Ski: 2023-2024 Wagner Summit 91, 182 cm
Test Location: Crested Butte Mountain Resort, CO
Days Skied: ~10
Available Lengths: 168, 175, 182 cm (custom available)
Blister’s Measured Tip-to-Tail Length (straight-tape pull): 179.8 cm
Blister’s Measured Weight per Ski: 2072 & 2094 grams
Stated Dimensions: 133-91-115 mm
Blister’s Measured Dimensions: 134-90.5-115 mm
Stated Sidecut Radius (182 cm): 17.7 meters
Measured Tip & Tail Splay (ski decambered): 76 mm / 26 mm
Measured Traditional Camber Underfoot: 1 mm
Core Materials: aspen/beech + titanal layers + fiberglass laminate (custom available)
Base: sintered, “extra thick”
Factory Recommended Mount Point: -10 cm from center; 80 cm from tail
Boots / Bindings Used: Tecnica Mach1 MV 130, Lange Shadow 130 LV, Atomic Redster CS 130, Atomic Hawx Ultra 130 / Salomon Warden 13
Intro
Wagner has been making fully custom skis in Telluride, CO for many years now. However, for the past few seasons, they’ve also been offering skis in their “Factory” line, which feature standardized shapes, core constructions, and rocker profiles, but with the option to tweak the flex pattern, pick the graphic, and add optional upgrades.
Wagner launched their Factory line at our inaugural Blister Summit, where they built several different models for attendees to test; they now use the “Summit” name to designate each model, and they’ve continued to add additional models over the past few years.
The latest Wagner Summit ski is the Summit 91 — a metal-laminate all-mountain ski that serves as the narrowest and most firm-snow-oriented of the collection. Several of our reviewers tested it before, during, and after Blister Summit 2023, and then we’ve continued to do so at the start of the 23/24 season. Time to dive in:
Construction
The Summit 91 comes standard with an aspen / beech wood core, titanal metal layers, fiberglass laminate, and “extra thick” bases and edges. Like the other Wagner Summit skis, you have the option to upgrade to a faster “P-tex 4000 Electra high-carbon base” and add Aramid reinforcements for the sidewalls, edges, and bases; this is dubbed the “Flow Bundle” and costs an additional $300.
Shape & Rocker Profile
Unsurprisingly, the Summit 91 bears a strong resemblance to the Summit 97. The Summit 91 features a slightly longer effective edge and slightly shallower rocker lines, particularly at the tip. Overall, the Summit 91 has a fairly traditional shape for a ~90mm-wide ski, but with a bit more tip and tail rocker than some other options in its class, such as the Blizzard Brahma 88.
Flex Pattern
Here’s how we’d characterize the flex pattern of the Summit 91:
Tips: 7
Shovels: 7-7.5
In Front of Toe Piece: 8-9.5
Underfoot: 10
Behind the Heel Piece: 9.5-8.5
Tails: 8-7
Overall, the Summit 91’s “standard” flex pattern feels fairly accessible through the front and stiffens up smoothly as you move from the shovels to the stout midsection. The very end of the tail isn’t super stiff for this category (~90mm-wide, directional skis), but its back half is a bit stiffer overall than the front. Its flex pattern is pretty similar to the Wagner Summit 97, with the main difference being that the Summit 91 feels a bit stiffer at the very ends.
Like the other Wagner Summit skis, you can stick with the Summit 91’s standard flex pattern, or opt for a softer or stiffer flex pattern.
Sidecut Radius
The Summit 91’s stated sidecut radius for the 182 cm length is 17.7 meters — nothing particularly out of the ordinary for this category.
Mount Point
At about -10 cm from true center, the Summit 91’s recommended mount point is firmly in the traditional / directional world.
Weight
Our pair of the 182 cm Summit 91 came in just shy of 2100 grams per ski, which is fairly heavy for its dimensions. But as we discussed in our reviews of the Summit 97 and Summit 107, we won’t be quick to complain about that weight. Pete Wagner designed the Summit 91 to be an all-mountain ski for when conditions are on the firmer end of the spectrum, and if you want a ski that feels nice / not harsh on firm snow, weight is generally going to be your friend.
For reference, here are some of our measured weights (per ski in grams) for a few notable skis. As always, keep in mind the length and width differences of each ski listed to keep things more apples-to-apples.
