Elan’s Black Edition series of skis has grown quite a bit over the years, and it’s nice to see that the ladies on-trail skis for Elan are now getting this treatment. For on-piste skiing, the Wildcat series has been at the forefront of Elan’s plan for a few seasons, providing excellent edge grip, rebound, and energy all through the lineup. With a good mix of carbon, wood, and innovative shaping techniques, the Wildcat skis are surprisingly crisp with relatively short turning radii. This 86C Black Edition follows suit—taking the build of the 82C and adding the width to take it to the wider-bodied side of the spectrum and adding the slick Black Edition graphic. While the skis are certainly high-performance and ready to rip, they’re still not overpowering, allowing progressing skiers and intermediates the ability to access the performance and capabilities of the ski.

By building skis in an asymmetrical manner, Elan is able to take creative liberties in their engineering process. They do so by starting with a laminated wood core that has a good amount of energy and pop to it due to the fiberglass. Where it gets interesting is in their use of their Amphibio TruLine Technology that places more emphasis on the inside ski’s downhill edge. By placing additional material over the inside portion of the ski—since they are right/left-specific—the Wildcat 86C Black Edition has a strong edge grip without making the outer portions quite as demanding. This leads to a smoother overall feeling, especially from edge to edge. In addition, Elan uses a carbon reinforcement in this zone to further stiffen the flex of the ski and the precision of the carve. In this light, the ski has a ton of energy built in while keeping the weight down. The smoothness of the ski is pronounced by the blend of this build technique along with the shape and profile.

At 86 mm underfoot, this ski is on the wide side for front side, but the overall footprint of the ski is decidedly more carving oriented rather than all-mountain. The wider waist is a nice thing for most skiers as it not only provides a good balance point for stability and confidence, but it also allows for better control for when the conditions degrade—it's not always perfectly smooth corduroy out there. Their use of Amphibio rocker profile gives this ski its unique shape as well, by using a twisting effect on the camber and rocker. In the shovels of the right ski, for example, the inside portion has longer camber while the outside has longer rocker. This aligns with the construction as well, offering a smooth transition between turns as well as creating more grip and power on the downhill ski’s inside edge. While most skiers may think this is more of a benefit in the wider skis in the line with a focus on softer snow, it’s impressive how well it works when it comes to carving on firmer snow as well. In the 164, the ski generates a 14.7-meter turn radius, which is right in the mid-range of front side arcs. This allows for clean carves across the fall line, and given the ski’s smooth edge to edge character, it also allows for shorter, more skidded turns.

Elan’s Wildcat 86C Black Edition is as sharp of a turner as it is a looker. We’ve been huge fans of these graphics as well as the skis, and that continues into 2024. Most skiers end up spending most of their time in an on-trail format, so it makes sense to have skis that align with that application. As such, this ski hits a broad range of skier who’s looking to rip up the groomers and also wants something manageable for more adventurous conditions and terrain. By blending the front side performance of the build with the all-mountain potential in the width, the Elan Wildcat 86C Black Edition is an amazing option for intermediate through expert skiers.