Ski: 2025-2026 Fischer Nightstick 97, 184 cm
Test Location: Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO
Days Skied: ~10
Available Lengths: 163, 170, 177, 184 cm
Blister’s Measured Tip-to-Tail Length (straight-tape pull): 182.3 cm
Stated Weight per Ski: 1950 grams
Blister’s Measured Weight per Ski: 1944 & 1952 grams
Stated Dimensions: 132-97-123 mm
Blister’s Measured Dimensions: 132-96.5-123 mm
Stated Sidecut Radius (184 cm): 18 meters
Measured Tip & Tail Splay (ski decambered): 56.5 mm / 51 mm
Measured Traditional Camber Underfoot: 8.5 mm
Core Materials: poplar + titanal (partial layer) + fiberglass laminate
Base: sintered
Factory Recommended Mount Point: -3.4 cm from center; 87.7 cm from tail
Boots Used: Lange Shadow 130 LV, Atomic Hawx Ultra 130, Atomic Redster CS 130
Bindings Used: Tyrolia Attack 14 MN
[Note: Our review was conducted on the 24/25 Nightstick 97, which returns unchanged for the 25/26 season.]
Intro
The Nightstick name has been in Fischer’s lineup for many years, historically serving as their competition park ski — if you’ve watched any slopestyle, big air, or halfpipe events in the past decade, there’s a decent chance you’ve seen a Nightstick.
However, Fischer recently created a whole new Nightstick collection, and these skis are pretty different from their predecessors. As we wrote when the line was first released, the Nightstick collection now includes three skis with widths ranging from 90 mm to 104 mm, as well as the kid-friendly 80mm-wide Nightstick Team.
The new Nightsticks are still designed with freestyle skiing in mind, but they now have more of a focus on all-mountain versatility. The Nightstick 97 is meant to be the most adaptable of the group, and we’ve now been testing our pair for over a year. So, where does the Nightstick 97 fall in the current all-mountain-freestyle category, and should you have it on your radar?
We’re now ready to weigh in, and we’ll start with this ski’s design and specs.
What Fischer says about the Nightstick 97:
“Crafted to play more – unleash your creativity with the Nightstick 97. The full sandwich construction provides tons of pop and stability for stomping the biggest jumps, massive airs, long rails and lots of fun on the slopes and in the side- and backcountry. Titanal increases the durability for heavy use. The most versatile ski in the Nightstick family is the perfect companion for a creative day of skiing in the side and backcountry, in the park and on the piste. No matter where you want to live out your creativity, the Nightstick 97 is the perfect all-rounder for all needs. The Sandwich Sidewall Construction, Poplar Woodcore, Air Tec, Ti-reinforced, Fiber Tech and Sintered Bases ensure a robust freestyle ski with the best wear characteristics.”
Construction
The Nightstick 97 features a full poplar wood core, partial titanal metal layer around the middle of the ski, fiberglass laminate, and a pretty traditional sandwich construction. In addition to improving edge hold and suspension, Fischer says that the titanal layer in the binding area also “prevents the edge deforming when landing on the rail.”
Shape & Rocker Profile
Through the front half, the Nightstick 97’s shape looks a lot like Fischer’s more directional Ranger skis, including some early tapering and a somewhat blocky tip shape. Out back, the Nightstick 97 has a more symmetrical shape and a slightly more tapered tail.
The Nightstick 97’s rocker profile is fairly conservative for a freestyle ski. It has a fully twinned tail, but its rocker lines aren’t very deep, and it has a lot of camber underfoot.
Flex Pattern
Here’s how we’d characterize the flex pattern of the Nightstick 97:
Tips: 6-6.5
Shovels: 6.5-7.5
In Front of Toe Piece: 8-10
Underfoot: 10
Behind the Heel Piece: 9.5-8.5
Tails: 8-6.5
The Nightstick 97’s tips and tails are pretty easy to bend, but most of the ski is pretty stiff. It has a more symmetrical flex pattern than the Fischer Ranger skis, but the Nightstick 97’s back half is still stiffer than its front.
Sidecut Radius
At 18 meters for the 184 cm length, the Nightstick 97’s stated sidecut radius is just about average for its class.
Mount Point
The Nightstick 97’s recommended mount point is pretty centered at about -3.5 cm from true center, though Fischer also includes marks for +1, +2, -1, and -2 cm from that primary recommended line.
Weight (and Comparisons)
Our 184 cm Nightstick 97 weighs about 1950 grams per ski, which is neither notably light nor particularly heavy for its class.
For reference, here are some of our measured weights (per ski in grams) for some notable skis. As always, keep in mind the length and width differences to try to keep things more apples-to-apples.