1780 & 1800 Line Blade Optic 92, 182 cm (22/23–23/24)
1781 & 1795 Atomic Maverick 100 Ti, 180 cm (21/22–23/24)
1807 & 1840 Atomic Bent 100, 188 cm (18/19–23/24)
1808 & 1823 Shaggy’s Ahmeek 95, 180 cm (21/22–22/23)
1810 & 1828 Armada Declivity 92 Ti, 180 cm (20/21–23/24)
1824 & 1835 Black Crows Serpo, 180.1 cm (21/22–22/23)
1849 & 1887 DPS Pagoda 90 RP, 184 cm (20/21–22/23)
1854 & 1863 Salomon Stance 90, 182 cm (23/24)
1880 & 1887 Blizzard Rustler 9, 180 cm (23/24)
1883 & 1906 Season Aero, 180 cm (20/21–22/23)
1893 & 1897 Salomon QST 92, 184 cm (22/23–23/24)
1900 & 1908 Atomic Maverick 95 Ti, 180 cm (21/22–23/24)
1915 & 1937 K2 Mindbender 89Ti, 182 cm (22/23–23/24)
1925 & 1934 Black Crows Camox, 186.5 cm (19/20–22/23)
1933 & 1943 Norse Enduro, 188 cm (20/21–22/23)
1946 & 1968 Salomon Stance 96, 182 cm (23/24)
1952 & 1964 Folsom Cash 93, 185 cm (22/23–23/24)
1976 & 2028 Parlor Cardinal Pro, 182 cm (19/20–21/22)
1985 & 2006 Parlor Cardinal 100, 185 cm (16/17–21/22)
1990 & 2036 Blizzard Brahma 88, 177 cm (20/21–23/24)
1998 & 2044 4FRNT MSP 99, 181 cm (17/18–22/23)
1999 & 2060 Line Blade, 181 cm (20/21–23/24)
2008 & 2015 Folsom Spar 88, 182 cm (19/20–23/24)
2010 & 2023 Moment Commander 98, 182 cm (20/21–22/23)
2024 & 2112 Dynastar M-Free 99, 185 cm (21/22–23/24)
2043 & 2089 Volkl M6 Mantra, 177 cm (21/22–23/24)
2047 & 2082 4FRNT MSP 91, 181 cm (22/23–23/24)
2053 & 2059 J Skis Fastforward, 181 cm (22/23)
2054 & 2063 Salomon QST 98, 189 cm (21/22–23/24)
2072 & 2094 Wagner Summit 91, 182 cm (23/24)
2077 & 2096 Line Blade Optic 96, 184 cm (22/23–23/24)
2128 & 2186 J Skis Masterblaster, 181 cm (21/22)
2165 & 2186 Wagner Summit 97, 182 cm (21/22–23/24)
2178 & 2195 Volkl M6 Mantra, 184 cm (21/22–23/24)
2256 & 2284 Nordica Enforcer 94, 186 cm (20/21–23/24)
2281 & 2284 Blizzard Bonafide 97, 177 cm (20/21–23/24)
Now, let’s get to on-snow performance:
FULL REVIEW
Luke Koppa (5’8”, 155 lbs / 173 cm, 70 kg): We began skiing Wagner’s latest “Factory Ski” before Blister Summit 2023, then put days on it throughout the rest of the spring, and eventually got back on it at the start of the 2023-2024 season.
Jonathan Ellsworth, Dylan Wood, and I have all been skiing the Summit 91, and as was the case with the other Wagner Summit skis we tested, I think the Summit 91 offers a lot to like for certain types of skiers.
Groomers / On-Piste
Many ~90mm-wide skis spend a significant portion of their lives on groomed trails, so I always have pretty high expectations for this sort of ski when it comes to on-piste performance. And when we’re talking about ~90mm-wide all-mountain skis, I ideally want them to be notably better overall than other, wider all-mountain skis.
The Summit 91 has lived up to my expectations, and maybe even surpassed them. Its big, minimally tapered, and fairly soft shovels are pretty easy to bend and quick to pull me into a carved turn. Then, the Summit 91’s stiffer midsection offers very respectable edge hold for this class, even on quite firm, man-made snow. Lastly, its stiffer tail (relative to its shovels) will pop me out of a turn with enough energy to encourage me to try to time the transitions of my turns with little rollers and humps, in order to catch a bit of air.
In terms of turn shapes, the Summit 91 can handle most of them. I highly doubt I could clear a Slalom course on it, and it starts to feel a little nervous when making really big, Super-G-style arcs, but it’s happy to take care of most of the turn sizes that fall between those ends of the spectrum. I very much appreciate that it allows (and encourages) me to really bend it into tight, high-edge-angle turns when I feel like it, but it still feels pretty calm and predictable when I want or need to let it run and/or feather it into and out of various turn shapes.
As we noted above, the Summit 91 is fairly (but not wildly) heavy for its size, and I’m all for it. It’s not the most energetic ski and definitely not the quickest in its class, but it does offer very nice suspension. And it manages to still produce some energy / pop when bent, so it’s far from completely dead.
Moguls, Trees, & Tight Terrain
So, the Summit 91 is a fun, versatile carver. But how is it off piste?
Overall — and thinking about other skis around the same waist width — I think the Summit 91’s off-piste capabilities are quite good, bordering on excellent, depending on your preferences.
On one hand, the Summit 91 is not nearly as loose, surfy, forgiving, and nimble as a much more rockered, tapered, and lighter ski (e.g., Line Blade Optic 92 & Salomon QST 92). Those skis very much feel like narrower versions of wider all-mountain skis. In the ~90mm-wide category, the Summit 91 feels like more of a middle point between those skis and the others that are basically just wider versions of dedicated piste skis.
