2026 Men's ~90 mm Freeride Ski Comparison

Now into Part 2 of our ~90 mm range, these skis fall into the “Free” range. Whether you want to call it freeride, freestyle, or just Free Spirited, we’re not going to fault you. Generally, we’ve placed these skis into Part 2 because they have more twin tip shapes, lighter builds, and easier overall characteristics. This is not a blanket statement by any means, as with any list, there will be exceptions on either side. We try to point out skis that can live on multiple sides of the conversation, and as a result, they’ll likely appeal to a broader range of skiers. This list is a better place to land if you’re a freestyle or park-oriented skier, but it also features some fun and easy directional skis for mellower, progressing, or adventurous participants. We range from 87 mm underfoot to 92, so if there’s something on the outskirts of those numbers that you thought you were going to see, they’ll likely be covered in the next comparison. Enjoy!

At a Glance:

2026 Line Honey Badger Skis

Overview:

Built with progression and durability in mind, the Line Honey Badger is a fully-capped ski that helps young freestylers begin the process of achieving their freestyle goals. With a wider platform for balance and flotation to go along with a smooth and supple flex, these skis are incredibly easy to use and offer young skiers a fantastic starting point. While they’re not going to win any awards for carving stability or overall power, the Honey Badger does recognize its strengths. With a size run going from 144 to 177, these skis can handle a variety of different skiers throughout their quest for park and slopestyle dominance. We get thick edges, a thick base, carbon ollieband, and four-dimensional fiberglass laminates wrapping the aspen core for durability. We also get symmetrical rocker and nearly symmetrical shape, featuring sidecut dimensions of 120/92/116 creating a 19-meter radius in the 172 cm length.

Who it's For:

Aspiring creative freestylers who are looking for a sweet ski for kicking around and progressing. You value durability and a smooth flex.

Price: $449.95

Buy Now | Ski Test Results

At a Glance:

2026 Elan Playmaker 91 Skis

Overview:

It’s tough to imagine a quicker and easier ski in this range than the Playmaker 91. With a twin tip shape and a surfy feel, the Playmaker 91 is a fun park ski to learn on and it’s still got some all-mountain chops for lighter and slightly less aggressive skiers. While it won’t hold up quite as well at speed, it’s still got good energy and pep due to the carbon tubes that run along the sides of the ski. If you’re looking for more all-mountain versatility, the Playmaker is sweet in the bumps and trees and is one of the better pure floaters on this list. With incredibly easy swing weight and a flexible overall nature, these skis are as easy to use as they are fun and engaging.

Who it's For:

Progressing and fun-seeking skiers will love the engagement and fun-loving character of the skis.

Price: $649.99

Buy Now | Ski Test Results | 2024 Elan Playmaker 91 Ski Review

At a Glance:

2026 Atomic Bent 90 Skis

Overview:

With freestyle inspiration placed into an all-mountain character, the Atomic Bent 90 is a free-wheeling ski with fun at the top of the priority list. This ski returns with a new graphic for 2026, but otherwise features the same construction, shape, and profile. There’s a long camber to the ski, adding energy and pop, but the twin tip shape keeps the playfulness and excitement totally intact. While a variety of mount points can alter the nature of the ski, it still has more of a rearward camber height, making it fall more to the directional side of the spectrum. It’s one of the best mogul skis out there in the all-mountain category as well and works awesome in trees. Because it’s so light and flexible, you can put it anywhere, making it so incredibly easy to ski in a variety of conditions and terrain.

Who it's For:

There’s a lot going on here that’ll work great for a variety of skiers. You could be a park only skier or a never ever and still find a lot to like here.

