Category: Ski Reviews

Coming in hot from Liberty skis for 2022 is an entirely redesigned Origin series. While the three previous widths (96, 106, and 112) have all carried through, the entire lineup is treated to a new core construction and there’s also a new width option available for next season: the 101. We had the opportunity to get our hands on a pair of the new Origin 101’s, and the timing could’t have been better. With Spring skiing in full effect here in Stowe, the 2022 Liberty Origin 101 has proven to provide the perfect blend of playfulness and power for these slushy conditions. Find out more about this exciting new ski in this official ski review!

Returning unchanged from 2021, the 2022 Salomon Stance 90 is one of our favorite overlooked skis from last season. Occupying the crowded 88-90mm width, advanced all mountain category, the Stance 90 is a ski that hasn’t received the same level of attention as some of the other skis in the same segment, but absolutely deserves to be talked about. Filling the void between basic and burly, the Stance 90 is an incredibly fun, intuitive, and capable ski that a wide range of skier types and abilities would enjoy. Get the full scoop on this great under-the-radar ski, in this full review!

It’s been a little over 2 months since we released our review of the 2022 Elan Ripstick 96 Black Edition. Since then, we’ve been planning a review of its bigger (or rather wider) brother, the Ripstick 106 Black Edition. In fact, Bob had a pair in the back of his truck for most of February […]

About a month ago, we introduced you to the 2022 Salomon QST Blank, one of two new skis in the 2022 Salomon QST lineup. This week, we’re sharing with you our review of the 2022 Salomon QST 98, another fully redesigned ski from the QST lineup. Set to replace the popular 99 width in the series, the QST 98 is arguably the most widely appealing ski in the series as its friendly yet capable shape and construction make it an excellent choice for a number of different skier types. Learn more about this new ski from Salomon in our full review!

Over the last number of years, the Head Kore collection has carved out a nice little lane for itself as a line of skis that offers both lightweight and stiff characteristics, a combination that’s exceedingly rare in the world of skiing. For 2022, Head’s building on the success of this series with both a reimagining of certain construction techniques, as well as an expansion of waist widths available. This week, we’re taking a closer look at the all new 2022 Head Kore 99. Click through to find out what you need to know about this exciting new ski!

Last year, Dynastar surprised us with the release of not one, not two, but three entirely new lines of skis, each reimagining a segment of their free ride offering. Between the M-Pro, M-Tour, and M-Free, Dynastar created three new lineups of free ride skis, all catering to slightly different niches. While we can’t say for sure if everyone felt this way, but at SkiEssentials we loved the entire lineup, minus one small caveat: the M-Free line only offered a 108 and 118 width. While both of those skis were amazing, they also left us wanting just one more ski in the lineup: something just under 100mm wide. As it turns out, all we had to do was wait a year as Dynastar has officially announced the M-Free 99 will be making its debut for the 2022 season. We were fortunate enough to get our hands on an advance pair, and didn’t hesitate to put them through the wringer. Find out what we made of this exciting new ski in this review of the 2022 Dynastar M-Free 99!

Since its inception in Blizzard’s 2018 lineup, the Rustler series has undergone limited changes. While the rest of their line has seen adjustments to construction and waist widths, the Rustler skis have remained consistent, and for good reason: they offer the perfect complement to Blizzards more “serious” skis, such as the Brahma and Bonafide. While it would be unfair to classify the Rustler series as “soft”, that word is more appropriate for the Peacemaker and Gunsmoke skis they replaced, they are considerably more playful than their stiffer counterparts. This week, we’re revisiting the 2022 Blizzard Rustler 10, arguably the most versatile offering from Blizzards entire lineup. Click through to learn more!