What that translates to is a ski that, while not as easy to slash and flick around as something like the QST 92, can handle plenty of tight terrain and variable conditions. The Summit 91 is not nearly as hooky / inclined to cut across the fall line as many skis in its class, and as long as you keep your weight over its shovels / front half, its tail is easy to release and smear.
In very tight moguls with unpredictable patterns / sequences (i.e., stereotypical early season runs at Mt. Crested Butte), the Summit 91 is generally a bit more challenging to ski than something lighter, more rockered, more tapered, and/or with a softer tail. The Summit 91’s tail isn’t very punishing in the grand scheme, but it doesn’t like to be tail-gunned through tight, firm bumps.
As for its swing weight, I didn’t find myself noticing it much at all; while it’s somewhat heavy for its dimensions, I never found myself thinking that the Summit 91 felt particularly “sluggish.”
Firm Chop / Crud
On that note about swing weight, the big upside to the Summit 91’s substantial core construction is that it provides very nice suspension. That’s a high priority for me when it comes to narrower all-mountain skis, since most people typically use them in firmer, harsher, less forgiving snow conditions where a ski’s ride quality is most noticeable.
The Summit 91 isn’t quite as plush-feeling in rough snow as the heavier Wagner Summit 97 and Summit 107, but those three definitely share a lot of family resemblance in terms of their suspension / damping.
When the snow is both really firm and really inconsistent in terms of texture (e.g., “coral reef,” refrozen crud), the Summit 91 requires a pretty cautious approach. It’s better than average in those conditions for its class, but it can be more prone to catching and getting bounced around in rough, variable snow than wider, heavier skis.
Soft Chop & Powder
The Summit 91 handles softer conditions about as well as I could hope for this sort of ski. It’d be far from my first pick for deep snow, but I’ve still had a fun time on it in about 6” / 15 cm of fresh snow. If you find yourself on it on a deep pow day, know that you’ll probably have to be skiing a bit backseat — something I’d say for the vast majority of ~90mm-wide skis.
As the fresh snow gets cut up, the Summit 91’s smooth suspension and “strong but not super stiff” flex pattern help keep it from being easily deflected. Especially in shallower chop, I was impressed by both the stability of the Summit 91 and how rarely I found it getting bogged down in the snow. It’s a blast for skiing fast through soft, shallow chop.
Lastly, while this is a bit of a niche condition, one of the main areas in which I noticed the downside of a narrower (but still versatile) all-mountain ski like the Summit 91, relative to a wider one, was in punchy, “hollow” early season snow. The Summit 91 is pretty happy to pivot and slide around in consistently firm or consistently soft snow, but in crusty conditions with varying snow densities, it definitely got hung up more often than a wider ski did. So if you’ll be skiing a lot of deep snow, or a lot of crusty / grabby / punch conditions, you’ll want to consider a wider alternative.
Playfulness
The Summit 91 isn’t a very playful ski. Sure, it’s got some life to its flex pattern when you bend it, and it’s looser / surfier than many other directional 90mm-wide skis. But it’s still got a very traditional -10 cm recommended mount point. “Playfulness” is relative, but the Summit 91 is clearly a directional ski that was not designed with maximum maneuverability, balance in the air, or freestyle performance as major priorities.
Who’s It For?
Directional skiers who want an all-mountain ski that offers better overall on-piste performance than many of the 100+mm-wide options out there, but that is still quite capable in most off-piste scenarios. And if that sounds like you, the Summit 91 will be particularly appealing if you prioritize a damp, smooth ride quality and good stability at speed over low-speed maneuverability and forgiveness.
Given Wagner’s available flex pattern options, I could see the Summit 91 working for a very wide range of skier ability levels. I think the standard flex pattern will make the most sense for the most people, and I think I could confidently recommend that version to a whole lot of Intermediate through Expert skiers. People who put a lot of force into their skis (whether via their size or their technique) may want to consider the stiffer option. And those who are smaller, less aggressive, and/or more worried about frequently getting caught in the backseat in moguls and trees might want to go with the softer option.
Bottom Line
The Wagner Summit 91 is a very well-sorted, narrower all-mountain ski. It lives up to its “all-mountain” designation, with respectable performance across all sorts of off-piste conditions and terrain, yet it still offers better edge hold, turn initiation, and edge-to-edge quickness than many wider all-mountain alternatives.
Deep Dive Comparisons
Become a Blister Member to check out our Deep Dive comparisons of the Summit 91 to see how it compares to the Wagner Summit 97, Salomon Stance 90, Folsom Cash 93, Shaggy’s Brockway 90, Stereo Piste V3, Peak 88 by Bode, Nordica Enforcer 88, Parlor Cardinal 90, Romp Zorro 89, Black Crows Serpo, Salomon QST 92, Line Blade Optic 92, J Skis Fastforward, K2 Mindbender 89Ti, 4FRNT MSP 91, Folsom Spar 88, Blizzard Brahma 88, Head Kore 93, Atomic Maverick 95 Ti, Armada Declivity 92 Ti, & Volkl M6 Mantra.
