I skied over 40 different skis this past season. Here’s a brief synopsis of what stood out to me, for better or for worse.

Testing the 2027 Atomic Bent 110 at Waterville Valley Resort

I’ve been fortunate to try many, many skis this year. Some were cult classics, others go on sale this fall as an entirely new ski. I’m pretty against giving out superlatives or awards, but I wanted a venue to be able to present standouts from the last year. Before diving in, let’s recap some numbers from the 2025/26 season.

43 skis tested
18 manufacturers
6 Resorts
42 Days on Snow
7 Categories

A solid season here in the Northeast made for a great platform for trying out a plethora of skis in all types of conditions. Here’s a condensed list of some of my thoughts on what I was able to try.

Most Versatile

The whole concept of Quiv3r is to help folks make informed decisions on what ski to buy. Not everyone wants half a dozen pairs, so versatility can (and often is) one of the most important factors when choosing a ski for personal use. When narrowing down a choice for this category, I balanced performance with approachability. Not every ski can achieve power, speed, and stability while also being loose and playful. It’s hard to shoot the gap and cover your bases, and here’s what stood above the rest.

Honorable Mention: 2027 Armada AntimatteR 100

It might not look like a ski you can reach for on the daily, but the performance the Antimatter 100 brings might surprise a seasoned frontside skier. 100mm underfoot, not too heavy nor too stiff, but with plenty of power and approachability. A fun-loving ski that packs a punch yet doesn’t take itself too seriously, the Antimatter 100 is a creative new offering from the freeride focused brand that does a lot of things very well. New construction and shaping for the 100, it looks much more unique than it truly skis, which isn’t a bad thing. If you’re in the market for a ski that prioritizes fun but offers some serious dependability, the Antimatter 100 should be on your short list to try.

Most Versatile: 2027 K2 Mindbender 96

**2027 K2 Mindbender 96**

Quiv3r’s Most Versatile Ski of 2027

A do-it-all all-mountain ski with some serious chops, the all-new Mindbender 96 should be considered by so many skiers looking for a single-ski solution. It achieves a high level of power and stability while not being a backbreaker. The industry is moving away from hard-charging power that comes at the cost of low speed compliance, and the new Mindbender collection highlights where lots of brands are going: plenty of performance in a much more well rounded package. With new technology and shaping, the Mindbender family has something for everyone, from frontside-focused all mountain performance to cliff hits and powder. In my opinion, as the most versatile width in the lineup, the 96 deserves to be mentioned for its outstanding versatility in nearly all conditions, anywhere, anytime. It’s an excellent ski that will satisfy a vast array of skiers.

Most Unique

While not a true antonym of versatility, it’s fun to juxtapose well rounded skis with wild ones. A few new offerings for 2027 bring some crazy shaping and performance with a whole lot of personality that is tough to find anywhere else. These skis aren’t what you expect, will get you noticed in liftlines, and are just kinda strange. Those are wonderful things, for the record, and there were a few that fit that bill wonderfully this year.

Honorable Mention: 2027 Black Crows Vena Cor

Just like it’s little sibling, the Mirus Cor, the all-new Vena Cor is plain weird looking. Pointed shovel, angular shaping, a ridiculously deep swallowtail, and branding everywhere you look on this thing. With an alien profile and look, the performance isn’t as quite ridiculous. To reiterate again, that’s definitely not a bad thing. The Vena Cor sports a poplar wood core with some fiberglass laminates, and thematically fits right in with Black Crows as a brand. Simple construction techniques, radical shaping principles. The Vena Cor is wonderfully energetic coupled with a tight radius, making for a carve-happy all-mountain freeride ski. There isn’t a universe where it doesn’t belongs on this list. From park laps to cruising all over the resort, the Vena Cor is a great choice for skiers that don’t want “just another” ski.

Most Unique: 2027 Stöckli Stormrider 108

**Stöckli Stormrider 108**

Quiv3r’s Most Unique Ski of 2027

The Stormrider 108 is a weird and wacky ski in its own right. A freeride powder ski with kinked, abrupt rocker, a flat tail, outrageous amounts of taper and shaping with a notably short turning radius (16.5 m in the tested 180cm length.) Couple that with the fact that it’s a Stöckli, and this thing becomes nothing short of mind blowing. For fellow car enthusiasts out there, think if Bentley made a Bentayga but took out the back seats, tuned the engine and stretched the wheelbase a foot. Undeniably still a Bentley, but unlike anything they’ve made in quite some time.

The 108 is a blast on groomers and softer snow, combined with the smoothness and luxury you’d expect from the Swiss brand. All that performance is wrapped up in a beautiful package that garnered comments from multiple other skiers with it’s reflective dark green topsheet. All of these traits come together to yield the most unique ski for 2026/2027. While it might not be as outrageous as the Vena Cor, looking at the finer details and reminding yourself it’s a Stöckli (and will probably cost a small mortgage payment), it’s genuinely ridiculous. It’s a weird one, and if I win the lottery I’m buying one in a heartbeat.

