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We tested the best backcountry skis from brands like Blizzard, Salomon, K2, Atomic, Voile, Dynafit, DPS, Black Crows, and more to deliver this comprehensive review
The lineup of newly tested skis, including new 2024-2025 season models we were able to purchase and thoroughly test ahead of their release date.
We've tested more than 60 of the best backcountry skis over nearly 10 seasons. Recently, we purchased 17 of today's top models to test side-by-side, applying our special blend of objective analysis and rigorous field testing. Our team of ski guides has decades of cumulative experience working and skiing in the backcountry. They receive extensive input from clients, including beginner backcountry skiers, and are cognizant of all the ways you want to use your skis – even if those desires sometimes diverge from the realities of backcountry skiing. We tested these skis over the entire season on mainly human-powered backcountry trips to assess weight, downhill performance, and stability in all manner of snow conditions. We offer our top picks based on their overall value and tailor our expert recommendations based on everything from weight class to snow climate. Shopping for backcountry skis should be almost as fun as testing them – our comprehensive review will help you choose the best skis for your needs and budget.
Editors' Note: We updated our review of backcountry skis on November 4, 2024. We have added 8 skis to our lineup, including new models from K2, Fischer, Atomic, DPS, Dynafit, and Cardiff Snowcraft. A number of these are 2024-2025 models that we were able to purchase well ahead of their release date to test them throughout the 2023-2024 season.
The Blizzard Zero G 105 is the best all-around backcountry ski we have tested in recent years. It does everything very well, especially when the conditions are soft. At 1500 grams, many lighter options are available, but the lighter models we've tested ski more poorly than the Blizzard. Heading in the opposite direction, one must add at least one hundred grams of mass per ski before matching or exceeding the ski performance of this award winner.
The real and definitive measure of an all-around ski for human-powered use is the ratio of weight to performance. In this metric, the Zero G 105 shares the top of the heap. The main tradeoff for performance is in firm snow. It doesn't grip quite as smoothly or confidently for an all-around ski as we would like. Even though the Zero G 105 does well enough, a slightly narrower ski like the Atomic Backland 95 performs better when the going gets firm.
The K2 Wayback 106 is a now-perennial value recommendation for all-around, all-season human-powered backcountry skiing. It offers well-balanced performance across the entire spectrum of backcountry conditions, tips the scales at a very reasonable weight, and is competitively priced. At 106 mm underfoot, the dimensions are a bit wide for certain areas and ranges dominated by firm snow conditions. However, this ski certainly holds its own against narrower models in our lineup. It may be even more versatile now that many folks are accustomed to this size ski for all-season use. Although the slightly narrower version in the Wayback line might save some weight, we want to point out that the latest version of the Wayback 106 is almost 100 grams lighter per ski than the previous model.
First and foremost, we choose our Best Buy awards based on the best balance of performance and price, but we do account for other factors like relative durability and market availability. The Wayback 106 certainly checks all those boxes, but so do other models, like the comparably sized Elan Ripstick 106. Pinpointing backcountry ski price deals is a challenging task, as prices fluctuate during and from one season to the next. Oftentimes, updated graphics mean that older skis turn over at great prices without any difference in function – it may be worth waiting until the end of the season to pick up this ski.
The Wayback 106 is a time-tested fan-favorite. Whether you're taking them on adventurous expeditions or skiing in your backyard, this slightly wider ski can handle it all.
When you want to make the most of every backcountry ski descent, the Salomon QST Echo 106 is the one you want. The stability combined with the downhill performance makes it an ideal pick for intermediate downhill skiers seeking to hedge their bets in wild snow. And yet, it is just as fun for expert backcountry skiers who really want to maximize their fun on the downhill and don't mind a little bit of a weight penalty to reach that goal. The mass, dampness, and combination of torsional stiffness and longitudinal flex seem to come together to ease soft and firm snow performance while smoothly transitioning from low angle and fast to steep and techy. It almost doesn't matter what snow conditions or terrain you encounter; the QST Echo 106 will ski better than most.
