2022 Stockli Laser SL

If you’re looking for a high end slalom ski that will have you making beautiful round turns down perfect corduroy, look no further. The Laser SL from Stockli is a premium slalom ski that shares a lot of design and construction elements with FIS regulation slalom skis. The main difference between this ski and FIS skis is the different available lengths and slightly different turn radii across the length options. Overall, however, it’s still a very high-end slalom ski that will satisfy advanced and expert skiers looking for a precision carving ski. It all starts with a wood core that’s sandwiched between two sheets of titanal metal. Stockli uses their Flex Torsion Control design, which gives it a slightly more user-friendly feel and a more refined skiing experience without taking away necessary edge grip and stability underfoot. The 165 cm length has a 13.6 m turn radius, which is actually slightly larger than the turn radius of the equivalent length in the FIS model. That 13.6 m radius is still very quick so the ski will come across the fall line easily, but lengthening it a little bit makes it slightly less fatiguing, at least in our opinion. Shorter lengths do have shorter turn radii, which should correspond nicely to skier size and weight.

Jeff Neagle skied the 160 cm length and awarded the laser SL 5 out of 5 scores for quickness/maneuverability and torsional stiffness/edge grip. His lowest scores were for flotation and versatility, both at 2 out of 5, which isn’t terribly concerning to us. Realistically, this ski isn’t designed to be versatile. It’s designed for edge to edge quickness, precision, and fast turns. “To be perfectly honest, I don’t ski slalom skis very often. I almost find them a little too much. Just a lot of turns…. That said, this might be my favorite slalom ski I’ve ever been on. It doesn’t feel quite as demanding as some, yet still makes lightning quick turns. Some slalom skis I get on and feel like I can never relax, but this has a touch of user-friendliness that I think is lost on most skis like this. Definitely not the type of ski you want to take off trail and I don’t think many people would even want to ski it every day, but for those days when you want to make a ton of turns and want to feel those carving G forces, it’s an absolute blast.”

Dave Carter went for the 170 cm length, which happens to be the longest available in the Laser SL. In that length, the turn radius extends to 14.6 m, which actually feels like it’s moving away from a traditional slalom radius into something that’s almost more of a hybrid SL/GS radius. As Dave points out, however, it still feels extremely quick and responsive. “A good solid ski for the aggressive skier that likes to make quick turns. Very high energy ski.” That feedback was reflected in his scores. 5 out of 5 for quickness/maneuverability, with stability, playfulness, torsional stiffness/edge grip, and overall impression just behind at 4 out of 5.

If you’re looking for a slalom ski to rip up the slopes, this is one of the best we’ve ever tested. If you’re looking for a versatile all-mountain ski, however, you may want to look elsewhere as the Laser SL is somewhat of a one-trick-pony. It rips carves and it comes across the fall line exceptionally quickly, but off groomers it can feel a bit twitchy and doesn’t really like to make longer turns either. A good addition to an advanced or expert skier’s quiver, but maybe not a daily driver, unless all you want to do is make slalom turns.