2026-2027 Salomon, Atomic, Head, Rossignol, Stockli, and Black Crows Demo Day

Tester:

Kris: 60-year-old who prefers finesse and technique over power, and has a love of high speeds and junky snow. Ex-PSIA level 2 instructor, Beer League and NASTAR racer.

Conditions:

Solidly frozen groomers with a fine dusting of sugar on top in the morning, breaking down into soft slush bumps and chunk by lunch. Sunny and warming, with increasing wind in the afternoon.

Skis listed in the order tested

 

Stockli Laser SC, 164 cm, 120-70-102, R=13.8 m:

I managed to hop on the SL CPT last year and found it to be a fairly demanding short turn specialist. The SC adds a bit of width underfoot and in the tail, and it feels a bit softer and more sprightly. It was fun and zippy when driven from the front, but it's still fairly stiff and can feel cranky and unforgiving if your technique is off. Racers and strong advanced/expert skiers who like short turns will likely love this ski.

Stockli Montero AS cm, 172, 127-74-107, R=14.8 m:

The Montero AS is another damp, smooth Stockli; but damp and smooth doesn't equate to stiff or hard to ski in this one. It can be coaxed into short turns and slow speeds, but its happy place is medium to long turns at eye-watering speeds. The AS had no problems with frozen groomers or the increasing piles of spring slush later in the day. This ski is strong enough that you could size down with very little loss in stability, but a decent gain in maneuverability.

Salomon Addikt 66 Pro, 170 cm, 120-66-104, R=15 m:

 

Whoa!!! All the stability and guts of a slalom race ski with a huge dose of fun! How did they DO that??? Poppy and grippy, this is the most fun I've had on a slalom ski in a long time. Advanced and expert skiers will get the most from the Addikt 66 Pro, but it really is accessible enough for upper intermediates to learn the joy of short turns. I spent the whole time on it just grinning and giggling. This was one of the 2 winners of the year for me.

Head Kore 93 Ti, 163 cm, 128-92-114, R=13.3 m:

 

 I've tried multiple versions of the Head Kore and Joy over the years, and I've hated all of them except the Wild Joy. I always found them to be too light and stiff to be anything other than rattly and jarring—until now. Head has added metal to their Kore line, which effectively and quite nicely dampened the behaviors I liked the least. I found the 93 Ti to be most comfortable in medium and long turns, and it lacked grip on the firm morning groomers when pushed, but was super forgiving and perfectly happy to cruise around at "normal person" speeds. The 163 was noticeably too short and too soft for me. This is a great ski for intermediates and chill advanced skiers to begin exploring the whole mountain.

Head Discovery 86 Pro, 170 cm, 130-86-113, R=15.2 m:

 

Ho-ly-cow!!! The Discovery series is built with Auxetic material and Spaceframe construction, which sounds like a bunch of silly marketing technobabble. What it means on the hill, though, is massive amounts of fun for everyone. The Auxetic material stiffens the ski as you put more force into it, so the ski starts out as a mellow, easy going, go anywhere ski; it stays damp as the speeds and forces pick up; and turns into a powerful, bouncy, "Wheeeee!!!" fest when it's really driven hard and fast. Every run had me giggling and woo-hooing as we rolled into the lift maze. I had my fastest run of the day on the 86 Pro, even in the developing afternoon slushy crud. It felt really weird to check all 3 boxes for Nimble, Balanced, and Burly on my ski scorecard, but it was absolutely true for this one.

 

This was my other winner of the day and I would LOVE to replace my aging RTM 84s and Fischer Hybrid 8.0s with the 86 Pro.

Rossignol Super Arcade 94, 178 cm, 138-94-127, R=15 m:

I have to admit I only tried these because of the color, but I was surprised by just how strong this ski is. If you're an aspiring big mountain skier, or prefer to deal with spring crud by blowing through it at speed, this is your ski. Short turns? No. Slow speeds? Again, no. Medium turns? Maybe, but why?? Point em downhill, put the pedal to the metal, and hang on! There is a small chance that my impression of big and burly is a function of the length (178), but I really don't think so. I seriously wish I'd had a chance to ski it back-to-back with the standard Arcade 94 to see if there was a detectable difference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Atomic Redster Q9.8, 173 cm, 134-84.5-118.8, R=14.4 m:

 

The Q9.8 is another hard charging race-based ski, with enough waist width to make it a versatile all mountain ride for strong skiers. It's on the burly end of the flex spectrum and lacks forgiveness, especially at slower speeds. Even with the 14 m turn radius in the 173 cm, it excels at medium and long turns and stays glued to the snow. The width dimensions and turn radius for the Q9.8 vary by ski length.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Salomon QST 94, 164 cm, 132-94-118, R=14.5 m:

 

The QST is a nimble, forgiving ski for lovers of short and medium turns at more leisurely speeds. Its long tip rocker and soft flex makes it quick, poppy, and extremely versatile in softer snow. Even with the redesigned tail, the soft flex and easy going nature means it suffers a bit on harder groomers. The 164 cm length felt distinctly too short for me, leaving me wishing for more length, more stiffness, and more rebound. This is another winner for more relaxed skiers who want to start exploring the whole mountain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Thank you again to the reps for Stockli, Atomic, Salomon, Head, Rossignol, and Black Crowes, and the crews from Bill & Paul's Sporthaus and Caberfae Peaks for making this such an amazing event every year!!