The QST Echo 106 is a good example of foiled generalizations. Despite having one of the softer flex patterns of the skis we tested, it handles firm conditions nearly as well as soft snow. But all of that downhill performance comes at a price. The Echo 106 might be lighter than Salomon's resort options, but it is notably heavier than optimized backcountry skis that balance uphill efficiency with their downhill prowess. You can shave off over 300 grams per ski by choosing a model like the Wayback 106, with only a minor tradeoff in overall stability. Like all things in life, choosing a backcountry ski is a balance of factors. But if your priority is having fun on the downhill, then the Echo 106 is our top pick.
If you value your descent (and we all do when conditions are this good), the QST Echo 106 offers the best balance of weight to waist width to make the most of the downhill.
Are you shopping based on your dreams of the perfect backcountry ski trip, or are you shopping for how you will spend the majority of your season? There is certainly value in the “dress for the job you want” adage – but consider the fun you might leave on the table if you aren't realistic about your “everyday” skiing. If we can come to grips with the fact that most days are going to be on firmer snow than the movies suggest, you will likely be best served by a slightly narrower ski like the Atomic Backland 95. It offers an excellent balance of weight and firm snow performance, earning an award for a realistic, all-around backcountry ski. It's not the best ski we've ever tested in this size range, but it's the best we currently have on our roster.
The Backland 95 is exactly what you need for classic ski touring to modern ski mountaineering. A ski like this could, arguably, earn our highest award – other skis with these dimensions and intent have taken that top spot in the past. Current trends in design have put wider skis like the Fischer Transalp 105 CTI on par with the overall performance of a more classic design like the Backland 95. However, the tradeoff is versatility in powder for versatile performance on the firm snow conditions you regularly encounter throughout the season. If you are lucky enough to do most of your skiing in deep, cold, western regions like the San Juans, Wasatch, or Tetons, our recommendation of a 95 mm ski will seem preposterous. But if you're skiing classic New England hardpack or the wind-blown peaks of Colorado's Front Range, we argue that this is the “every-man” ski designed for uphill skiers coast-to-coast.
The Voile HyperDrifter is the most sizable model in our review but leans towards the center regarding weight. This is a great balance if you seek (and actually find) enough truly deep powder snow to justify dedicated powder touring skis. If you are fortunate and good enough to track down that amount of soft snow via human power, you can't do better than the HyperDrifter. As the biggest ski we have tested, it stands out. We love it for the deepest days and when the pitch is low and the snow is soft.
Many skis on the market make it fun to ski in powder. But let's first examine what makes for great powder skiing. The slope needs to be steep enough to carry speed, and the snow has to be deep, soft, and graduated but not so deep that it bogs you down. Big skis like the HyperDrifter can help you carry speed on gentler terrain, making those days more enjoyable when you have to stay out of the steeper country. Furthermore, it can sometimes be too deep to ski. On those rare and comically strenuous days, huge, light skis like the HyperDrifter will set you up right. These circumstances are pretty narrow and ones in which your all-around backcountry skis will also function. You choose the HyperDrifter to complement all-around skis like the Atomic Backland 95 or Black Crows Camox Freebird.
No other ski in our lineup is as fun as the HyperDrifter when it comes to easy-going pow skiing.
Credit: Jediah Porter
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Peep the tiny skiers in huge terrain. This is the testing environment dreams are made of, and the testing we regularly do on these skis. However, much of our season involves much more “regular” backcountry skiing, too.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Why Trust GearLab
We have been testing backcountry skis for nearly a decade now. We've tested dozens of ski models, some of them in multiple iterations and most over multiple seasons. We test all winter, spring, and early summer (with occasional visits in Austral spring to South America) to have excellent and relevant reviews ready for the beginning of the North American ski season. This means that all our testing, unlike some other reviews, is done on production equipment that we purchased and that has seen a full gamut of conditions and terrain. It also might mean that we just can't get you a full review of this year's “hot new” product before it's released. We put these skis through a rigorous side-by-side testing process to see how they perform, hitting the slopes in powder, firm, and poor snow, paid attention to their stability, and weighed each pair. See our full How We Test article to learn more about our testing processes for these skis.
