2021 Atomic Vantage 90 Ti

The around 90 mm all-mountain ski category is packed full of all sorts of different options. Just about every manufacturer makes a ski that falls squarely into this realm. Each, however, has its own personality, and the Vantage 90 Ti from Atomic is a perfect example. One of the highlighting characteristics of this ski is its very light weight, just 1750 g in the 176 cm length. You'd expect such a lightweight ski to make lack some edge grip or power, but in this case, you'd be wrong. Atomic's Prolite construction with the Energy Backbone and Titanium Tank Mesh provides strong edge grip and a very precise feel, while remaining quite a bit lighter than most skis that use metal in this width range. We have a few years of testing experience on the Vantage 90 Ti now, although there have been some tweaks to its flex pattern in recent years that took the ski to the next level. The shape is relatively straight forward for a ski in this category, it's much more the construction that sets it apart. The 85% camber is paired with 15% tip rocker, and there's no tail rocker whatsoever. That 176 cm length we referenced has a turn radius of 18.4 m, nothing wild about that, but that's a good thing. The 90 mm all-mountain skis don't need wild turn radii.

Marcus Shakun tested the 184 cm length and was a big fan of the Vantage 90 Ti. His scores ranged from 4 to 5, with a whole bunch of them drawn in the middle of the two columns, which we expect means 4.5 out of 5. Regardless, consistent high scores are sign of a very well-rounded ski. "All mountain crud crushing carver," is how Marcus described it, and with fantastic alliteration I might add. "It was smooth on edge and quick in and out of short turns. Built energy and speed in longer turns. Could be a top contender in the 90 mm category. Not too stiff, not too soft, just right." Mike Aidala tested the 176 cm length and was really happy with the range of all-mountain capabilities in the Vantage 90 Ti. "Provides an awesome all-mountain performance. Really strong, smooth, and versatile. Rip it all over the mountain. You can crush high speed turns on trail to get to your favorite off-piste stash!" The versatility of the Vantage 90 Ti is something that's always come up in our testing. We've noticed a trend that skiers find it easier to maneuver than some, not because of lots of rocker, but because the light swing weight makes them easy to flick side to side.

Jeff Neagle also skied the 176 cm length, and mentioned that he enjoys the changes that Atomic has implemented in the Vantage 90 Ti over the past few seasons. "I thought the tail was a little stiff on the previous version, which could make it feel unforgiving. This ski is still strong and responsive, but is more forgiving than the old version, which is a good thing in my opinion. The (2019) Vantage 90 Ti beat me up a little too much if I made a mistake." Jeff found its highlights to be "its edge grip, energy, and responsiveness and the fact it's all achieved in a fairly lightweight package." Bob St. Pierre opted for the 184 cm length, which he mentioned was a good length for his size. "Very stable and damp. Can make a variety of turn shapes and styles at many different speeds. For a metal ski, it has a good pliability to it and the tail is fun, not abusive."

Skiers looking for a high-performance all-mountain ski with good stability, edge grip, responsiveness, and power actually have a lot of choices these days. What they don't have, however, are many choices that are this lightweight. Often skis in this category hit the 2000 g range, which makes the 1750 g figure of the Vantage 90 Ti pretty darn impressive. That makes it a little less fatiguing over a long day of skiing. Some skiers will prefer a heavier ski that tracks through choppy snow a little better, but we expect a large percentage of the skiing population would thoroughly enjoy the Vantage 90 Ti as an all-mountain ski.