Best All-Mountain Carvers that are also Capable in Firm, Off-piste Conditions
• Volkl Mantra
The Mantra has dominated this category for a while, and while Volkl has tweaked it over the years, we think the most recent iteration is the best. It’s not for everybody—it’s best suited for strong skiers—but it is perfect. Excellent on-piste, excellent off-piste. And to steal a line from our upcoming review, the worse the conditions, the better the Mantra gets.
For those who don’t want or need the metal or the additional stiffness of the Mantra, this is your ski. It’s on-piste carving performance is perhaps slightly ahead of its off-piste prowess in variable conditions, but it can be pushed hard on or off-piste, and responds well to good technique.
The 188cm Rossignol Experience 98 is still probably the best all-mountain ski we’ve seen for bulletproof days. It’s a lot of ski and definitely not the quickest ski out there, but if you mostly like to mach down icy groomers when it hasn’t snowed in a while, we haven’t yet been on anything better.
NEXT PAGE: The Other End of the Spectrum: Best Dedicated Powder Skis
I have been reading your reviews for quite a few months now, and find them extremely serious and down right enjoyable. I do however, have a question for you guys: i hail from Chile and i’ve only recently been introduced to Alpine Touring (though i´ve been skiing for 16 years, and focus mainly on off-piste/sidecountry, avoiding groomers at all costs). Due to prevailing variable snow conditions, i can’t help wonder what ski you’d find most suitable for a 1 ski-quiver designed exclusively for touring. Bear in mind i’m near 6 ft, and weigh less than 170 pounds, meaning i don’t charge my skis so hard. I’ve worked though all your reviews from Las Leñas and NZ (given the similarity of snow conditions) and still haven´t been able to even narrow my search. ¿What would you suggest dear reviewers?
Last thing; my present skis are Fischer Watea 94´s, stiff cambered buggers, which love to carve, but tend to sink in the deep heavy snow south of Santiago (think Catedral in Bariloche).
Thanks, Carlos – given that you’re coming from Watea 94s, it doesn’t sound like you’re looking for a super lightweight ski. And you don’t say that you’re looking to go wider, so I might consider the 185cm Nordica Hell & Back, or DPS Wailer 99. We haven’t yet skied the Rossignol SIN 7 or the LINE Sick
Day 95, but those might be worth a look, too. And if you are willing to go fatter, the Rossi Soul 7 or LINE Sick Day 110 will be better in pow than what you have, but perhaps a bit less good than your 94s in variable. But start by reading our reviews of those skis and see what you think.
Hi Guys,
I’m a huge fan of your site and your reviews.
One thing I have often wondered is why you haven’t reviewed the Blizzard Bonafide’s?
Is it because they are over-hyped? Or just that you haven’t been able to get hold of them?
They sound like they would be a contender in this category.
Thanks, Tim. We’ve written about this elsewhere on the site, but Jason Hutchins and I both skied the Bonafide and disliked it. As we were preparing our reviews, we were told that we’d been given a pre-production version of the Bonafide that had a screwed up flex pattern. So we agreed to hold off on the reviews, but then never received a non-screwed up pair. But I’m certain we’ll ski the Bonafide this season, and we’ll see what we find.
I agree with Jonathon. I’ve been skiing for 40+ years in Colorado. Racing, big mountain, groomers, trees, you name it. I skied the Blizzard Bonifides for 3 days and disliked them. They have been hyped a lot by the company with this award and that award – all paid for advertorial awards. The ski is stiff, and other than on non-icy groomers, not that great or fun. There are a lot of other skis out there that outperform the Bonifides and are way more fun!
Try the Atomic Automatics or Rituals. Both great skis and more fun than you can imagine. And why ski if its all work and no fun ?
Just to be clear, Brad – we were told our pair had a flex pattern that was stiffer than the production Bonafides. That’s why we held off on the review. We should be getting on production Bonafides in the near future … and we’ll see what we find.
Hey guys, i was wondering what ski would be best for me. I live in telluride, Colorado, ski big mountain, and compete, i am 6’4 and weigh 180lbs. I like to ski aggressively, and i grew up racing. I like to hit big cliffs and ski fast. I have been considering the Blizzard Cochies, the Volkl Katana, and the Dynastar Cham 107. Out of these skis, or any others, which do you think would be best for me?
Thanks, Theo
Hey, Theo – sounds like you need to demo. We haven’t skied the 190 Cham 107, and hear good things. We have skied & reviewed the 191 Katana, and for speed and cliffs, it’d be phenomenal. And you can read our reviews of the 185 and 193 Cochise – I’m not sure whether you’d feel more comfortable on the 185 or 193 Cochise.
How about a “Best Of” for backcountry skis?