Our testing of backcountry skis is divided into five different metrics:
Weight (25% of total score weighting)
Firm Snow (20% weighting)
Powder (20% weighting)
Crud and Poor Snow (20% weighting)
Stability at Speed (15% weighting)
For many seasons now, Jed Porter has led our backcountry ski testing team. He tests all the skis, administers sharing and comparing with the rest of the team, collects the data, and prepares each final report. Jed is, first and foremost, an adventure skier. He has tromped through winter wildernesses since the mid-1990s on three continents, millions of vertical feet, countless face shots, and a handful of first descents. He is also a full-time, year-round Mountain Guide. About half the year, he takes people on gritty, human-powered, steep-and-wild ski adventures, and the other half is spent in all types of climbing. Jed's guiding acumen is recognized in certifications from the American Mountain Guides Association, recognized in turn by the International Federation of Mountain Guide Associations.
Jed readily shares his love of backcountry skiing, a passion that informs his work as an AMGA/IFMGA guide.
Credit: Exum Mountain Guides
We collect a passionate team of skiers to help Jed and to complement his perspectives; dozens of skiers have helped over the years. Currently, the entire team is located in the Teton Region. We ski Grand Teton National Park, Teton Pass, and the Targhee backcountry close to home and venture further afield into the various ranges of the Greater Yellowstone region. Spring and early summer travels take us all over the North American West.
We don't test a ton at the ski area. But we do at least a little so as to broaden and deepen our findings.
Hand flex testing isn't the most predictive, but it does help calibrate our findings and put certain things in context.
We confine our discussion of ski performance to notes on ski performance. It would be easy to attribute performance to construction attributes, materials, and dimensions, but this oversimplifies the matter.
Analysis and Test Results
As the sport's popularity explodes, gear increases in both quality and quantity. To sort through all the gear options is a bear of a task. We narrowed an expanding field of skis by selecting those intended for use in moderate to steep backcountry terrain, designed to be general-purpose mountain tools, and of moderate width and weight, relatively speaking. Shapes and designs vary, but all of our tested skis are lightweight, forgiving of a variety of snow conditions, and sized between 80 and 121 mm underfoot. Those 80 mm and 121 mm skis are outliers. The vast majority of our tested skis are between 95 mm and 110 mm underfoot.
Considering where, how, and when you like to ski will inform your purchase decisions better than any singular piece of advice.
Credit: Jediah Porter
We mostly target general-purpose equipment rather than specialty products. We tested the skis with modern, tech-style AT bindings, backcountry ski boots, and good technique. This style of skiing and equipment allows the user to climb with heels free and descend with them locked.
Shop carefully, and let our findings inform reasonable purchases. Lots of skis will work well for you. A few will be really poor choices.
Credit: Jediah Porter
In doing this formal testing, we have learned a great deal about what constitutes a great backcountry ski. Backcountry skiing is strenuous, at times dangerous, and takes place in a fully uncontrolled environment. As our primary interface with the snow, our skis can have a significant influence on our experience. Every ski we reviewed is excellent. Some are better in certain ways and under certain circumstances, while a select few truly stand out from the rest.
What's the Best Value?
At OutdoorGearLab, we're keen to make sure we test the best of the best. For good measure and because we all appreciate high-value gear, we highlight the products that score toward the top of the pack while also providing a massive bang for your buck. Generally speaking, shopping for skis based on value is a bit tilted. The highest-priced models are indeed a bit better. Yet, ski performance at the lower and middle price ranges is largely independent of cost. There are both good and poor skis across the lower and middle price ranges – though there is hardly a backcountry ski on the market we would call “a bargain.” As you see from the chart, there is a very normalized price range for skis in this sub-category.
High value skis save you dollars. Dollars you can spend getting to places like this with greater frequency.
Credit: Jediah Porter
That said, the K2 Wayback 106 packs a punch at a slightly more reasonable cost. The price of this ski has slowly crept up through the years, but its well-rounded performance is timeless. It is lightweight and sports a waist width that's versatile in almost any condition, though it does favor soft over firm snow. The Wayback line is known for a damp, forgiving ride that appeals to expert and entry-level ski tourers alike. Moreover, excellent deals are regularly available, mixing up any generalization one may draw from the suggested retail price listed by the manufacturer.