1707 & 1752 4FRNT Switch, 184 cm
1735 & 1741 Elan Ripstick 96, 182 cm
1778 & 1792 Liberty Scope 104, 188 cm
1800 & 1824 Romp Zorro 100, 183 cm
1808 & 1823 Shaggy’s Ahmeek 95, 180 cm
1806 & 1884 Head Oblivion 102, 189 cm
1824 & 1843 Season Kin, 181 cm
1830 & 1860 ZAG Slap 98, 180 cm
1831 & 1844 K2 Mindbender 96C, 178 cm
1851 & 1868 Folsom Completo 100, 186 cm
1869 & 1873 Line Sakana, 181 cm
1880 & 1887 Blizzard Rustler 9, 180 cm
1883 & 1906 Season Aero, 180 cm
1893 & 1925 Icelantic Nomad 100, 188 cm
1894 & 1919 RMU Apostle 96 Ti, 184 cm
1896 & 1942 K2 Reckoner 102, 184 cm
1901 & 1902 Renoun Endurance 98, 184 cm
1916 & 1963 DPS Carbon Wailer 100, 184 cm
1917 & 1961 DPS Carbon Wailer 90, 184 cm
1925 & 1934 Black Crows Camox, 186 cm
1929 & 1982 Faction Studio 2, 183 cm
1933 & 1977 Line Optic 88, 184cm
1938 & 2003 Nordica Unleashed 98, 186 cm
1944 & 1952 Fischer Nightstick 97, 184 cm
1947 & 1962 Meier Wrangler, 185 cm
1956 & 1976 Blizzard Rustler 10, 186 cm
1976 & 2000 Line Pandora 99, 184 cm
1980 & 1981 ZAG Mata Ti, 178 cm
1997 & 2001 ZAG Slap 104, 188 cm
1999 & 2060 Line Blade, 181 cm
2024 & 2112 Dynastar M-Free 99, 185 cm
2054 & 2063 Salomon QST 98, 189 cm
2057 & 2061 Fischer Ranger 102, 183 cm
2077 & 2096 Line Optic 96, 184 cm
2090 & 2122 Fischer Nightstick 104, 188 cm
For the 2024-2025 season, we’ve partnered with Carv to use their Carv 2 sensors and digital ski coach app to not only learn more about our own skiing technique, but also add more useful info to our ski reviews. Here, you’ll see us reference some of the data that the Carv 2 sensors record and analyze while we’re skiing. Check out our announcement to learn more about how Carv works, why we’re excited to use it as a tool for our reviews, and how to get a discount on your own Carv setup.
FULL REVIEW
Groomers / On-Piste Performance
Luke Koppa (5’8”, 155 lbs / 173 cm, 70 kg): For what it is, the Nightstick 97 is a very good carver. What I’m alluding to in that caveat is the fact that the Nightstick 97 is a freestyle-oriented all-mountain ski; it’s a far cry from a dedicated carver like, say, the Fischer The Curv GT 85, but the Nightstick 97 is a lot of fun on piste relative to its class.
Across most conditions and terrain, the Nightstick 97 responds best to a fairly centered / upright stance where you’re not trying to put all your force / pressure into the shovels of the ski. You can drive this ski’s shovels pretty hard, and doing so will bend it into pretty tight turns, but you can also just initiate turns by rolling the ski over from your ankles.
Either way, the Nightstick 97 feels surprisingly precise on piste. Like Fischer’s much more directional Ranger skis, the Nightstick 97 offers very good edge hold underfoot, but the Nightstick 97’s tips actually feel a bit more precise than the Rangers. As a result, I find it easier to trust the Nightstick 97 to hold on firm slopes since most of the length of the ski feels pretty secure once on edge (rather than just a small portion around the binding area).
When it comes to turn shapes, the Nightstick 97’s happy place seems to be those around the middle of the bell curve. I can’t bend it into super tight, Slalom-like arcs, and it can feel a bit twitchy when making very large turns at speed, but it’s enjoyable to make a variety of medium-ish turns at various speeds and slope angles.
For reference, my Carv data says that my best runs on this ski tended to include turn sizes between roughly 17–21 meters. That range is longer than many all-mountain skis I’ve tested this season, and I think that’s at least partly due to the Nightstick 97’s less directional overall design. I can often force most skis into tighter arcs by simply driving their shovels harder, but doing so on the Nightstick 97 usually just resulted in its tail releasing and sliding out a bit at the end of the turn.
This ski has still been totally predictable on all sorts of groomers, from icy to slushy. But especially for directional skiers, there might be a bit of a learning curve. Once you get used to it, though, the Nightstick 97 can lay down high-edge-angle arcs on most groomed trails.
