edge.” As far as Marcus being a high-level skier and a tall dude on a shorter ski, he notes that they “can be a little washy at high speeds for an aggressive advanced or expert skier.” We’ll take “a little washy at speed” given the circumstances of Marcus’s test model length.
Also on the 179, Tad Lamell loved the length and the ski as a whole. He gave top marks for forgiveness, torsional stiffness, edge hold, and overall impression. His score of 4 out of 5 for versatility is a strong indicator of the ability of the XDR 84 to be very chameleon-esque. Tad calls the ski “quick, stable, and good for all-mountain skiing. They were great in softer snow conditions and for all-mountain groomers.” Most people spend most of their time in these conditions and terrain, so it’s nice to hear that a ski excels in these areas.
The 179 was a popular length at our test, with Michael Rooney hopping on it as well. His scores were consistently average all down the sheet, showing the versatility and all-mountain nature of the XDR 84. “The XDR 84 Ti will help an intermediate skier a lot. It turns easily and smooths out those annoying small bumps. It is stable at high speed, too.” Nice targeting by Michael here, pointing out that the intermediate class, that makes up a huge portion of skiers, will like the ease of use and the high-performance ceiling of the XDR 84.
Bob St.Pierre took out the 186 and instantly felt connected to the ski. “They have an extremely natural and fun feeling to them, it’s almost like they’re on auto-pilot. Just point and shoot, and the light weight yet stable nature of the skis will propel you down the hill with speed and precision.” Nice compliments from Bob who does prefer a narrower ski. He continues by pointing out the versatile nature of the ski: “from moguls and steeps to high-speed cruising, the XDR 84 Ti is an extremely capable ski that should not be limited to just cruising the blues.”
We love seeing skis that punch above their level, and the XDR 84 Ti is a perfect example of that kind of ski. The combination of metal, wood, and other laminates really do combine well to make a dish best served fast.