Backcountry skiing, especially in the weird and wild spaces, will present with highly variable snow conditions. The Wayback 106 is a forgiving ski and does a great job taking nearly any condition in stride.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Weight
Weight is the only backcountry ski criterion that directly correlates to uphill performance. It is no coincidence that it is also the single most heavily prioritized criterion in our assessment. You will spend a great deal of your backcountry skiing day and career going uphill. In evaluating weight, we did more than simply cite weight. First, we weighed the skis without bindings on them. Because of manufacturing differences and marketing pressures, claimed weights are sometimes different than actual. Even two different skis of the same make, model, size, and pair can have different weights.
Weight is a major consideration for backcountry skis, because most of your time will be spent doing this.
Credit: Jediah Porter
We regularly found up to a 4% difference in weight from the left to right ski of the pairs we tested. Even after we scoured the market for the best lightweight backcountry-specific skis, we still ended up with significant variability in ski weights. Before you dismiss lightweight skis as only for “touring dorks,” consider that essentially all the rowdiest classic ski lines on the planet have been skied with “skimo” race gear. You have to adjust your technique and ride more slowly, but the lightweight gear can go a long way.
Weight scores were distributed based primarily on measured weight, but consideration was also given to color and width. The wider the ski is, the wider (and thus heavier) the skins need to be, and the more snow can accumulate on its top sheet while skinning. Darker-colored skis heat up more than lighter skis in even partial sun, melting a bit of snow that will then refreeze and collect even more snow. We calculated the weight-to-surface area ratio of each ski in grams per square centimeter of ski base surface area. This ratio helps to compare construction methods and materials because it normalizes for actual ski size. Long and wide skis will be heavier than short and narrow. If you wish to compare skis of radically different dimensions, this number can help sort them out.
For the most part, absolute weight and our weight-to-surface-area calculations are roughly correlated – the outliers are easy to identify. First, the powder specialist Voile Hyperdrifter tops our weight-to-surface-area ranking. It is lightweight, in absolute terms, and it is very, very light when you consider its width (121 mm underfoot). On the other hand, the Atomic Backland 95 is fairly average in terms of absolute mass but narrower than most other skis in our lineup. As such, we could say it is “heavy, for the width”.
Otherwise lightweight skis can be influenced by the color of their topsheet, especially darker-colored skis that will inevitably collect more snow on the uphill.
Credit: Jediah Porter
At 1295 grams per ski, the Movement Alp Tracks 98 is impressive for its balance of uphill weight and all-conditions downhill performance. However, it has a black top sheet that will collect more snow and ice than the white top sheet of the Fischer Transalp 105 CTI, for instance. The Voile Hyperdrifter is very light, but its wide dimensions demand much more skin material and collect more snow on its tops. At 121 mm underfoot and 1565 grams per ski, your uphill experience with the HyperDrifter will be more strenuous than the Black Crows Camox Freebird, which weighs nearly the same at 1510 grams but is much narrower at 97 mm underfoot, simply because you have a ski with more surface area to collect more snow.
Weight of one Movement Alp Tracks 98. This is the weight we find to be nearly ideal for weight-conscious all around skiing.
Credit: Jediah Porter
In all of our years of testing – on nearly 100 different ski models, if you include those our team used before coming to OutdoorGearLab – we have reached some conclusions on the relationship between weight and downhill performance. That relationship is not linear; there are diminishing returns of adding each additional gram. Notably, there are certain inflection points. We have reached the conclusion that 1300 grams per ski is a sweet spot – this is where our perennial favorite “lightweight” backcountry skis always seem to sit. Skis at 1600 grams is another optimized point, where these ski basically as well as others weighing hundreds of grams more, but feel substantially lighter on the uphill. It's also important to point out that among modern skis, a 1600-gram model is going to be better on the downhill, in virtually every way, than a 1300-gram model. The takeaway is that if you want more efficient uphill travel, go with a ski weighing near 1300 grams; if you want to optimize downhill performance, look in the 1600 gram range.
A visual representation of weight (x-axis) versus downhill performance (y-axis). Although this is subjective and somewhat arbitrary, decades worth of collective experience and insight from our test team support this graph.
