2027 Stockli Montero AX

The 2027 Stockli Montero AX gets a bit of a refresh in terms of build and graphic but the shape and profile of the ski return unchanged. The AX continues to be a fan and tester favorite in the 80 mm category as it blends and blurs the lines between front side and all-mountain. While it certainly functions well in an on-piste and carving format, the versatility of the ski does stick out as the AX works great in softer and broken snow as well as bumps and packed-out trees. This is a highly useful ski for many skiers looking for a high quality and high precision ski for carved turns and beyond.

The construction is where we see the tweaks that gives the AX a slightly more powerful and refined feel. Starting with the core, we still get the all-mountain core blending beech and poplar. There's still more poplar than beech, but we do have a good deal of stringers that makes the ski feel smooth and composed. AX uses two full sheets of metal, but for 2027, the Tip and Tail Flex technology is moved to the lower metal laminate. We felt that this created a slightly more powerful and composed feel with a slightly stiffer shovel. It was more noticeable in the tips than in the tails. Tester Jeff Nathan states: "I love this ski. It’s quiet, stable, fast, and holds a perfect edge. Ski rips groomers and has just enough softness that I’m not afraid to take them in the bumps. This is my daily Stowe driver from bullet proof up to 3” of powder. On sifter days I’ll happily take this ski in the woods or national bumps, but they really shine on early morning groomers."

The shape and profile return unchanged. The AX uses measurements of 123/80/112 to generate a 16.5-meter turn radius in the 178 cm length. There's the typical (not much) amount of rocker and taper in these skis as they do play the part of a frontside ski more than that of an all-mountain one. This makes for excellent carving and quick turning, but it does come at the cost of any real type of creativity in terms of turn shape and style. The tails hold on tight to the end of the turn and makes the overall ski experience fall more on the tight side of the spectrum. Tester Nik Coffrin notes the ski's "Excellent feel, strong driver with great edge hold. Gets on edge easily and initiates turn with minimal effort but is forgiving enough to let you pop out before turn completion. Really fun and fast frontside ski! Felt more fun and responsive than the Montero AR or AR Pro due to the shape."

While this ski has always been a favorite of ours, it's fun to see Stockli taking steps to make this ski a bit higher performance and capable at speed—the new changes contribute to that without taking anything away from the compliance that we've loved for years. We love the blend of attributes in this ski and the total and complete confidence when it comes to having a totally useful ski on your feet.