2027 Salomon Equipe SL 12

The 2027 Salomon Equipe SL 12 is a narrow, short-turning ski with a race like construction and a strong overall character. These skis are on-piste specialists for skiers with either a slalom or technical background. If you’re looking to link incredibly short and clean arcs from top to bottom, this is the ski on which to do it. They have a strong and sophisticated construction to go along with a recreational slalom shape that makes it an ideal choice for expert level carvers who are putting it all out there.

Built with a blend of ash and poplar, these skis get a strong and sturdy start. They get two sheets of metal and Salomon’s Power Control System to evenly distribute the energy and damping through the implementation of cork inlays within the upper titanal sheet. In addition, the skis use a sharply angled 7 mm thick sidewall for increased edge grip and linear stiffness. Similar to what we see in the Stance Pro series, the Equipe SL 12 uses wide steel edges for boosted grip and durability. In the 165, the skis sit on the scale at 2290 g/ski so there’s a good amount of heft here. Tester Rich O’Brien calls it “Edgy, and really fun. Solid tail, but softer tip than other SL style skis. Really did not fight any turn shape, but wanted medium to short. Perfect for that fast lap groomer day with some ice. Easy to swing around, but still really playful. The snow was considerable better than first runs in the morning. This really helped to try a bunch of different turn shapes without losing confidence.”

At 68 mm underfoot, these are some very specific skis when it comes to what they can do best. Salomon claims an 8% tip rocker profile, but these are primarily cambered skis with zero taper. That leads to a long effective edge and a smooth overall feel. With tip measurements of 121 mm and tails at 104, the 165 produces a 13-meter turn radius which is certainly on the slalom-side of the spectrum. Tester Finn Murphy notes that “It skis like a race ski, super fast! Heavy and stiff with lots of energy generated coming out of your turns. This is solely a frontside ski; I wouldn't take it into anything but groomed terrain. The packed powder conditions I was skiing it on were perfect. I found them to be super stable and damp, even on the iciest patches of terrain. Felt like a racer again!”

Expert skiers and former racers will get along best with the Equipe SL 12. It’s an on-piste ski for sure, and a short-turning one at that. If that aligns with you as a skier and your technical aspirations, Salomon puts a good deal of thought and sophistication into the engineering of this ski. The goal here is to mimic the best possible outcomes for a short swing carve, and our testers were all quite enamored with the end result.