Dylan Wood (5’10.5”, 160 lbs / 179 cm, 72.5 kg): Luke summed it up nicely. The Nightstick 97 is a good carver for the All-Mountain Freestyle class. It is pretty easy to carve, offers good edge hold, and is happy to be carved from a more centered stance. I enjoyed the feeling of almost the entire ski bending on piste, and found it pretty easy to get into a fun rhythm of carved GS turns.
Moguls, Trees, & Tight Terrain
Luke: When navigating through tight off-piste terrain, the Nightstick 97 can be a bit of a mixed bag.
On one hand, it’s a fairly light ski with a twinned tail and a not-super-stiff flex pattern — all traits that typically make a ski easier in moguls, trees, etc. But the Nightstick 97 also has a fairly long tail (due to its centered mount point of about -3.5 cm from true center), and its tail isn’t as loose as I would’ve guessed.
At first, I struggled a bit on this ski when lapping Crested Butte Mountain Resort’s big, tightly spaced mogul lines. When trying to ski it as I would a more directional ski, I occasionally found myself getting bucked forward if I tried to drive its shovels into a mogul trough, and I often felt the tails hook up / dig into the snow more than I expected.
However, I started enjoying it a lot more once I tried sticking to a more centered stance. Rather than deliberately driving the shovels over each bump, I flicked the Nightstick 97 between bumps mostly using my ankles and tried to stay in the troughs (rather than going up and down the mounds). Doing that, I didn’t often feel a lack of support from the front of the ski, nor did its tails get hung up as often. And, despite this being slightly different from my preferred approach in bumps, I actually logged some of my best Carv Ski:IQ mogul-run scores on the Nightstick 97.
Putting aside the caveats about skiing stance and style, the Nightstick 97 is, overall, a very agile ski that enables quick changes of direction. It’s also pretty energetic and encourages me to gap between bumps. But it’s not the most forgiving if you get back on its tail — not because its tail feels super stiff, but because it can get hung up and dig into the snow when pressured, especially in very tight moguls that are pretty firm.
(For reference, we double checked that our pair is actually flat / not edge-high. Detuning the tails helps loosen them up a bit, and I suspect that most people will prefer the Nightstick 97 as an all-mountain ski after taking a gummy stone or the like to the rockered portion of its tail.)
In sum, I think those accustomed to skis with pretty centered mount points will find the Nightstick 97 quick and lively in tight terrain, but you should know that it’s not one of the surfier / looser skis in its class. And if you’re coming from more rearward-mounted skis, you may need to adapt to a slightly different skiing stance to make the most of this ski. (I did try it mounted farther back, which I’ll touch on below.)
Dylan: My experience on the Nightstick 97 in tight terrain and bumps depended on the conditions. In firm and/or chalky snow, I had a hard time finding the fore-aft balance point of the ski in order to release and slide it around. But, when conditions were even just slightly soft —e.g., a couple of inches of soft snow on hardpack or early afternoon slush — I enjoyed the Nightstick 97 in tight terrain much more, having an easier time pivoting the ski. Overall, it does prefer a more centered stance and requires good control and balance to ski fast in tight terrain.
Powder & Soft Chop
Luke: I’ve only skied the Nightstick 97 in fairly shallow chop, but it generally did fine there. As Dylan just touched on, in soft snow, this ski is notably looser and easier to pivot around than it is on firm conditions. It doesn’t offer amazing flotation, but for a ~100mm-wide freestyle ski, I’d call it about average when it comes to flotation and maneuverability in soft conditions.
Dylan: I was only able to ski the Nightstick 97 in shallow powder over a tangible firm base, where it exhibited good flotation for its width, with its soft tips planing well above the snow surface.
Firm Chop & Crud
Luke: The Nightstick 97 encourages a fairly conservative approach when skiing rough, challenging snow.
At about 1950 grams per ski for our 184 cm length, the Nightstick 97 isn’t wildly light, but heavier skis do have a clear advantage when dealing with inconsistent conditions. The Nightstick 97’s suspension is still good enough for me to enjoy skiing it in firm snow, but it can also feel a bit hooky when trying to make extended drifts / skids in firm, roughly textured snow. The preferred approach I found was to make lots of quick, short, snappy turns in these conditions, often catching a bit of air in between, rather than making big, high-speed arcs or extended McConkey-style drifts.
All that said, most skis in the Nightstick 97’s class offer similar suspension and stability — few of them are ideal for skiing really aggressively in cruddy conditions. So, the Nightstick 97 isn’t an outlier in these regards, but it might be worth looking at more rockered and/or more tapered alternatives if you want something that’s particularly easy to skid and slide around in variable snow.
