2020-2021 Line Sick Day 94

Blister reviews the Line Sick Day 94
Line Sick Day 94, 17/18 Graphics

Ski: 2020-2021 Line Sick Day 94, 186 cm

Available Lengths: 172, 179, 186 cm

Blister’s Measured Tip-to-Tail Length: 185.7 cm

Stated Weight per Ski: 1623 grams

Blister’s Measured Weight per Ski: 1680 & 1707 grams

Stated Dimensions: 131-94-117 mm

Blister’s Measured Dimensions: 131-94-116.5 mm

Stated Sidecut Radius: 17.6 meters (Avg.)

Tip & Tail Splay (ski decambered): 56.5 mm / 19.5 mm

Traditional Camber Underfoot: ~3 mm

Core: Aspen + Carbon Fiber Stringers + Fiberglass Laminate

Base: 1.3 mm sintered

Factory Recommended Mount Point: -9.55 cm from center; 83.3 cm from tail

[Note: We conducted our review on the 17/18 Sick Day 94, which was not changed for 18/19, 19/20, or 20/21, apart from graphics.]

Intro

After spending a lot of time on both the Line Sick Day 104 and Sick Day 114, we’ve become big fans of their respective blends of playfulness, stability, and versatility, especially given their fairly low weights. So now it’s time to take a look at their narrower sibling, the Sick Day 94. It shares many of the same design elements of the Sick Day 104 and 114, so we’re pretty excited to see what this ski can do, and how much family resemblance there is to the Sick Day 104 and 114.

Here’s what Line says about the Sick Day 94:

“Churn through the crud and leave the other nerds in your wake with the Sick Day 94. Quickly stacking up awards the world over, the Sick Day 94 provides unmatched edge hold and a consistent flex. Rally blown out sastrugi and pilfer the unexpected fluff that rolls in with afternoon squalls.”

The “other” nerds? So does that mean that you yourself are a nerd if you’re skiing the SD 94? Nerd or not, this is certainly one of the more colorful ski descriptions we’ve seen, and the key takeaway is that Line seems to be positioning the Sick Day 94 as a one-ski quiver, with an emphasis on firm-snow performance?

Shape / Rocker Profile

All the Sick Day skis share pretty similar shapes and rocker profiles, with the Sick Day 94 having a slightly less tapered shape and mellower rocker profile than the more soft-snow-oriented Sick Day 104.

Compared to other skis in this class, the Sick Day 94’s shape is pretty standard, with minimal tip and tail taper. The Sick Day 94 has a slightly deeper tip rocker line than some other ~95mm-underfoot skis like the Rossignol Experience 94 Ti and J Skis Masterblaster. In the tail, the Sick Day 94 has pretty low tail splay (19.5 mm) and a fairly shallow tail rocker line.

Overall, the shape and rocker profile of the Sick Day 94 look well-suited for firmer conditions, though the moderately deep tip rocker line should help it handle the occasional powder day.

Flex Pattern

Here’s how we’d characterize the flex pattern of the Sick Day 94:

Tips: 6-6.5
Shovels: 7
Front of Bindings: 8
Underfoot: 9
Behind the Heel piece: 8.5
Tails: 7.5-7

Like the other Sick Day skis, the Sick Day 94 has pretty soft tips and shovels, and the tails aren’t super stiff, either. But the flex ramps up smoothly to a fairly strong platform underfoot.

We’ve been impressed by the suspension and damping offered by the Sick Day 104 and 114, given their fairly low weights. We think this is in part due to their more moderate flex patterns, as skis that are both very light and very stiff often feel quite harsh. Based on our experience with the other Sick Days, we expect the Sick Day 94 to offer similarly strong stability for its weight.

Weight

At around 1700 grams for the 186 cm version, the Sick Day 94 is very light for an inbounds ski, and its weight falls more in line with several ~95mm-underfoot touring skis. So, we’ll be comparing it both to some of the heavier all-mountain skis in this class, as well as some lighter backcountry options.

For reference, below are a few of our measured weights (per ski in grams) for some notable skis. As always, keep in mind the length differences to try and keep the comparisons apples-to-apples.