Price: $549.95

Buy Now | Ski Test Results | 2023 Atomic Bent 90 Ski Review

At a Glance:

2026 Armada ARV 88 Skis

Overview:

This ski returns structurally unchanged for 2026, bringing a lot of camber, energy, and symmetry to the park world. Among the ARV line, this is certainly the most slopestyle oriented of the group and the most competition ready. With a lot of abrupt splay in the tips and tails to go along with Armada’s W3dgewall technology and ash wood binding insert, these skis have a lot of tech and sophistication involved. The 171 cm length features a 16-meter turn radius and a drop of 6 mm from tip to tail. The mount point is more central and is found at the height of a very dramatic camber profile. This allows for fantastic energy and carving capacity in the park, and fortunately, that translates to groomer performance as well. These skis do have all-mountain pop to them, and while the width and lack of rocker won’t make them super floaty, they are at least light enough to be manipulated by skilled skiers.

Who it's For:

With a wide range of sizes from 156 to 181, the ARV 88 is a great freestyle option for tweeners through X-Games competitors.

Price: $499.95

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At a Glance:

2026 Line Tom Wallisch Pro Skis

Overview:

As a pro model, the Line Tom Wallisch Pro is built and shaped with the influence of the skier himself in mind. It’s tricky to assign more global or overall appeal with a pro ski, as it has a very small audience in mind. For this year, the Tom Wallisch Pro is built with an aspen wood core, thick cut sidwalls, fat bases and edges, and Thin Tip technology. Some of the Chronic tech has filtered into the Tom Wallisch, allowing for a lighter swing weight while keeping the main portion of the skis solid and sturdy to create confidence in the air during big tricks and aggressive maneuvers. Symmetry is big here, with measurements of 118/90/116 mm to create a mild –2 drop in tip to tail width. With creativity and playfulness in mind, these skis can handle anything that the most freestyle-oriented skier on the planet can offer.

Who it's For:

Tom Wallisch. Are you Tom Wallisch or aspire to ski exactly like him?

Price: $549.95

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At a Glance:

2026 Armada Edollo 91 Skis

Overview:

Similar to the Tom Wallisch Pro, the Armada Edollo 91 takes a lot of athlete inspiration from Henrik Harlaut. This Edollo 91 is a new ski for 2026, offering a narrower, lighter, and more flexible version of the wider and heftier Edollo 98 from last year. This is more of a park-oriented ski than ever before, bringing more slopestyle and competition-oriented chops to the mix. With more flex in the shovel, a wood core consisting of poplar and ash, and a laminate matrix for energy, these skis have a smooth and sturdy feel while keeping the weight down(ish). In the 178, we get a longer 20-meter turn radius to keep things predictable and smooth off of huge lips and in big landing zones.

Who it's For:

Henrik Harlaut. You need to identify as a Henrik to get the most out of this ski.

Price: $649.95

Buy Now | Ski Test Results

At a Glance:

2026 K2 Mindbender 90 C Skis

Overview:

While the K2 Mindbender 90 C is one of the more directional skis on this list, it’s also one of the lighter and most mobile. These are fantastic mogul, tree, and soft snow skis for easy use, high levels of energy, and incredible versatility. They focus on using a light aspen wood core to go along with a Carbon Spectral Braid technology that puts more emphasis on lateral control in the tips and vertical control in the tails. This makes the skis feel crisp and engaging in shorter carves while retaining mobility and ease of turning in the back end. These skis resonate with a lot of skiers, and since they’ve returned unchanged for a number of years now, those skiers have truly keyed into what they do best. The term “freeride” may not apply for most skiers here, but the lighter weight and high mobility make them easy to use by a large portion of the skiing population.

Who it's For:

Many skiers will find happiness and success here. While they don’t have a super high-end ceiling, they do offer a lot of consistency and positivity for a huge swath of snow sliders.

Price: $599.95

Buy Now | Ski Test Results

At a Glance:

2026 Line Pandora 92 Skis

Overview:

If there was ever an easy ski that could do everything reasonably well, it’d be the Pandora 92. While this seems like faint praise, it’s actually quite remarkable that Line is able to pull this off so effectively. With an aspen wood core and that’s about it, the Pandora 92 relies more on its shaping and profile to deliver a fun-loving character. You can use this ski in a variety of conditions and terrain, ranging from groomers and bumps to park and trees. The profile is nearly symmetrical, with equal(ish) splay in both tips and tails—that brings the freeride mentality to the ski as well as a 16-meter turn radius in the 177 cm length. These skis also come in a massive range of sizes, starting at 147 and going up to 182.