2025-2026 Salomon, Atomic, Head, Rossignol, Stockli, and Black Crows Demo Day

Tester:

Kris: 59 year old who prefers finesse and technique over power, and has a love of high speeds and junky snow. Ex-PSIA level 2 instructor, League and Nastar racer.

A side note for this year - I've spent the last few years feeling out the offerings from Atomic, Salomon, Head, and Rossignol, so when they added Stockli and Black Crows to the line up this year, I spent a majority of my time at those tents.

Conditions:

Solidly frozen groomers with a fine dusting  of sugar on top in the morning, breaking down into soft slush bumps and chunk by lunch. Sunny and warming, with increasing wind in the afternoon.

Skis listed in the order tested

Atomic Volant 7000, 173 cm, 128.5-77-106, R=15 m:

Break out your Windex and Pledge, ladies and gents.....Volant is BACK!! Atomic has brought them back from the dead with a snazzy new charcoal top sheet and the same great performance. This ski is absolutely solid, unshakable, and buttery smooth, and none of us found its speed limit. It can be pushed into semi-short turns, but you're doing yourself and the ski a disservice if you do. Instead, roll this ski on edge, put the pedal to the metal, and just stand there grinning foolishly while it takes you for an adrenaline-fueled ride. I skied it on early morning crust, while others skied it later in the day, but it maintained its composure regardless of the conditions. There are 3 models of the ski, and this is the middle one. The sidecut dimensions change based on the length of the ski.

 

This is a premium ski, so I suggest you don't demo it without significant funds because you WILL want to own it. 

 

 

 

 

Stockli Laser SL CPT, 165 cm, 120-66-98, R=13.6 m:

 

This year, my entire race team was on Stockli race skis and they all went on and on about how awesome they are, so I HAD to try these out. I had demoed Stockli Stormriders previously and really wasn't impressed, so I didn't understand the hype. After riding these, I totally get it now! They are super damp and compliant, but a bit unforgiving. Driving the tips really brought them around in short turns while skiing centered allowed them to rip medium turns just as easily, but make no mistake these are short turn specialists with serious grip on hardpack and ice.

 

 

Stockli Laser GS CSC, 175 cm, 118-68-97, R=17.1 m:

This is another strong, damp ski that just loves to rip. The skis' dampness seriously mutes snow feel, keeping them firmly planted even on rough surfaces. This really encourages you to put all your weight on that outside foot, knowing nothing will shake that ski loose. All that grip is strangely tempered by their willingness to skid when requested and their forgiveness if your balance isn't always spot on. The strength of this ski means you could probably go with a shorter length than you would normally choose.

 

If I decide to step up to true race skis in the future, this will likely be my choice.

 

 

 

Atomic ARC 735, 175 cm, 114-65.5-99.5, R=15.2 m

 
Underneath the cool retro graphics is the heart and construction of the venerable Redster X9s, without the Revoshock dampener. This gives the ski the same level of fun and steadiness as the original X9s, but with less weight and a lighter, snappier feel. While it's a bit narrow for full all-mountain use, it's a total hoot on the groomers, even when they get a bit slushy and chewed up. That extra bit of pop makes even short turns fun.

 

Upper advanced and expert skiers who can rip a solid carve all over the mountain will get the most from this ski.

 

There's even matching poles, goggles, and a hat!

StockliMontero AW, 166 cm, 122-80-106, R=16.0 m

 

What a fun, nimble, and accessible ski! The AW has race ski construction and can carve up a storm when required, but it also has a softer side that makes it fun, snappy, easy going, and forgiving. I had a great time bopping around the slush bumps at the top of the run, then letting them loose on big screaming carves at the bottom. This is a great option for the burgeoning aggressive upper intermediate-advanced woman looking to perfect their centered stance and carving while maintaining the ability to piddle around when the snow gets deeper or messier without getting punished.

 

I did feel the 166 skied a bit short for me, as my usual daily drivers are 167 to 177 cm. Really strong skiers may want to size up.

Black Crows Captis Birdie, 166.2 cm, 127-90-113, R=17 m

 

The Captis Birdie is a women's specific ski that's fun and snappy in medium and short turns. It will do longer turns, but that's not its forte. It's light enough to bop around slush bumps and hang on for carves in softer snow, but that same light snappiness means it will get bounced around on true hardpack and in heavier snow. It's super nimble and forgiving, but skis a bit short. This makes it a great choice for intermediate skiers just starting to venture into crappier snow conditions. Stronger skiers will want to size up.

Black Crows Camox Birdie, 168.1 cm, 125-97-114, R=19 m

 

The Camox Birdie is another women's specific offering from Black Crows. It maintains the nimble poppiness and accessibility of the Captis with a touch more width. Like the Captis, it's a softer ski that tends to ski short and suffers a bit on true hardpack and ice. The Camox is a great choice for lighter aggressive skiers, or those just venturing off piste. It's soft tip and tails really sucked up and swiveled around the slush bumps in the afternoon.

 

Also like the Captis, stronger skiers will want to size up.

Huge thanks going out to Bill and Paul's Sporthaus for arranging this event, Caberfae Peaks for hosting (and feeding) us, and the reps Travis, Patty, Tom, Rick, Ryan, and Tony for sharing their wares, passion, and knowledge with us. This is my favorite ski day of the year, every year!!