On the wide, burly, and rugged side of the front side realm, the 2024 Fischer RC One 86 GT reigns supreme. We’ve been all about this ski ever since it debuted a few years back, and those feelings have not changed. This ski is all about staying planted firmly on the snow, making clean and deep turns, and ripping high-speed arcs down the fall line. With the general construction of a race ski, but in a much wider-bodied format, this ski is able to handle very aggressive and direct skiing by expert skiers and former racers. The solid and hefty feel of the ski is a welcome change from some of the lighter front side skis on the market and as far as vibrations are concerned, this is one of the smoothest skis on the planet.

Built with a beech wood core, the ski is dense and sturdy from the start. This is very much in line with what the racers are on, and it makes this ski, at this width, stand out even more from the competition. On top and bottom of the wood core sits two laminates of thick metal. This .8mmtitanal is the same stuff we see in the race room for skis, and it makes the 86 GT stand out in the strength and power departments as a result. It does add weight, with the 175 hitting 2450 grams per ski, so this is no feather. But with great weight comes great stability, and that’s what you’re getting with this 86 GT. To keep the ski somewhat manageable at this width, Fischer implements their Turn Zone technology which reduces the weight along the sides of the tips and tails. By replacing the metal with Bafatex material, the weight is reduced, and the accessibility is increased. Either way you look at it though, these skis are rugged and burly—ready to take even accomplished experts to task.

As a wide front side ski, the RC One 86 GT has a bit of versatility to it, but that’s still really only in a carved turn format. The weight and shape make it less agile than other mid-80's all-mountain skis, and that’s on purpose. If you can get quickness out of this ski, you’re on another level. For most mortal skiers, the 86 GT is quite a handful. The 175 produces a 17-meter turn radius, so it likes to be driven in more of a direct fashion. It’s capable of high-speed stability more than low speed compliance, so skiers will get more out of this one when the velocity is increased. The squared-off tails mean business, and it complements the angular shovel shape to create a no-nonsense ski that loves to be on edge. While Fischer notes in the catalog that it contains all-mountain rocker, it’s very much a cambered ski.

Experts will love the stability and power of the 2024 Fischer RC One 86 GT. We’ve found a whole lot to like about it in the past, and those feelings are likely to continue into the future. We’ve used them in our local ski bum races and found that they do quite well in the gates, especially when the course gets cut up. The width is a bit much for pure edge to edge quickness, but if you stand on the ski and let it do its thing, the response and quality is off the charts.