Who it's For:

Quite a large audience here. This ski can handle a little bit of everything for everyone.

Price: $599.95

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At a Glance:

2026 Rossignol Sender Soul 92 Skis

Overview:

Built with a light and stiff paulownia wood core, the Rossignol Sender Soul 92 is a very crisp and peppy ski that can make very energetic turns with ease. There’s a lot of camber here as well, adding to the electrified field of the ski. While short turns and agility are at the top of the list when it comes to the ski’s preferences, longer turns at speed with stability do take a bit of a hit. Interestingly, while the Sender Soul 102 features more tail rocker and splay, this ski isn’t much of a twin tip, opting more for a directional feel and flair. It’s really the lightness and range of sizes here that keep it in the freeride realm, and the fact that it’s more part of the Soul series. These skis work better in the bumps, trees, and groomers more than the park, and that’s okay—plenty of other twins on this list to choose from.

Who it's For:

Lots of skiers. Lots of sizes and easy access to energy make this a very popular ski for tweens and smaller adults who mix on and off-trail skiing.

Price: $549.95

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At a Glance:

2026 Dynastar M-Free 90 Skis

Overview:

Virtually identical to the Rossignol Sender Soul 92 in almost every way, the Dynastar M-Free 90 is also a highly energetic and poppy ski for the tweener realm. These skis utilize the same paulownia core to blend light weight and high energy. While we do see some splay in the tails to make it easy to release from turns, it’s still not like this is a park-specific twin tip like some other skis on this list. What you are getting is a lot of rebound and agility to make the skier feel like they’re getting assistance from the ski rather than fighting against it. The ease of use and the zippy rebound are what make these skis stand out.

Who it's For:

We get lengths ranging from 137 to 177, so there’s a big group here that can and will likely enjoy the M-Free 90. You like mixing bumps, trees, and groomers and you’re not scared to get some air.

Price: $549.95

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At a Glance:

2026 Faction Prodigy 1 Skis

Overview:

Faction does a great job in the all-mountain twin department, and it’s no mistake that this ski is smack in the middle of our all here, as it’s very capable of walking on both/multiple sides of the spectrum. At 88 mm underfoot and with a strong sidewall underfoot, these skis have great energy to go along with very playful tips and tails. The park and pipe and other freestyle activities are right in line with the Prodigy’s use case, and it serves well at absorbing vibrations, delivering good edge hold, and creating a twin tip for creative skiing. They’re light enough and mobile enough for quick turns but still have enough of a solid feel to handle higher speeds with at least some stability. The use of poplar and ash in the core goes along great with the 60 cm Carbon/Rubber stomp pads along the edges that create a damp and poppy character for both landing jumps and carving turns. Thick edges and a full-strength sidewall with increased protection add to the durability and overall versatility of the ski.

Who it's For:

Freestyle enthusiasts who do not want to compromise all-mountain capabilities. You’re looking for a mix of attributes that will afford endless versatility.

Price: $599.00

Buy Now | Ski Test Results | 2025 Faction Prodigy 1 Ski Review

At a Glance:

2026 Nordica Unleashed 90 Skis

Overview:

While the wider skis in the Unleashed zone generally get top billing, the Unleashed 90 is an unheralded ski that will serve a lot of skiers very well—especially those looking for an energy-laden twin with way more pop than most other skis on this list. This one serves as another tweener/adult option as it ranges from 144 to 174 in terms of sizing. Whereas the other Unleased series of skis uses a denser wood core, the 90 uses a lite performance core so there’s increased mobility and flex here. Unlike other skis here, the Unleashed 90 is one of the only ones to feature a full sidewall from tip to tail, and in the middle, it’s quite thick, affording good smoothness and power to go along with the lighter weight.

