2025 Atomic Redster X9s Revoshock S

Smooth, powerful, and incredibly fast, the 2025 Atomic Redster X9s is a wonderful example of a high-end recreational race ski with limitless performance. The big thing here is the shape, as the ski borders on ice-skate width at 65 mm underfoot. It has a sturdy build, obviously, but a lot of skis do. The thing that stands out is the narrowness of the ski, as this makes the X9s quite rare in the industry today. As such, this ski is fairly one-dimensional in an on-piste format. Even in that dimension, the ski must be used on very firm snow conditions and relatively smooth terrain. If you get on this ski and the conditions are somewhat soft, you just won’t be able to harness the full power and capabilities. On firm snow, however, this ski is a lightning bolt—capable and willing of high speed carves in any shape or style. The radius leans to shorter, but it’s more than happy opening it up. With Atomic’s race heritage to back it up, the Redster X9s is a true front side weapon for experts and racers.

Built with a blend of beech and poplar, this ski gets most of the race treatment in terms of construction. The X9s also gets the Revoshock damping laminate and two sheets of metal. Add the thicker ultrawall sidewall to the mix and you’ve got a very strong and capable ski. Even the sysem binding is race-oriented, keeping you at a higher elevation for more leverage. With a ski this narrow, you need all the help you can get to stay out over the edges and keep the ski on a high edge angle. Jeff Neagle notes that “The Redster X9s is one of the most precise carving skis I've ever been on, and probably one of the narrowest too. I've never scored something 1 out of 10 for flotation, but if any ski was going to achieve that score, it's the Redster X9s. So good at carving on perfectly manicured slopes, however. It achieves GS-race style turns but is easier to get there than on a longer and/or longer radius ski. It's super fun to ski, you just must stay in a certain zone, that being firm snow.” This has more to do with shape than build, but it’s still all part of the same deal.

At 65 mm underfoot, Jeff also states that the ski is built for “Groomers, groomers, groomers. Take it off-piste and you’ll quickly learn that’s not where it’s intended to be.” In the 175, we’re getting a 15.2-meter turn radius which is bordering on short. When that shape is paired with the narrow waist, this ski absolutely lights it up in a short to mid-range carved turn. Since it has full camber and zero taper, the edges are engaged all the time. Michael Rooney states that this shape add to the ski’s ability to be a “lively ski. Return energy from being compressed quickly and smoothly. It’s always there and ready for when you want to turn and it’s very quick when you put it on edge.” That’s the type of feedback we’re looking for here—when you engage the X9s, it comes alive very quickly. The energy output is phenomenal, but be prepared for it, because the rebound is legit.

The Atomic Redster X9s returns unchanged for 2025, allowing another set of skiers to see how the race half lives. If you’ve never been on a ski this narrow, be prepared for insane precision and edge grip. This takes intermediate and advanced skiers somewhat out of the mix and puts this ski squarely in the expert and racer division. It’s not that an advanced skier couldn’t ski it, it’s more that they won’t be very likely to hit the top end like a more skilled and experienced skier can.