For our third 2021 ski comparison, we’re going a little bit wider into mid-100 mm freeride skis. These skis are all designed with soft snow performance as a focus, but there’s still a lot of variety among them. Some are twin tips, some are designed to be lightweight touring skis, some are designed to be powerful big mountain skis. Whatever type of skier you are, if you’re looking for something in this width range, chances are we included a ski that would be good for you. As always, don’t hesitate to leave a comment with a question or reach out directly if you want to chat more about skis.

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Overview:

A brand new ski for the 2021 season, The Volkl Blaze 106 is a lightweight freeride ski that can double as an in-bounds resort powder ski and a backcountry touring ski without skipping a beat. It’s constructed using a lightweight wood core that’s paired with a sheet of metal underfoot. That metal is there for binding retention, although because it extends to the edges underneath your toe and heel piece, it provides a nice stable feel too. Long, low rise rocker is featured in both the tips and tails, and that corresponds to Volkl’s 3D Radius, which features longer radii in the tips and tails, and a shorter radius underfoot. The Blaze 106 feels lightweight, snappy, and maneuverable, but can also smear turns in soft snow and has excellent float for its width. Never feels catchy thanks to the long radius in deeper snow, but you can flex it into short radius turns when you have something to push against.

Who it's For:

Skiers looking for a versatile alpine touring ski or someone who wants a lightweight resort powder ski. Because it’s so light, it’s not particularly stable at speed or powerful, so hard-chargers may want more ski, unless specifically choosing it for AT use.

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Overview:

The Line Sir Francis Bacon is a playful powder skier’s dream. Designed by the iconic Eric Pollard, The Sir Francis Bacon is probably the softest flexing ski on this list and arguably the best for butters, slashed turns, and general backcountry jibbing. Tom Wallish chooses it as his backcountry jump ski, so if you’re the type of skier who aspires to do things like switch double rodeo 1080s into powder, here’s you ski. Aside from that, it’s also a pure pleasure to ski in deep snow. The Convex tips and tails give it superb float and allows for easy, catch free maneuverability even at slower speeds in deep snow. It’s not a speed demon, as those soft flexing tips and tails won’t provide the necessary stability if you’re looking to charge through choppy snow conditions. Its personality is far more playful than anything else, and skiers looking for more stability or a stiffer flex have plenty of other skis to choose from.

Who it's For:

Playful skiers looking for a fun-loving powder ski. You might have a freestyle background and want a tool to take your tricks into the backcountry, or maybe you just prefer softer flexing powder skis and don’t want something that feels too demanding.

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Overview:

The Backland 107 blends a lightweight feel with impressive stability, similar to the Blaze 106, but with a slightly stiffer flex, especially noticeable in the tail. Also similar to the Blaze 106, it’s an excellent choice for someone who values a lightweight ski and is probably planning on using it in the backcountry, but doesn’t want to completely sacrifice stability and power. You can ski it aggressively and the ski stays supportive. It’s a fantastic choice to pair with a Shift binding, which isn’t at all surprising considering it’s specifically designed to match well with that binding. It is, however, a good way to think about its overall performance. Perfectly capable as a resort powder ski, even feels pretty good on groomers, while being a great ski to take into the backcountry. It’s fun in soft snow, but you can also trust it in variable conditions, which is a nice feature for backcountry terrain.

Who it's For:

Adventurous skiers looking for a powder ski that they can use as an alpine touring ski, and also within their favorite resort. You don’t want something heavy, but you also don’t want a soft-flexing ski.