Who it's For:

Unfortunately, not for bigger skiers who need longer than a 174. This ski works great on the feet of mid-sized skiers who are looking for an upscale feel and performance level.

Price: $479.99

Buy Now | 2023 Nordica Unleashed Series Overview

At a Glance:

2026 Fischer Nightstick 90 Skis

Overview:

Fischer bills this ski as the “choice of our World Cup athletes” and there’s really not a whole lot more to add than that. These skis were built, shaped, and designed for top-level freestyle performance. We get a full poplar core here, complete with fiberglass laminates, and we also get a titanal insert in the binding area. The wrinkle here is that the metal is found on the bottom of the core to boost durability and edge grip. The skis are very smooth and quiet as a result. In the 177, we get measurements of 117/90/115, emphasizing symmetry and balance from tip to tail. The center point will be the place to be for a lot of freestyle and slopestyle-specific skiers, while those looking to use this in more of an all-mountain format can go back a number of lines if they so choose.

Who it's For:

As Fischer states—competitive freestyle skiers of the highest order. This doesn’t mean that the skis are difficult to ski, rather that they have an incredibly high ceiling.

Price: $574.99

Buy Now | Ski Test Results

At a Glance:

2026 Black Crows Captis Skis

Overview:

As we move to the more demanding side of the wall, the Captis takes center stage as a highly peppy and responsive ski that works amazingly well in an all-mountain format. This ski could easily do away with its twin tip and still be a totally viable and amazing choice in this range. There’s a lot of rebound and strength here, which is impressive as the ski only uses a poplar core and fiberglass laminates. At 90 mm underfoot and with an 18-meter turn radius, this ski is built and shaped to handle a wide variety of terrain options and snow conditions. It also works great on the feet of a bunch of different skiers, and we’ve found it to be an exemplary ski in the bumps and trees while delivering fantastic groomer performance. Since it’s a twin tip, feel free to add in freestyle performance to the mix of this extraordinarily well-rounded ski.

Who it's For:

Strong and energetic skiers who like the feedback of a well-designed ski.

Price: $649.00

Buy Now | Ski Test Results | 2023 Black Crows Captis Ski Review

At a Glance:

2026 Kastle ZX 92 Skis

Overview:

The Kastle ZX 92 is another ski that could have easily slotted into the All-Mountain category, and it could also fit into the mid-90's. There aren’t many skis around that can fit into three or four different categories, but this ZX 92 is definitely one of them. With a strong and energetic wood core consisting of poplar and beech, these skis have a lot of tip rocker and taper to go along with a more directional tail. Short turns and variable conditions are right in this ski’s wheelhouse, allowing it to be useful in the trees and bumps while delivering sweet groomer performance to the mix. As the narrowest of the Freeride-inspired ZX line, the 92 carries with it similar rocker profiles and taper shapes, making it one of the best soft snow performers in this class.

Who it's For:

Freeride skiers looking for a narrower option. You value quickness and energy but you don’t want it to take away from softer and deeper snow.

Price: $799.00

Buy Now | Ski Test Results

At a Glance:

2026 Black Crows Sato Skis

Overview:

Sturdy, fun, and incredibly intuitive, this new Black Crows Sato caught us all off guard this past year. While this ski could have easily lived in the All-Mountain category, and frankly that’s likely a better place for it, it’s still got a good amount of versatility and ease of use for intermediate and advanced skiers who are just looking for a good time out there on the hill. While it doesn’t fit in with park or freestyle skiers, those that are more directional and looking for easy steering and rewarding edge grip will truly have a lot in common with the Sato. At 88 mm underfoot, this ski features a 17-meter turn radius in the 173 cm length, creating a balanced and poised feel. Great in the bumps, easy enough in the trees, and stable enough to cut through crud and chop, the new Sato is a very well-rounded ski for a huge audience.