1323 & 1356 K2 Wayback 96, 177 cm (18/19)
1353 & 1376 Blizzard Zero G 95, 185 cm (17/18, 18/19)
1543 & 1565 Salomon MTN Explore 95, 184 cm (17/18, 18/19)
1585 & 1586 Head Kore 93, 180 cm (17/18, 18/19)
1629 & 1684 Elan Ripstick 96, 181 cm (17/18, 18/19)
1633 & 1638 Faction Prime 2.0, 184 cm (17/18, 18/19)
1661 & 1664 Black Crows Camox Freebird, 178 cm (17/18)
1680 & 1707 Line Sick Day 94, 186 cm (17/18, 18/19)
1807 & 1833 Fischer Ranger 98 Ti, 180 cm (17/18, 18/19)
1896 & 1919 Dynastar Legend X96, 186 cm (17/18-18/19)
1921 & 1968 Head Kore 99, 189 cm (18/19)
1931 & 1932 DPS Foundation Cassiar 94, 185 cm (18/19)
1943 & 1968 Liberty VMT 92, 186 cm (18/19)
1966 & 1973 Liberty Origin 96, 187 cm (18/19)
2007 & 2029 Armada Invictus 99 Ti, 187 cm (18/19)
2049 & 2065 Volkl Mantra M5, 177 cm (18/19)
2053 & 2057 Atomic Vantage 97 Ti, 188 cm (18/19)
2062 & 2063 Rossignol Experience 94 Ti, 187 cm (18/19)
2114 & 2133 Nordica Enforcer 93, 185 cm (17/18, 18/19)
2115 & 2149 J Skis Masterblaster, 181 cm (17/18, 18/19)
2124 & 2137 Blizzard Bonafide, 180 cm (17/18, 18/19)
2373 & 2397 Head Monster 98, 184 cm (17/18)

Bottom Line (For Now)

The Sick Day 94 has marketing copy that positions it as a one-ski quiver for all-mountain, inbounds riding. But the weight of the ski makes it a prime candidate as a “50/50” inbounds + touring ski. So is the Sick Day 94 best thought of as an inbounds ski? 50/50 ski? Or dedicated touring ski? That is our primary question, along with how its on-snow performance aligns or departs with the Sick Day 104 and 114.

We’ve been spending some time on the Sick Day 94 already, so stay tuned for updates, and let us know about any questions you’d like to see us address in our full review.

NEXT: ROCKER PROFILE PICS

13 comments on “2020-2021 Line Sick Day 94”

  1. Any chance you guys got an updated review of these guys?
    I would love to know how they perform in the trees and how they float in powder.

    Thank you
    Mike

    • Hi Mike,

      We’ll be posting our full review early this season, and we’re also including the Sick Day 94 in our 18/19 Buyer’s Guide, which will be released this week.

      • Thanks Luke!

        In the mean time, would you say that 186cm skis long or short?

        I’ve found a 186 for a really good price onlune, but afraid it might be a bit too long, as I currently ski Atomic fr102 at 188cm, generally quite happy with them, but would like to replace them with something a bit more bump and tight tree friendly + they don’t fit in my roof box by about 1cm

        • I haven’t been on the Backland 102, but based on my time on the Backland 109 and our measured lengths of that ski (the 188 cm Backland 109 measured 185.7 cm long, which happens to be the exact same as our measured length for the 186 cm Sick Day 94), I’d suspect that the 186 cm SD 94 and 188 cm Backland 102 would feel pretty similar in terms of length. I believe the Backland 102 has more tail splay, but the tip rocker profiles seem pretty similar, so I imagine they’d feel pretty similar in terms of how “long” they ski. Without actually having a pair of Backland 102’s in hand, I unfortunately can’t say much more than that, but hopefully that helps.

        • We definitely still think it’s a good option for the right skier (see our writeup in our 18/19 Buyer’s Guide), we just weren’t able to spend more time on it last season like we’d hoped. But it’s at the top of our list of skis to get back on right away during the 19/20 season, so expect a full review this winter. Apologies for the delay — just a lot of skis out there to review!

  2. Hi Luke how are you!
    Im in the market for a pair of skis and I’m considering the sick line 94. Im a beginner, 6.1 tall and 175 pounds. All i want to do is to have some fun on the mountain. Im 37 so freestyle is out of the equation. Would the sick line 94 in 179 lenght suit me? What about the binding mounting point? Any other reccomendations? Thanx and keep up the great work! Its a joy reading your reviews!

  3. Hello Luke how are you, Im after a pair of skis and the line sick day 95 is in my list. Im a beginner and looking for a ski to have fun in the whole mountain. Im 6.1 tall and 175 pounds. Would this skis suit me? I will ski mainly in the resort. Any other suggestions?
    Thanx a lot and keep up the great work!

  4. crap ! my favorite 50/50 skis just died. unexpectedly ruining my quiver… the sick day 94 could be the ticket. here’s hoping you all get to ride these enough to wtite about them. thanks

  5. Hey Luke

    Been waiting for that full review for two seasons now

    Had to go out and try them myself
    Super Fun ski
    Performed well out west as an everyday ski
    Was fairly nimble in the trees and I didn’t find the tail getting bogged down despite the lack of extensive rocker.
    On groomers it’s exactly as described with tons of rebound out of turns.
    I had them in some pretty steep techy terrain up at kicking horse and found them easy to flick around. Performed well in bumps also. The tail is quite supportive.
    Unfortunately as I’m based out east. I don’t think I’d want this ad my everyday ski. With the conditions being what they are I found a ski of this type (blizzard bushwhacker) to get tossed around pretty fiercely in chop. the majority of big snowfalls we get are heavier snow and a light ski like this tends to get knocked around.
    I have to say in those conditions. You were absolutely dead on with your review of the menace 98. I think that it’s the ideal east coast heavy/wet snow ski if you like to play around on the mountain.

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