2022 Atomic Bent Chetler 100

Without using too many superlatives, this is about as well-rounded as a ski can get. Light, fun, and surprisingly energetic, the 2022 Atomic Bent Chetler 100 is a completely and totally useful ski for true and pure all-mountain skiing. There’s just something about a 100 mm twin tip without metal that just makes sense for a whole lot of skiers. Everyone from 14-year-old park skiers to 60-year-old groomer skiers will find something to like about this ski. Ski Patrollers, instructors, and other on-mountain personnel will love the ease of use and wide-range of capabilities that these skis bring to the hill. Built with a poplar wood core and Atomic’s Duracap construction, these skis are light and flexible in the tips and tails, but sturdy and solid underfoot. There’s just the right amount of rocker and camber to the skis to make them poppy and snappy with great edge grip, but not too much that they’re hooky or grabby. In fact, these are some of the better tree skis that we’ve seen in quite a while, and fortunately for BC 100 fans, that’s not changing for at least another year.

Brad Schauerman skied the 180 and found it to be just right. Normally, Brad skis on an Enforcer 100, so it’s interesting to hear his take on this ski, which, other than the build, is similarly shaped to the E100. Brad’s low scores of 3 out of 5 were given for torsional stiffness and stability, and since these two things go hand-in-hand, that’s not terribly surprising, and also not a huge focus of these skis. All other scores were 4’s out of 5 for Brad, showing the high-end, well-rounded nature of the BC 100. Brad notes that “These skis rock! They do it all: hold an edge well on-trail, and are a total blast off the trail and in the woods. Quick from edge-to-edge super playful. Easy to smear turns or lay trenches very fun.” Sounds to me like Brad certainly found them to be a more easy-going version of his beloved Enforcers. Brian Cooke was also on the 180, and while he found them to be too short for him, he still noted that they worked just fine. Brian scored the ski 5’s out of 5 for playfulness, flotation, and forgiveness, with the rest of his scores 4’s out of 5. A very high average to be sure. Even so, Brian states: “I thought I was going to like this ski more but I didn't like how much tail it had. I felt like it got bogged down a bit. It definitely was playful thanks to some soft flexing tips and tails and the light weight, but it wasn't a powerhouse in heavy snow.” I think you’ll have that with a less-directional ski like the BC 100, and I do wonder if Brian would have had a more positive experience on the 188 with the bindings mounted –1 or 2 cm from the factory line.

Also on the 180, Jeff Neagle notes that this was a good length for him and felt true to size. “There's no wonder why so many people like these skis. They just work. The design and construction are relatively simple (I suppose except for the HRZN Tech), and this ski is proof that you don't need a bunch of high-end materials in a ski's construction. Wood core, the correct amount of rocker and camber, and a good sidecut shape goes a long way. The Bent Chetler is one of the most versatile skis on the market, hands down. So many different skiers can get on it and enjoy it. An older skier who's slowed down will love how easy it is to maneuver through trees at slower speeds and will appreciate the extra float that you get from the HRZN Tech. A younger, more adventurous skier will love the way it adapts to different skiing styles. You can truly leave your own signature on the mountain with a ski like the Bent Chetler. Then throw in alpine touring and the fact that it's super capable as a park ski too and you've got an extraordinarily well-rounded ski that just screams fun in every application.”

And fun is what it’s really all about, so what they’ve really done is quite simple. They listened to the customer and found out what they wanted, and they built it. Maybe it didn’t actually go down like that, but it certainly seems like it did. Well-rounded and built to withstand a huge range of users and applications, we’ve seen all kinds of skiers enjoying their ski day on the Bent Chetler 100. If you can do that and make it accessible for more skiers, then that’s a huge success.