Credit: Jediah Porter
On our current test roster, just a few skis hover around that 1300 gram sweet spot. The Dynafit Blacklight 88 is a firm snow specialist, while the Movement Alp Tracks 98 is a pretty well-rounded touring ski. There are some other similarly high-performing skis in the 1400-1500-gram range. We love the Atomic Backland 95 for its prowess in firm conditions, but more for its well-rounded nature at a very reasonable weight and waist width.The Black Diamond Helio Carbon 104 leans way toward the soft snow end of the spectrum, while the latest Wayback 106 is lighter than previous versions and is an excellent value for all kinds of basic backcountry skiing.
Earning your turns is a balance of uphill efficiency and downhill performance. Although sweet spots exist, there will almost always be a tradeoff in one way or another.
Credit: Jediah Porter
There are a broad selection of options around 1600 grams, both generalists and specialists. First off, the award-winning Blizzard Zero G 105, at 1513 grams per ski anchors the bottom of this weight range yet skis better than any other ski we're about to mention. The DPS Pagoda Tour CFL 105 and Fischer Transalp 105 CTI are very similar and both are particulalry solid options for human-powered powder hunting. The Black Crows Camox Freebird is narrower than anything else near its weight, which makes it a great choice for beginner to intermediate backcountry skiers who regularly ski firm snow. The Black Crows Navis Freebird nearly edges out of the 1600-gram range, but this ski is a favorite for serious ski-mountaineering based on its stability and performance in firm or poor snow conditions. There are also specialists in this weight range. The Voile Hyperdrifter and Black Diamond Helio Carbon 115 are really only for skiing soft, deep snow. The Cardiff Snowcraft Crane Enduro is designed for the backcountry, freestyle crowd, but stands out because its weight is not too taxing on the uphill.
Uphill is the vast majority of your backcountry day. Weight is all that matters in your skis for the uphill portion.
Credit: Jediah Porter
We start calling backcountry skis “heavy” around 1700 grams. We recognize there are manufacturers still marketing “backcountry” skis beyond 2000 grams per ski, but we don't have anything in our test at this weight. If you start pushing this weight range, our experience is that minimal improvements to downhill performance don't balance out lugging this extra weight uphill. Additionally, at those weights you start overlapping with dozens of resort skis, and the lines get blurry.
We chose to test the Vital 98 camber mounted with the Shift2, a common pairing for switching between resort and backcountry skiing.
Credit: Jediah Porter
In the 1700-1800 gram range we can recommend skis for those that really want to optimize for downhill performance. Those with less downhill skill, but abundant fitness, will readily justify the weight of something like the Salomon Quest Echo 106 or Elan Ripstick 106. Excellent skiers don't need that additional mass, but they might want it. The WNDR Alpine Vital 98 and Black Crows Corvus Freebird come to us with backcountry branding but, at 1800 and 1900 grams respectively, are better compared to resort skis than to the rest of the backcountry skis in our test.
It's a bit bigger underfoot and relatively heavier than many other skis in our review. However, the QST Echo 106 is still plenty lightweight for any sort of human-powered skiing, whether you're skinning or bootpacking.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Firm Snow Performance
Firm snow in the backcountry is either formed by melt-freeze metamorphosis, which we call corn, or by wind transport, which we call wind board. As the backcountry becomes more and more crowded, we're also seeing firm snow in the wild as a result of “skier compaction.” The firmest expression of these can be called ice (unless you ski on the East Coast of the US, where "it's not called ice unless you can see fish underneath"). Corn snow, in its softer phase, is one type of hero snow. Turning in perfect corn snow is almost effortless. Like in perfect powder, differentiating between skis on corn snow is challenging; all are fun. In the firmer manifestations of snow, ski performance varies drastically. Stiffer is better, while narrower feels more predictable and less strenuous. Weight also helps.
