2022 Elan Ripstick 94 W

The 2022 Elan Ripstick 94 W returns unchanged for this year, continuing Elan’s trend of making playful, fun, and light all-mountain skis with endless versatility. These skis have a whole lot going for them in terms of construction and technology, and it all starts with the innovative build and shape of the skis. Built with Elan’s Tubelite wood core, the skis are light and energetic, mostly due to the use of carbon rods that run the length of the sides of the ski, just inside the sidewalls. These rods are very unique in the ski world as they provide 3-dimensional stiffness and response for all types of edge angles and energy levels. When you push into the ski, the rods load up with weight and energy, releasing it on the back side of the turn. By replacing light wood in the core with lighter and hollow carbon rods, Elan is actually stiffening the ski while making it lighter, which is pretty rare in ski construction these days. In addition, their Amphibio rocker profile is asymmetric, placing more camber on the inside edges of the ski while more rocker is found on the outside. The end result here is that the ski is very smooth with seamless transitions between turns, in both hard and soft snow conditions. At 94 mm underfoot, these skis are right in the Goldilocks zone for being wide enough for floating through fresh snow and narrow enough to hold an edge when the going gets firm. A perfect shape and build for a one-ski quiver, the Elan Ripstick 94 W is an amazing ladies ski that loves to be put to the test.

Alix Klein was on the 162 and noted it skied true to length but she’d go longer if she were to purchase. She scored the ski a top score of 4 out of 5 for torsional stiffness and edge hold, and that certainly has a lot to do with the extra strip of carbon alongside the inside portion of the ski. A 3 out of 5 for stability was her next highest score, and for such a light ski, that’s a good thing to have. Alix notes that “This ski likes to make large arcing turns and not much else. It feels like a board until you get in on edge and then it feels like it tracks on one radius. It was very damp and not super lively. It did well in crud.” In our experience as well, we’ve found that these Ripstick skis perform better when they’re on more of a high edge angle for sure.

Carly Monahan had a different experience on her 162, noting that it skied true to length and was a good size for her. Mostly 5’s on Carly’s scorecard, including those for stability, quickness, maneuverability, playfulness, versatility, and overall impression. All other scores were 4’s, showing that she not only really liked the ski, but also that it had a consistently high-performance level. Her analysis certainly backs up those scores. The Ripstick 94 W was Carly’s “Favorite ski of this year’s test! Perfect for today’s corn conditions. I expected these to want to make bigger turns, but where they really impressed me was their agility in quick, boppy turns and slashing around on the edges of the trail. Super lively and playful.” It’s always interesting when two skiers have very different experiences on the same ski, and that’s what keeps this test so exciting!

Light, maneuverable, and ideally shaped for true all-mountain skiing, the Elan Ripstick 94 W is a perfect choice for advanced skiers who like to dabble in all of it. It makes for a great option for both an in and out of bounds ski, as well as having that extra capability for a touring/hybrid ski for resort and backcountry use.