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Overview:

Overview: Perhaps one of the most versatile, well-rounded skis of this comparison, and certainly one that would satisfy a lot of skiers, the Elan Ripstick 106 offers fun, playful, relatively easy performance in soft snow and technical terrain. It’s relatively lightweight, but smoother and with more vibration damping than a ski like the Backland 107. That’s partly thanks to the fact it has a relatively soft flex pattern, although it also feels supportive. This is thanks to Elan’s use of carbon, both positioned along the inside edges of the ski and used in 3 dimensional tubes running through the ski in a longitudinal axis. This construction provides really good edge grip and a smooth, quiet feel without feeling stiff or unforgiving. In fact, the Ripstick 106 is incredibly intuitive and one of the more approachable skis in this comparison. The Amphibio technology (right and left ski) plays an important role in deep snow, allows you to ski more confidently without worrying what your skis are doing.

Who it's For:

Skiers looking for a fun, playful, super versatile resort powder/freeride ski that can also hold its own in terms of edge grip and stability. It’s also light enough to justify using it as an alpine touring ski, another good ski to pair with a Shift or Duke PT.

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Overview:

The Tracer 108 is another extremely well-rounded powder ski for anyone looking for something that can double as a resort and AT ski. Again, not surprising, it would be a great ski to pair with the Armada Shift binding, but you could also just put an alpine binding on it and have a really fun resort powder ski. It’s another ski that’s relatively lightweight, which gives it its touring capabilities, but also a less fatiguing skiing experience. It’s supported by Adaptive Mesh, a variable angle weave that provides additional edge grip and stability. Every time we ski the Tracer 108, we’re reminded by how smooth it is. Similar characteristics to the Ripstick 106 in the sense that it has a relatively soft flex pattern, but really good vibration damping. It’s 100% a directional ski, so just because it’s an Armada, don’t assume it’s a jibby twin tip. It’s designed more for responsive, rewarding performance for deep snow and technical terrain.

Who it's For:

Skiers looking for a fun, directional powder ski. You’re probably going to take it into the backcountry or use it as a touring ski, but it feels equally capable within resort boundaries, especially for skiers who value a lightweight feel and maneuverability.

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Overview:

The Revolt 104 is a relatively unique ski among this comparison. It’s not quite as light as some of the skis we’ve looked at, and also on the narrower side of things in this comparison. It does, on the other hand, use really long rocker in both the tips and tails, quite a lot of early taper, and it’s a twin tip. All that said, it also has a relatively stout feel overall, making it more stable at speed than a ski like the Sir Francis Bacon. It can also slash, smear, butter, and do all the modern freeride techniques you want, but it gives you a little more confidence when you want to open things up. This is the first ski in this comparison that would really double well as a park ski for a lot of skiers, especially those who prefer a lot of rocker in their skis. It’s also incredibly fun in the trees thanks to an aggressive taper angle, and doesn’t feel catchy in deep snow. Some skiers may even choose to put a Duke PT or similar AT binding on it, and we’ve seen some Volkl athletes doing so already and using it as a BC jump ski.

Who it's For:

Playful skiers who specifically want a twin tip, but value versatility too. You can ski it in the park, but it’s also very capable as a freeride/all-mountain/powder ski. We expect to see quite a lot of these on the snow this season due to their broad appeal.

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Overview:

Some powder/freeride skis have a distinctly surfy or drifty feel, and the M-Free 108 from Dynastar is perhaps the best example of that feel and performance. This new ski uses a ton of rocker in the tail, just about even with its tip rocker. It doesn’t have super-pronounced early taper, rather a gradual, rounded shape in the tips and tails. This gives it incredibly easy edge release in soft snow, even at slower speeds. The 108 mm waist width also keeps you floating in really deep snow, allowing you to quickly maneuver through technical terrain with ease. It’s an intuitive ski that has a confidence-inspiring personality. The Hyrid Poplar and PU core is smoother than most skis with metal, and when you combine that feel with its maneuverable shape, it does just about anything you want it to with a smooth, compliant feel. There’s also some energy to its flex pattern, allowing you to pop and jump around as you work your way down your favorite lines.

Who it's For:

Playful skiers looking for a surfy, fun powder ski. The M-Free 108 has some freestyle influence in its design as well, so if you prefer a more centered mount point even with your powder skis, this could be a really good choice.