Dylan: As I mentioned earlier, the firmer the snow, the less I got along with the Nightstick 97. It lacks the mass and/or stiffness to be able to really charge through firm chop & crud. But, as Luke mentioned, no other ski in its class really excels at this, so I’m not disappointed with how this ski handles these conditions.
Mount Point
Luke: I’ve spent most of my time on the Nightstick 97 with it mounted on its recommended line, which is about -3.5 cm from true center. Given what I outlined above, I also tried it mounted at about -5 cm from true center. For reference, I regularly test skis with mount points anywhere from dead-center all the way to -14 cm. The skis I personally enjoy the most tend to have recommended mount points ranging between -2 cm to -8 cm from true center.
Overall, I didn’t find the Nightstick 97 to behave all that differently when mounted at either of those mount points. At -5 cm, the Nightstick 97’s tail felt a bit more inclined to release before the end of a hard carve and its shovels felt just a tad more supportive, but I still found myself having to ski it with a similar stance and style whether it was mounted at -3.5 cm or -5 cm. I suspect that most people who will get along with this ski will also get along with its recommended mount point.
Dylan: I tried the Nightstick 97 both in front of and behind the recommended line and found myself preferring the recommended mount point.
Playfulness / Freestyle Performance
Luke: Dylan is far better than I am in the freestyle department so I’ll mostly defer to him here, but I’ll offer some quick thoughts. In the air and when skiing switch, the Nightstick 97 feels very balanced to me. Its tail feels pretty supportive and has kept me upright on many backseat landings, and it has a pretty low swing weight. It’s not a noodle that’s extremely easy to bend, but it doesn’t take lots of effort to bend its shovels and tails for nollies / ollies, and it produces a nice amount of rebound when doing so.
As I mentioned above, the Nightstick 97 isn’t a super loose / surfy ski, and I think that’s the main thing to keep in mind if you’re considering it as an all-mountain-freestyle or park option. Personally, I really like how well it carves, but I could foresee it not being the most forgiving of slightly under- or over-rotated tricks when trying to shuffle the ski back to the fall line.
Dylan: The Nightstick 97 performs very well in the park. It’s balanced in the air, with a low swing weight that allows for quick spins and tweaks. I also really like its flex pattern in the park, with supportive tails that still allow you to generate good pop, and also have your back when you’re a little, well, backseat. It isn’t the softest and most playful option, but its moderate flex pattern is great for butters, with its poppy tips finishing them nicely.
Who’s It For?
Luke: To me, the Nightstick 97 seems most ideal for freestyle-minded skiers who are looking for a versatile all-mountain option and/or a wider park ski that’s pretty precise and agile.
Provided that you get along with the skiing stance / style that the Nightstick 97 prefers, it’s fun to ski in a very wide range of conditions and terrain. It carves really well for its class, feels agile off piste, and can handle most variable conditions as long as you’re not trying to make big, fast turns through them.
The Nightstick 97 can still work for directional skiers seeking an agile and lively setup, but it will likely require some adaptation on the skier’s part since it generally prefers a more centered, upright stance than many directional skis (and even some freestyle-oriented models).
Dylan: I totally agree.
Bottom Line
The Fischer Nightstick 97 is a well-rounded, freestyle-oriented ski. It might not feel intuitive to all skiers, particularly those coming from very rearward-mounted skis. But for those who get along with its mount point and flex pattern, it’s a reliable tool for a wide range of conditions and terrain.
Our Deep Dives, Winter Buyer’s Guide, & Flash Reviews
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On that note, you can also get our thoughts on this ski and 300+ others in our 2024-2025 Blister Winter Buyer’s Guide. BLISTER+ members already have access, or you can purchase the guide on its own to get the the print copy + digital version at no extra cost, or the digital-only edition.
Deep Dive: Fischer Nightstick 97
We compare the Fischer Nightstick 97 to the Fischer Nightstick 104, Fischer Ranger 96, Fischer Ranger 102, Liberty Scope 104, Rossignol Sender Free 100, Black Crows Camox, Nordica Unleashed 98, K2 Reckoner 102, Faction Studio 2, Dynastar M-Free 99, Season Kin, Line Optic 96, RMU Apostle 96 Ti, J Skis Allplay, 4FRNT Switch, Prior Northwest 100, Line Chronic 101, Völkl Revolt 104, and Whitedot Altum 104.
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2024-2025 Blister Digital Winter Buyer’s Guide
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Flash Review: 24/25 Fischer Nightstick 97
We’ve been spending time on Fischer’s new Nightstick 97 — here are our initial thoughts on this all-mountain freestyle ski, including some comparisons to Fischer’s Ranger skis.
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Fischer Announces 2025 Nightstick Freeski Collection
Fischer has officially announced their 24/25 Nightstick collection, which includes four brand-new freestyle skis — here are the details.