Who it's For:

So many skiers. Unfortunately for larger skiers, the Sato does top out at 179. Hopefully that is a “this year” thing and we’ll see a longer length soon.

Price: $699.00

Buy Now | Ski Test Results | 2026 Black Crows Sato Review

At a Glance:

2026 DPS Wailer 90 Skis

Overview:

As the narrowest of the Wailer line, the 90 has a lot of freeride and powder influence when it comes to profile and footprint, but it comes in a narrow package. In general, if you like the overall feel of the wider skis in the Wailer line but just want a quicker and more edgeable ski for harder days and lower snow zones, this is such a great option. It has the shorter 15-meter arc and the related rocker profile that goes with it, so this is likely the most dramatically shaped ski on this list. With carbon strips pairing with a full poplar wood core, these skis have a lot of energy built in to accommodate the gratuitous rocker. Whether you’re adhering to the 15-meter arc on groomers or are tightening it up to hit the trees and bumps, these skis will respond quickly and precisely—almost more so than other skis on this list.

Who it's For:

Strong skiers with good technique who love the feeling of a purely carved turn without sacrificing deeper snow and powder performance.

Price: $1,295.00

Buy Now | Ski Test Results

At a Glance:

2026 Black Crows Mirus Cor Skis

Overview:

As one of, if not the, most unique skis on this wall, or any wall for that matter, the Black Crows Mirus Cor is a smooth and short turning twin tip with a lot going on. We’ve found this ski to have so many uses and fits a wide and surprising number of skiers. This ski could not exist at all, or it could be the only ski you ever use. Both are acceptable outcomes here. Built with a poplar wood core, a sheet of metal underfoot, and a semi-swallow tail to allow for greater articulation, the short-arced Mirus Cor is a slalom ski mixed with a twin tip that just makes for great fun on snow. We have found them to be great in the bumps, fun in the trees, and a totally personable park ski. The strength, though, is making absurdly deep and short carved turns. In reality, we’re not sure what this ski does best, except for stand out.

Who it's For:

Everyone and no one. This ski lives on so many different planes of existence it’s tough to pin down. And that’s a good thing.

Price: $999.95

Buy Now | Ski Test Results | 2022 Black Crows Mirus Cor Ski Review

At a Glance:

2026 Faction Studio 1 Skis

Overview:

While the Studio 1 fits more into the freestyle realm, it’s nevertheless on the more difficult side to ski because of its symmetry, stiff flex, and carbon backbone. Directional skiers will have a tougher time here, as the wider tail mixes with the carbon to create a precise feel in the back. If you’re used to more of a loose feel, this is not the ski to get. If you want your park ski to feel engaging and crisp in takeoffs and landings, this is a great ski. It’s not terribly easy due to the camber and the stiffer flex, but higher level park skiers and athletes often need that level of poise and performance. This level of reactivity can be a good thing, but it’s not always the easiest thing, especially during high speed takeoffs and landings.

Who it's For:

Competitive freestyle skiers looking for symmetry and balance. You don’t mind a stiffer flex and enjoy the ski’s ability to rebound and add power.

Price: $699.00

Buy Now | Ski Test Results

At a Glance:

2026 Line Optic 88 Skis

Overview:

The Line Optic 88 returns structurally unchanged for 2026, bringing a fun and exciting graphic to the mix while keeping the metallic-powered twin at the forefront of the high-performance freeride realm, especially in this width category. There just aren’t many skis in this width range that have a twin tip and use metal, so the Optic 88 occupies rare air in terms of carving twins that can also run through the park. While it’s not a necessarily difficult ski to operate, it does have a higher end ceiling than almost anything else out there. It’s great in bumps, trees, and crud, allowing it to be used in a versatile and well-rounded ski. On groomers, it’s powerful and predictable, if not super-surprising.

Who it's For:

Skiers looking for a charging twin will love the Optic 88. You want the damping of metal and the power of the unique frame that makes it feel like a torsionally stiff ski without being overpowering or demanding.

Price: $699.95

Buy Now | Ski Test Results