Even the most spectacular ski destinations will deliver firm snow from time to time. Here we are testing near the powder Mecca of Bella Coola, BC.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Our favorite firm snow skis are narrow. As ski mountaineering specialists, the 88-millimeter Dynafit Blacklight 88 and 95-millimeter Atomic Backland 95 do really well on any firm conditions. They also excel in high volume (lots of vertical climbed) and high-speed ski mountaineering endeavors. “Mid-width”, all-around skis can do pretty well in firm stuff, but it is especially important to pair these mid-fat skis with beefier boots on firm snow. You can get away with light boots in soft snow, but harder snow requires stiffer boots for more control. We put the Alp Tracks 98 and Camox Freebird in this category. The WNDR Alpine Vital 98 is great on firm snow, though it is notably heavier than any of these other skis in the sub-100-millimeter class.
The Wayback 106 does better on firm snow than its weight and width numbers suggest. With similar numbers to the K2, we expected similar (read: slightly compromised) firm snow performance from the Zero G 105 and Transalp 105 CTI. Neither of these carve and grab like a narrower, stiffer ski, but they suffice. The similarly waisted Helio 104 and Pagoda Tour CFL 105 aren't quite as solid in firm snow as these other skis, but if pressed into the situation, both will manage while you make your way to or from softer conditions. A notable exception at this waist width is the QST Echo 106. Despite a relatively soft longitudinal flex pattern, its torsional rigidity limits the “twisting” motion of the ski, which help it to edge better in firm conditions.
Even though the Pagoda Tour CFL 105 excels in soft snow, its ability to manage in uncertain snow conditions make it a great option for forays into the deep wilderness.
Credit: Jediah Porter
The 107-millimeter Black Crows Corvus Freebird and 106-millimeter Elan Ripstick 106 are a bit heftier than these other skis, and thus do surprisingly well on firm snow. All that weighty material lends smoothness and torsional stiffness. Many accomplished skiers love the firm snow performance of the slightly more narrow Navis Freebird (102 mm underfoot). However, our test team was split; some liked them when conditions turned icy, while one tester found them grabby and unpredictable.
A fine option for ski mountaineering, the Navis Freebird does well in powder, but really excels for its prowess in firm and difficult snow conditions.
Credit: Jediah Porter
The wide, lightweight skis – and we're mainly talking about the HyperDrifter and Helio Carbon 115 – exert great leverage to plow soft snow out of the way, but they generally don't have the stiffness to back up this performance in firmer conditions. If you luck into hard snow on either of these skis, you will quickly revert to survival skiing techniques. The Helio is slightly better than the Voile, but not by enough to affect any meaningful decision-making. The Cardiff Snowcraft Crane Enduro sports dimensions like other all-purpose skis, but its performance in firm snow is much more like the HyperDrifter or Helio.
Spring skiing involves firm snow. And if you're in the Tetons, sometimes a boat commute. Even without the boat, if your approach looks something like this, you'll be happy to have a ski like the Backland 95 along for the ride.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Powder Performance
All the skis we tested are a ton of fun in powder snow. This is a reflection of the nature of powder skiing and the fact that modern skis are so well-designed. Wide or narrow, stiff or floppy, rockered or not, good skis combined with good technique combined good powder snow generally make for a transcendent experience.
If you bring the right technique to the table, wild powder skiing is going to be fun no matter what setup you have underfoot.
Credit: Jediah Porter
We must give a mention here of the Voile HyperDrifter. It has a lively ride that positively popped up and out of the fluffy between each silky turn. The enjoyable performance kicked cold pow in the face of convention. “Common knowledge” would hold that the camber construction would be a liability in the soft. Not so, in our experience – even with a camber profile, this 121 mm excels in powder. (This point also hints at the issues with generalizing performance based on ski design.) Of course, the 115 mm Helio Carbon 115, with a more rockered profile, excels at powder skiing. It's worth noting, however, that for human-powered touring, the HyperDrifter is fatter and much lighter weight than the Helio.
We also want to highlight the skis we consider to be dedicated “powder tourers”. If you're hunting for this type of ski specifically, pay attention to our weight-per-surface-area ratio. For high-volume powder days, larger skis with lighter-weight constructions will equate to more laps, just as long as you bring the fitness. The aptly named Pagoda Tour CFL 105 is lightweight for its above-average dimensions and well-tuned for soft snow skiing. The similarly sized Zero G 105, Transalp 105 CTI, Helio 104, and Wayback 106 perform on-par with the Tour CFL 105 in powder, and its remarkable that all of these skis have a weight-per-surface-area ratio of either 0.68 g/cm² or 0.72 g/cm² . Perhaps this is the sweet spot for mid-fat, light-to-average weighted touring skis.