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Overview:

The Kore 105 from Head is the stiffest ski we’ve looked as so far, a sign that we’re moving into more aggressive, hard-charging skis, but what’s nice about the Kore is that although it’s stiff, it’s still lightweight. It also uses quite a lot of rocker and early taper in its shape, so it still has a versatile, maneuverable feel, even in tight, technical terrain. Being based in Stowe, we’ve seen a lot of people choose these as their powder day skis, as they pair really good soft snow performance with impressive edge grip and stability thanks to Head’s unique blend of materials. It is light enough to use as a touring ski too, although the Kore 105 is starting to feel more like a 60/40 resort/AT ski rather than leaning more towards the touring side of things. Not many manufacturers have been able to pair this weight with this level of stiffness and stability. It’s also exceptionally responsive thanks to those characteristics.

Who it's For:

Skiers looking for a versatile soft snow ski that has a relatively even mix of performance characteristics, but with a somewhat unique feel. Stiff, lightweight, maneuverable, and responsive.

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Overview:

We’ve getting to a portion of this comparison that’s home to a lot of very well-rounded skis. The ZX108 from Kastle is one of them. It’s definitely a powder ski more than anything else thanks to the 108 mm waist width, but among powder skis, it’s very well-rounded. It’s surfy, floaty, and super fun to slash turns, smear, and play, but it also has some pretty good stability to it thanks to a flatter tail profile than we see in a lot of skis and the stability provided by the poplar and beech wood core. Kastle’s Hollowtech reduces swing weight, and also reduces tip flap or chatter at higher speeds. It’s also light enough to use as a touring ski, and Kastle includes a skin attachment point on the tail as a nod to its capabilities in the backcountry. Surfy, smeary, yet stable too, and relatively light. At this point, it should be obvious why we think it’s so well-rounded.

Who it's For:

Skiers looking for a really good, really well-rounded powder ski. There’s nothing crazy about its shape, nothing wild about its design, it’s just really good at what it’s designed to do: perform well in soft snow.

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Overview:

Like the ZX108, the Atris falls squarely into the powder ski category. Unlike the ZX108, it uses a lot of splay in the tips and tails and could be described as a twin tip. I certainly wouldn’t argue against that. In that sense, it’s blending some freestyle influence and playful powder performance with stability underfoot. We’ve seen a lot of impressive stuff come out of Black Crows athletes that use the Atris, everything from high speed big mountain lines to big backcountry jumps and tricks off cliff drops. Its shape also provides really, really good float. In fact, among this comparison, it probably floats better than any other ski, with the ZX108 and M-Free 108 being perhaps the only exceptions. The tail shape not only give it switch skiing capabilities, it also allows for easy edge release, which gives the ski a confidence-inspiring personality in a variety of different terrain.

Who it's For:

Playful skiers who want a touch of freestyle influence in the powder ski. It’s similar to the M-Free 108 in the sense that you could ski it switch or mount it a little farther forward than some of the more directional skis in this list.

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Overview:

I’m sure we’re starting to sound like a broken record with all these versatile, well-rounded freeride skis, but the QST 106 is another that fits that mold. It has a smooth, stable feel thanks to Salomon’s blend of carbon and flax and a little bit of rubber in the tip. It’s also incredibly maneuverable and has a fun, surfy, easy feel in soft snow thanks to abundant amounts of rocker in the tip and tail (much more pronounced than the ZX108). This was one of the first skis that we looked at as a perfect match to the Salomon Shift binding, and it continues to be one of the best because it’s performance crosses over between the resort and the backcountry incredibly well. Of the skis we’ve looked at so far, it’s one of the best on firmer snow conditions, while also retaining plenty of powder performance too. We were a bit perplexed with Salomon first started using flax in their ski’s construction, but these QST skis have proven to have a great mix of performance characteristics and a very wide appeal.