Somehow, despite being just 1.5 months into 2021, we find ourselves rifling through reviews of 2022 skis. That trend continues this week as we take a closer look at the 2022 Rossignol Experience 86 Ti. If you’ve been following Rossignol in recent years, you’re well versed in the segment that the Experience skis aim to satisfy: frontside, all mountain. For 2022, Rossignol has reimagined the Experience series to focus more firmly on the frontside aspect of their capabilities. Complete with new shapes, widths, and construction techniques, we’re feeling like the 2022 Experience line is easily Rossignol’s best yet. To introduce you to the line, we’re taking a look at the all new 2022 Experience 86 Ti. Click through to find out all you need to know about this exciting new ski!

Since their inception five seasons ago, the Salomon QST line has become one of the most approachable, wide ranging series of skis available. Blending all-mountain and freeride sensibilities, the QST skis have found homes on everyone from intermediate skiers looking for something to build confidence on, to hard-charging professional athletes. Now, for their 2022 release, Salomon has given the lineup it’s third makeover, featuring new shapes, sizes, and construction details. We were blessed with the opportunity to test drive the new 2022 Salomon QST Blank, the widest ski in the 2022 lineup, in plenty of fresh snow this week right here in Stowe. Find out our thoughts in this full review of the 2022 Salomon QST Blank!

The ski season rolls on and we’ve been lucky to spend a lot time on 2022 skis over the past few weeks. While there’s a fair number of carry-forward skis from 2021 to 2022, we do get a few completely new lines from a handful of brands, and one of the most notable new collections […]

Two years ago, we reviewed what was at the time a brand new ski: the 2022 Nordica Enforcer 104 Free. In that review, we wrote about how this ski made the perfect addition to Nordica’s growing line of Enforcers. This week, we’re back with an updated review on the ski, which has only received cosmetic updates over the years. Still, now that we, and Jeff in particular, have had a chance to spend a considerable amount of time on the Enforcer 104 Free, we figured we’d check back in with what we’re calling a “long term” review. Find out what makes this ski so special in this full length review!

If you haven’t been paying close attention to Blizzard’s lineup over the past few years, you may not have realized that the Blizzard Brahma underwent a complete overhaul for the 2021 season. While we’ve given this most recent iteration of the Brahma the SkiEssentials Ski Test treatment, we’ve never given it a full ski review. As it turns out, Blizzard and skiers alike were so satisfied by the 2021 version of the Brahma that they’ve decided to bring it back exactly as is for 2022. With that in mind, we decided now’s the perfect time to take a deep dive into one of Blizzards most popular, and powerful, skis. Click through to read all about it!

This week, the 2022 hype train keeps cruising along as we bring you yet another review for a brand new, 2022 ski. Unlike previous reviews of next year’s skis though, the 2022 Elan Ripstick 96 is already available to buy on our website, as of today. But, should you? Well, if this ski fits your profile, then absolutely. After taking a year off, the Elan Ripstick Black Edition skis are back with further improvements to their already stellar build. Without giving away too much, we’ll simply say that the 2022 edition of these skis are amazing. Find out why, and what makes them unique, in this full review of the 2022 Elan Ripstick 96 Black Edition.

First introduced for the 2020 season, the Nordica Enforcer 88 is back for its third year. While the ski itself has only received cosmetic changes since it’s release, the industry has since evolved in an effort to catch up to this precedent setting skiing. In honor of featuring Nordica in our January Ski Happy contest, where you can win a 2021 Nordica Enforcer 88, we figured it was a great time to revisit this popular ski and see if our opinions have changed at all since the arrival of more competition within it’s category. Spoiler alert: we’re still as in love with this ski as ever. To find out why, check out this review of the 2022 Nordica Enforcer 88.

Well, now that it’s the first week of 2021, it feels only right that we play along with the ski industry and immediately jump into reviews of 2022 skis! This week, we’re extremely excited to finally be able to share with you a review that we’ve been secretly working on for a few weeks now: a comprehensive review of the all new 2022 Volkl M6 Mantra. Building off what they’ve learned through the first five iterations of the Mantra, Volk has improved upon a classic once again with subtle updates that make the M6 the most fun Mantra yet. You can learn all about it right here, in this review of the 2022 Volk M6 Mantra.