We all dream of making powder turns like these. If you're fitness is up to snuff, then lighter-weight skis will help you earn more of these turns.
Credit: Jediah Porter
The big-gun Black Crows Corvus Freebird charges long radius powder turns like a train on tracks. At 107 mm underfoot and 1932 grams per ski, the Corvus requires more input than other skis at this waist width. It takes substantially more effort if you want or need to slow it down to make bouncier, shorter-radius turns. With the same weight-per-surface-area ratio, the Ripstick 106 is very similar to the Corvus, though it makes short turns a bit better. Even though it's much more narrow than any of the skis we've been discussing, we want to point out that the Backland 95 is no slouch in the powder. It will take more effort than skis with bigger dimensions, but your turns will also be deeper.
In truly bottomless conditions like these, virtually any ski in our lineup is going to excel (minus the particularly skinny ones).
Credit: Jediah Porter
Crud and Poor Snow Performance
This is our favorite review category. Not because we like skiing crud and poor snow, but because it's here that a product can truly make itself known. As mentioned above, in great snow, whether powder or corn, all modern skis are fun and perform well. At speed and in the steeps, stable and firm snow-tuned products start to stand out. However, when the snow inevitably gets breakable or sloppy, it separates the wheat from the chaff. This applies to skis as well as skiers. We can't change your skiing over the internet, but we can help you get products that smooth the rough.
More often than not, these are the conditions we're navigating when you go deep into the backcountry. Difficult snow conditions always favor cautious ski movement.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Overall, we found a significant range in poor snow performance. We separated our scoring into breakable crust and slop or mashed potatoes. Generally, those that did well in one did at least okay in the other, and vice versa. Both of these general snow types reward similar attributes. The rider wants equipment that comes up reliably out of the snow and turns gently and readily. Tips, tails, and edges must engage and disengage with the snow smoothly with little grabbing or hesitation. We can make some construction generalizations but must do so cautiously.
Many claims get thrown around about how certain ski design attributes affect performance. Everything matters, but no one thing matters most. Flex pattern certainly plays an important role in a ski's ability to handle difficult snow conditions, because stiffer skis are less prone to get knocked around when the going gets tough. However, material construction and size tend to make more of a difference. When it comes down to it, skis with more mass more easily bust through crud.
The Cardiff Crane Enduro is one of the softer skis we tested.
The Transalp 105 CTI is a nice blend of stiff underfoot and relatively softer in the tip.
The Dynafit Blacklight 88 is stiff, which helps it edge particularly well on firm snow. But its narrow waist width and lack of mass means it still gets knocked around easily.
To establish a baseline, we flex test every ski. Here you can clearly see the difference between skis flexed longitudinally (along the length of the ski). Softer on the left, stiffer on the right.
The wider, heavier, and more rockered skis Corvus Freebird and Ripstick 106 perform amazingly well in bad snow. A ski cannot earn top award status without excellent performance in bad snow, which is the case Blizzard Zero G 105. It is similarly sized to these other two skis, but remakrably lighter weight. The hefty WNDR Alpine Vital 98 stands out for its capability in difficult snow, despite its mid-size waist width. Similarly sized, although significantly lighter and more traditionally profiled, the Movement Alp Tracks 98 also compares favorably, especially considering its weight.
Our lead tester near 12,000 feet on Denali, carrying the M-Tour 99. While he was making slow, predictable turns at this altitude, the M-Tour was exactly the ski he wanted to manage choppy “sastrugi”, or wind-formed snow.
Credit: Jediah Porter
While ski resort riders may spend a considerable percentage of their time on the same home mountain, backcountry aficionados are inherently explorers. Even in one's home range, the goal is often to see new terrain under new conditions. Not to mention, of course, the appeal of traveling further afield to backcountry ski. Even if, for argument's sake, one were to go to the same backcountry ski slope every time out, one would encounter different conditions each time.
You're going to experience long, drought-like conditions even in areas renowned for consistent snowfall. Testing on Teton Pass, weeks after the last snowfall.