Who it's For:

Skiers looking for a versatile freeride ski they can take anywhere on the mountain. It’s one of those skis that you don’t have to think about. Doesn’t matter what the conditions are, just throw them in your truck and you’re good to go regardless what the day brings.

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Overview:

The replacement to the iconic Soul 7, the new Sender from Rossignol offers updated freeride performance, and is more versatile than its predecessor. The downside to the Soul 7 was always its edge grip and stability on firmer snow. The Sender uses much less early taper, which corresponds to a longer effective edge. Rossignol also uses their Line Control Technology, but instead of metal, we get vertically laminated rubber running along the longitudinal axis of the ski. This allows for a softer flex than the same construction with metal, while providing really, really good vibration damping too. Diago Fiber increases torsional stiffness as well, and the result is far better edge grip and a smoother feel than we ever got with the Soul 7. Maybe not quite as much float as that ski, but still really good in deeper snow conditions and still relatively maneuverable too thanks to relatively light swing weight. Not quite as easy to ski as the Soul, but also not tremendously demanding.

Who it's For:

Skiers who want a mix of soft snow performance and firm snow capabilities. It has a similar overall shape to the Enforcer 100, just wider, so you get a similar mix of performance capabilities. Stability, edge grip, but also maneuverability and soft snow compliance.

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Overview:

The Enforcer 104 has already earned a strong following in just its second year on the market. It takes the proven Enforcer performance and morphs it into a more playful ski with some freestyle influence in its shape. We’ve looked at a handful of twin tips in this comparison, and if you like that shape, but want a lot of stability, vibration damping, and a powerful ski, you’ll love the Enforcer 104. Two full sheets of metal provide all the stability you could ask for, while relatively long tail rocker and that twin tip shape gives it tremendous maneuverability, especially considering the power it achieves. It doesn’t have the most float among skis in this comparison, but that’s perfectly okay as Nordica offers both the Enforcer 110 and 115, which provide similar performance in wider waist widths. You can absolutely charge on the Enforcer 104 when you want to, but then you can slow things down, wiggle through some trees, and even play around with some switch takeoffs and landings.

Who it's For:

Playful skiers who also value power and stability. As one of the heavier skis in this comparison, it’s a bit much for an intermediate, but advanced and expert level skiers will appreciate the way Nordica has blended playfulness, maneuverability, stability, and power.

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Overview:

Similar to the ZX108, the Ranger 107 Ti is a really good directional freeride powder ski. This big ole’ ski from Fischer does, however, start to feel a little more like a big-mountain charger than a well-rounded powder ski for the masses. That’s thanks to the fact that the tail of the ski is relatively flat and pretty darn stiff too, allowing you to ski with reckless abandon through choppy snow conditions on steep, gnarly faces. It’s the type of ski we expect to see on the Freeride World Tour thanks to its blend of soft snow capabilities and firm snow stability. Fischer’s Carbon Nose keeps the weight down in the front of the ski, and the long tip rocker and smooth early taper gives it an intuitive feel when maneuvering in softer snow. Edge release, on the other hand, requires more work than most of the skis in this comparison, especially those with lots of tail rocker, but that also translates to really good stability and the reason why it tracks so well through chop.

Who it's For:

Relatively aggressive skiers who value stability, edge grip, and high speed performance over maneuverability, playfulness, and slow speed compliance. The Ranger 107 Ti is the real deal.

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Overview:

The Stormrider 105 is one of the smoothest skis in this comparison. It’s very stable, holds an edge exceptionally well, although it’s also impressively lightweight thanks to the metal topsheet and the overall way Stockli builds a ski. That said, the lightweight feel doesn’t necessarily translate to forgiveness as it does in some skis. The Stormrider 105 uses a flat, squared off tail shape that loves to complete a carving turn and doesn’t really want to slip, skid, or smear. It’s one of the most precise skis on this list, but does require a relatively skilled skier to make the most of it. It doesn’t have the most flotation, and isn’t the easiest when you get into really deep snow, but it’s a very rewarding skiing experience when you’re arcing big carving turns through un-groomed terrain. An expert level skier will have no problem manipulating it into different turn shapes and styles, but an intermediate may struggle to get it to do much more than just link carving turns, which is why we’re putting it towards the end of this comparison among more demanding skis.

