2021-2022 Prior Northwest 100

Intro

The Prior Northwest 100 & 110 are the brand’s first “all-mountain” freestyle skis. They already have the excellent CBC serving as their pow-oriented freestyle ski, but the new Northwest series is designed to bring the CBC’s strong-yet-playful feel to more approachable widths for more skiers.

We’re currently eagerly awaiting the next weather window to get the Northwest 110 and Northwest 100 on snow, but for now, let’s take a closer look at the 100.

Shape / Rocker Profile

The Northwest 100 will be available in either traditional camber or Prior’s “Hybrid Rocker” profile. The Hybrid Rocker profile is very similar to the Northwest 110 that we’re testing with pretty deep rocker lines and more tip and tail splay.

The Northwest 100 that we’re testing is pressed with Prior’s traditional camber profile, which is pretty self-explanatory just by its name. This ski is mostly cambered with almost no tip and tail rocker. I think you could argue that the Northwest 100 has a bit more rocker than most narrower “traditional cambered” skis, but the “traditionally cambered” Northwest 100 still has notably less rocker than many other modern ~100mm-wide freestyle skis like the ON3P Magnus 102, Faction Prodigy 3.0, Moment PB&J, J Skis Vacation, Dynastar Menace 98, and Rossignol Black Ops 98.

The Northwest 100’s shape is a bit less “traditional,” with moderately tapered tips and tails. The Northwest 100 has more tip and tail taper than the Menace 98 and Black Ops 98, a bit more than the ARV 96 Ti, and a bit less than the Prodigy 3.0 and Magnus 102.

Flex Pattern

Here’s how we’d characterize the flex pattern of the Northwest 100:

Tips: 6
Shovels: 6.5-8
In Front of Toe Piece: 8.5-9.5
Underfoot: 9.5
Behind the Heel Piece: 9.5-8.5
Tails: 7.5-6.5

The Northwest 100, like the 110, has accessible tips and tails but most of the ski is quite strong. The two skis’ flex patterns feel extremely similar, with the Northwest 100 having slightly stiffer shovels.

Compared to the Black Ops 98, the Northwest 100 is a bit stiffer at the ends and the middle of the two skis feel very similar. The Northwest 100 feels significantly stiffer at the ends vs. the Menace 98, and the Northwest 100 stiffens up quicker as you move toward the middle of the ski.

Mount Point

Like the Northwest 110 and CBC, the Northwest 100’s mount point is very progressive at around -3 cm from center. Prior says this is a ski designed to throw tricks, and its forward mount point seems to reflect that.

Weight

The Northwest 100 that we’re testing is built with Prior’s Quad-Glass construction, though it’s also available in their carbon XTC construction if you want a lighter ski.

The Northwest 100 in the Quad-Glass layup sits on the slightly lighter end of the spectrum, whereas the Quad-Glass Northwest 110 falls on the heavier end (for its size). This is interesting, and we’re curious to see how the Northwest 100 compares to other skis in its class when it comes to stability.

For reference, here are a number of our measured weights (per ski in grams) for some notable skis. As always, pay close attention to the length differences to keep things more apples-to-apples.

1629 & 1684 Elan Ripstick 96, 180 cm (17/18–19/20)
1734 & 1750 Renoun Endurance 98, 184 cm (18/19)
1758 & 1774 Moment Commander 98, 178 cm (18/19)
1800 & 1824 Luke Koppa’s Romp Skis 100, 183 cm (18/19)
1807 & 1840 Atomic Bent Chetler 100, 188 cm (18/19–19/20)
1829 & 1838 Faction Prodigy 2.0, 184 cm (18/19)
1848 & 1903 Line Sick Day 104, 186 cm (17/18–19/20)
1863 & 1894 Blizzard Rustler 9, 180 cm (18/19–19/20)
1894 & 1980 Black Crows Daemon, 183.6 cm (17/18–19/20)
1910 & 1919 Prior Northwest 100, 184 cm (19/20)
1921 & 1968 Head Kore 99, 188 cm (18/19–19/20)
1925 & 1937 Liberty Helix 98, 186 cm (18/19–19/20)
1937 & 1945 Fischer Ranger 94 FR, 184 cm (19/20)
1966 & 1973 Liberty Origin 96, 187 cm (18/19–19/20)
1985 & 2006 Parlor Cardinal 100, 185 cm (16/17–18/19)
1998 & 2044 4FRNT MSP 99, 181 cm (17/18–18/19)
1950 & 1977 Blizzard Rustler 10, 188 cm (17/18–18/19)
2002 & 2014 J Skis Allplay, 184 cm (16/17–18/19)
2007 & 2029 Armada Invictus 99 Ti, 187 cm (18/19–19/20)
2019 & 2022 Rossignol Black Ops 98, 182 cm (18/19–19/20)
2031 & 2038 Faction Candide 2.0, 184 cm (17/18–19/20)
2049 & 2065 Volkl Mantra M5, 177 cm (18/19–19/20)
2050 & 2080 ON3P Wrenegade 96, 184 cm (18/19)
2053 & 2057 Atomic Vantage 97 Ti, 188 cm (18/19–19/20)
2067 & 2074 Line Blend, 185 cm (15/16–19/20)
2085 & 2096 Dynastar Menace 98, 181 cm (19/20)
2101 & 2104 Fischer Ranger 102 FR, 184 cm (18/19–19/20)
2111 & 2125 J Skis Vacation, 186 cm (18/19)
2115 & 2149 J Skis Masterblaster, 181 cm (16/17–18/19)
2118 & 2139 Nordica Soul Rider 97, 185 cm (15/16–19/20)
2124 & 2137 Blizzard Bonafide, 180 cm (17/18–19/20)
2126 & 2136 ON3P Magnus 102, 186 cm (18/19)
2131 & 2189 Nordica Enforcer 100, 185 cm (15/16–19/20)
2133 & 2134 Faction Prodigy 3.0, 183 cm (18/19–19/20)
2188 & 2190 Prior Northwest 110, 190 cm (19/20)
2233 & 2255 Nordica Enforcer 104 Free, 186 cm (19/20)
2311 & 2342 K2 Mindbender 99Ti, 184 cm (19/20)

Some Questions / Things We’re Curious About

(1) Given how shallow its rocker lines are, we’re curious to see how the traditionally cambered Northwest 100 performs in softer snow.

(2) Unlike the Prior Northwest 110, CBC, and Husume, the Northwest 100 is fairly light for its size. So how “plush” or damp will it feel on firmer, rougher snow?

(3) We’ve seen a rise of fatter park skis over the past several years, so how will the Northwest 100 compare to skis like the Black Ops 98, Menace 98, Nordica Soul Rider 97, etc.?

(4) On the other hand, how well will the Northwest 100 perform as an all-mountain freestyle ski, rather than something you’d only use in the park?