Credit: Jediah Porter
The versatility of your backcountry equipment is crucial. In evaluating versatility on variable snow conditions, we looked at downhill performance in all kinds of snow. Most will want their one pair of backcountry skis to be able to shred powder on 25-degree Berthoud Pass laps just as well as ski off the summit of the Grand Teton. You are likely to encounter poor snow in any of these endeavors, and your equipment must be ready for this.
Snow is variable by nature. Surprises lurk around each turn, even on days where conditions are otherwise excellent. A versatile backcountry ski needs to be able to handle the lumps and bumps to help you stay on your feet.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Even with very different designs, the Black Crows Camox Freebird and Navis Freebird both earn high marks for their ability to ski in poor snow conditions. This speaks to their heritage, born out of the need for dependable skis to tacle difficult descents high above the Chamonix Valley. The DPS Pagoda Tour 105 performed surprisingly well, especially for the weight, but not quite as well as the QST Echo 106. Although you'll pay for it a bit on the uphill, the design, construction, and mass behind this ski make it one of our favorites in difficult snow conditions.
You may want a burlier ski to handle difficult snow conditions in remote settings. However, it's important to weigh the trade-offs, literally.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Stability at Speed
A ski's stability determines the user's comfort at speed and the rider's security when landing steep jump turns. These seemingly different activities reward the same attributes. When you need to stick each turn, you will want a damp ski underfoot. Basically, damp skis are less prone to deflect, and also flex and rebound more slowly. If you want to go fast, stiffer, heavier skis with larger turn radii will generally feel more stable.
Descending the flanks of the Grand Teton. This is the type of extreme setting where you need your skis to be reliable and stable through each turn.
Credit: Jediah Porter
In our testing, the same skis we wanted to go fast on were the same ones we could jump around on in steep, chunky snow. Heavier skis like the QST Echo 106, Corvus Freebird, Vital 98, and Ripstick 106 are more stable than the lighter ones. These are outliers, weight-wise. We have to note the admirable stability of each at top speeds, as weight and stability are closely correlated. Again, the greatest determinant of stability – and other downhill performance attributes, for that matter – is the mass behind a ski.
Carbon fiber helps temper the stability of lightweight skis, which is why this material specifically has become much more popular over the last decade. It works the same way in a ski as it does in an F1 racecar – it stiffens and dampens the ride without dramatically increasing the weight. Skis built with carbon fiber can replicate the stability of the heaviest skis at a lower mass. Modern, lightweight designs like the Pagoda CFL 105, Backland 95, and Camox Freebird, can power through almost as well as the more massive ones.
A rough comparison of torsional rigidity of the K2 Wayback 106 and Movement Alp Tracks 98. As you can see, the Wayback 106 is much stiffer in this direction than the Alp Tracks 98, which helps with performance in this metric.
Credit: Jediah Porter
In times past, lightweight skis like these would noodle around terrain and snow conditions. However, not all skis need carbon fiber to be stable. The choice of woodcore and amount of fiberglass in the layup can have a very similar affect. Skis like the Zero G 105, QST Echo 106, and particularly the Wayback 106 are recognized for a damp, reliable ride. These skis, of course, are a bit more massive, and no matter what technology is included in a ski, mass directly relates to stability. The lighter weight skis we tested won't be as stable as the heavier ones, all else equal. However, and as we've already pointed out a number of times, very little is equal when it comes to ski construction.
Wild mountains, incoming weather, variable snow; three conditions synonymous with adventurous backcountry skiing.
Credit: Jediah Porter
Conclusion
Shopping for skis isn't as simple as it appears. Our hope is to offer expert advice to make it a bit easier and a bit more fun, so that you can confidently choose the right ski. Consider some of the generalities, lean toward all-around performance, and consider your purchase in the context of the backcountry skiing you'll regularly get out and do. Trust in the realities of backcountry skiing, and choose something from the meaty center of the market bell curve. Remember that modern backcountry skis are, for the most part, surprisingly versatile. If you are “cruxing out” on your choices, realize that you can't really go wrong if you choose one of the all-around touring skis we've highlighted.