Who it's For:

Advanced and expert level skiers who value precision, edge grip, and vibration damping. We could see it being a really, really good daily driver for a western skier with accomplished technique and a fondness for challenging terrain and technical skiing.

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Overview:

With the Mindbende 108Ti, we’re starting to get into some pretty beefy, burly skis. This is another that we expect to see on the feet of Freeride World Tour athletes thanks to its blend of soft snow capabilities and really good stability at speed. K2 doesn’t use super pronounced rocker or early taper in these skis, which is how they retain good stability at speed. They also utilize the Titanal Y-Beam construction, which positions metal along the edges in the tip, but through the middle of the ski in the tail. This allows you to drive powerful turns in the forebody of the ski and go as fast as you want, while getting a touch of forgiveness out of the tail of the ski when you need to release your edge or make quick movements in tight terrain. Because it doesn’t use a lot of tail rocker, it does still require some unweighting even with the Y-Beam construction, which puts it into a relatively demanding category. Advanced and expert level skiers, however, will love its smooth, stable feel and shouldn’t have any trouble getting it to smear or pivot when needed.

Who it's For:

Skiers looking for an aggressive, powerful freeride powder ski. You like to ski fast, you don’t like soft flexing skis with lots of rocker. You probably don’t plan on doing much touring either, you’re more focused on crushing gnarly lines within resort boundaries.

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Overview:

Much of what we said about the Sender carries over to the Sender Ti, but it’s stiffer, more aggressive, and more demanding. That’s because Rossignol uses metal in those vertically laminated strips instead of rubber. That’s basically the same thing they do in their race skis, so the Sender Ti is pretty darn powerful. It still benefits from all the same shaping concepts as the non-Ti Sender. It’s relatively maneuverable if you’re riding a flat ski, and the further you tip it up on edge, the more stability you get as the effective edge lengthens with deeper turns. The Sender Ti is only available in lengths over 180 cm (180, 187, 194). That’s going to turn a significant amount of people away from the ski, and Rossignol’s basically saying if those lengths don’t work for you, the Sender is a better choice than the Sender Ti. This is another ski we expect to see on Freeride World Tour podiums thanks to its stable, powerful feel and capabilities in soft snow.

Who it's For:

Aggressive, hard-charging skiers who want a relatively versatile ski. Good in soft snow, capable on a powder day, but you can also lay over impressive turns on firm snow while leaving trenches in your wake.

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Overview:

We saved the biggest, burliest, most powerful ski for last. When talking about skis you might see on the Freeride World Tour, we’d be silly to leave out the Cochise. This is a big mountain charger through and through. It uses two sheets of metal (actually two and a half!) and the biggest turning radius in this comparison. It absolutely loves to make big, high speed, aggressive carving turns through anything… like literally anything. Powder, choppy snow, really firm snow, the Cochise doesn’t care, it’ll charge right through it. Blizzard did make the tips and tails a little more compliant in this newest version, and it’s maybe not as demanding as it used to be, but that’s really not saying much, as it still requires a really skilled skier. Not just skilled, but also aggressive and comfortable giving a ski a lot of input and committing their body weight down the fall line, even in gnarly, technical terrain. It’s not one to lean back and cruise with, it needs to be driven.

Who it's For:

Aggressive, powerful skiers who want a ski with no speed limit and who aren’t worried about forgiveness, fatigue, or a ski that feels too demanding. If you’re not sure if you’re up to the task, you’re probably not, which isn’t meant to be insulting, it’s just the truth about the Cochise.

Written by Jeff Neagle on 10/15/20