2021 ELAN RIPSTICK 96 SKI REVIEW
For quite a few ski manufacturers, their 2020/21 product lines represent a reboot, tweak, or improvement upon an existing line of skis. Of course, there are exceptions to that, as we’ve talked about a fair amount of completely new lines over the past few months. Many companies, however, are approaching their line of skis for next season with the mindset of “we have something good here, how do we make it a little bit better?” One of those companies is Elan.
Elan has been turning some heads in recent years, and a big reason why is their Ripstick line of all-mountain/freeride skis. We’ve talked about them before, and we even released a casual chairlift interview and some skiing footage with the legendary Glen Plake. That day, Plake talked a lot about the concept of designing skis. Skiing is supposed to be fun, and that’s arguably the biggest influencer in Elan’s designs.
Let’s take the Ripstick 96 we’re going to look at today. It’s not known for being the stiffest, most powerful, or for having the best edge grip in its category. It’s become a popular ski due to its lightweight feel, playful nature, and overall fun factor. That said, Elan’s construction is impressive and the engineering behind these skis allows them to hold an edge quite well and gives the ski a very responsive, energetic, and satisfying feel. They manage to accomplish this in addition to it being light, fun, and easy to ski. For the 2021 season, it’s even better.
The entire Ripstick line has been tweaked for the upcoming ski season. The tip shape is more blunted than before, and the ski has a slightly different taper angle that’s designed to deliver more float and better turn entry. The tail has also been rounded, giving the ski easier edge release for tight terrain like east coast trees. Elan also uses their Amphibio shaping technology in this ski. That means there is actually more rocker along the outside edge of the ski and longer camber on the inside edge of the ski. Yes, that also means there is a right and left ski. The idea is to bring the skier into a turn more naturally. You don’t feel the need to de-camber your inside, uphill edge as much as you do on most skis, it feels more natural. Once you’re in a turn, however, you can stand on the inside edge of the outside ski and the ski will hold. You can also load it up with a ton of energy when doing so, resulting in an energetic, fun, poppy feel when linking turns.
That feeling comes mainly from the way this ski is built. Elan starts with their tubelite wood core made from poplar and paulownia wood. Carbon rods run through that wood core, and actually match the curve of the sidecut of the ski. These carbon rods are key to the Ripstick’s performance. Using carbon in a 3-dimensional application allows for far better vibration damping than when carbon is laminated in 2-dimensional sheets. Carbon can sometimes give a ski a “pingy” or overly responsive feel, but the Ripstick is smooth. That said, it also has a lot of energy, and even more so for the 2021 version thanks to the addition of Carbon Line Technology. For the new skis, Elan uses a carbon weave positioned along the inside edge running from about midsole through the tip of the ski. Not only is this increasing energy, it’s also taking edge grip and overall stability to the next level.
So, how do they feel? They’re still fun, they’re still very playful, and they’re still exceptionally satisfying to ski, but they handle higher speeds better now and feel more composed. The new construction is most noticeable when linking carving turns on firm snow. I felt more comfortable achieving a high edge angle on the 2021 Ripstick 96 compared to the version it’s replacing. Not that you couldn’t do it on the 2020 ski, but the new version eats it up. Heavier skiers may still want a stiffer-flexing ski, but with my lighter weight, I had so much fun linking turns on the Ripstick 96. It’s easy to ski, it’s never fighting you, and it feels very intuitive. It’s damper now too and tracks better through choppy snow. It doesn’t feel like a frontside carver necessarily, but that’s perfectly fine with me. Dedicated frontside carving skis are typically pretty demanding and unforgiving, but that’s not the case with the Ripstick 96. You can lay over some carving turns, but you can do so, so much else.
And that’s the highlight of this ski in my opinion. It’ll make you feel like a pro in technical, off-piste terrain. I’d recommend this ski to so many skiers at our home mountain of Stowe, VT because it absolutely rips in our tight trees. Remember, these skis are pretty darn lightweight at just 1650 g at the 180 cm length. Combine that lightweight feel with ample tip and tail rocker and smooth early taper and you’ve got yourself an exceptionally maneuverable ski. Also, when you add in the flex pattern and energetic, responsive feel, it just wants to hop, jump, and play no matter where you take it. This is where I really feel the influence from Glen Plake. When skiing with him, he’s constantly looking for little natural hits and terrain where he can do something a little bit different. That’s the perfect way to think about the Ripstick 96. It will do anything you want it to and does it all with the attitude of an eager puppy. Go over there? OK! Jump of some stuff? Yes please! Want to just go for a run? Okay, I’ll do that too! Its unbounded willingness and enthusiasm are going to put a smile on anyone’s face that has the chance to ski the Ripstick 96, or really any of the Ripstick models.
The ski community would be a pretty boring place if everyone was the same and every ski was the same. Brands like Elan are providing a valuable service to skiers by offering something that’s different. It’s not just another sandwich construction, 2-sheets of metal ski, there’s something different here, and it’s a whole heck of a lot of fun.