Most Surprising

Throughout the year, there were plenty of brands that make a spectacle about their new releases. Marketing campaigns, press briefings, embargo dates, etc. On the other hand, there were notable exceptions to that premise. I came across surprising skis that I’d never heard of until I clicked into them. A few of them were truly impressive, others left me with more questions than answers. For this award, I wanted to highlight a few skis that impressed me with no pretext, prior knowledge, or expectations.

Honorable Mention: 2027 Fischer Nothing

The Fischer Nothing has been marketed vaguely and shrouded in mystery. Only recently has the brand started to release limited information about their new “experimental freeride project,” where they highlight that on snow sensations are more important than specs. If you want to read the dimensions on the tail, you have to squint a bit to make out what they say. They’re scribbled out in an effort to highlight that previously mentioned theme. Fischer has explicitly stated that it’s not about those specific stats. It’s about emotions and evocative feelings derived from your turns, not exact weights in grams or millimeters of camber height. With that in mind, the Nothing was very impressive. A smooth and damp powder ski with a shape reminiscent of the Ranger collection. It has a long radius I guess, but the Nothing encourages you to look past it as you glide down whatever piste you find yourself on. The Nothing taught me a bit of a lesson, and I appreciated that during our mutual time. Just ski, don’t get caught up in the techy details. Enjoy the ride. It was refreshing, and for sure came out of nowhere.

Most Surprising: 2027 Liberty Super Radian 88

**2027 Liberty Super Radian 88**

Quiv3r’s Most Surprising Ski of 2027

When I got to take some time to ski the Super Radian, I was familiar with the Radian series, specifically the Radian 100, which I thoroughly enjoyed. When chatting with our Liberty rep, he encouraged me to try the new Super Radian on for size. With updated construction and materials, even compared to the other entries in the “regular” Radian, the Super Radian hits a sweet spot for power and agility. Liberty has been transitioning to Europe-based manufacturing recently, and the Super Radian ushers in a phase of that journey, bringing bamboo back into the core and adding an additional layer of titanal. It’s got a crisp radius and loves to link short, quick turns on groomed terrain, but it also handles adversity and New England hardpack quite well.

A ski that encourages energetic and lively skiing without feeling too responsive and twitchy gives Liberty a great versatile option for the upcoming season, and left me thoroughly impressed. From the moment I found out it existed to when I was slicing up courdoroy was a span of maybe a few minutes, no time for research or expectation-setting. I was smiling the entire time I skied it, and was reluctant to give it back. A fantastic new ski for Liberty, and deserves a moment to shine heading into next season.

Not-For-Me

Some folks like a hard-charging and stiff platform to rail turns on, while others gravitate towards something more playful and energetic. We all land somewhere on the vast spectrum of performance. Throughout the year I spent time on skis that I am quite fond of. Sometimes I reaffirm those opinions by skiing something that definitely isn’t what I’d pick for myself. This is not to say that these are bad products. They’re not, and often I am the problem in the equation. I hope to highlight how my own preferences won’t always align with what other skiers might embrace, because I know that both of these skis will appeal to many skiers.

Honorable Mention: 2027 Line Optic 88

I ended up taking a few laps on the Optic 88, and I will hopefully get back on it to revisit, but I didnt get much from it during testing. I skied the 184cm length, which might have been to blame for the lack of responsiveness and forgiveness I was looking for. A twin-tip all-mountain ski from a company like Line should get me excited to get creative while I’m out there. What I found was a lackluster ride, not finding much rebound nor character. So many people could benefit from and will like the Optic 88, and I hope it finds its way to those skiers. In the tested length, I was left wanting more. It seemed as if it was trying to provide performance and power, but in that effort, lost its personality a bit. I’ve skied the Optic 96 in the 184 and found lots to like in that ski, especially on groomers. I’ll revisit the Optic in the 177, and hopefully my tune will change.

Not-For-Me: 2027 Kastle transcend 98

**2027 Kastle Transcend 98**

Quiv3r’s Not-For-Me Ski of 2027

Kastle is a brand I have a lot of respect for. They’ve achieved a unique position in the landscape as a premium offering with lots of performance across their lineup. The Transcend collection is new for 2027, and I spent some time with the 98 this year. On paper, it’s almost perfect for me. A 100-ish underfoot directional freeride ski with plenty of rocker and stability. What more could I realistically want? As it turns out, the Transcend 98 wasn’t quite what I was looking for. I admired the Kastle’s on-piste chops, but I found a lot of responsiveness and heft in the tail that kept me from skiing the way I wanted it to. I’m open to the possibility that I’m not the intended audience nor the proper skier for the Transcend 98, but it just left me wishing for a bit more forgiveness out of the tail specifically. Similar to the Optic 88, I’m going to give the Transcend 98 another shake. Everything about how I like to ski aligns with the Transcend, but in practice, I didn’t love my time on it. Hopefully I can make amends with Kastle and one of their numerous new offerings for 2027 next season. Totally respect what they are trying to achieve, but from my impressions, the Transcend 98 isn’t for me.

Most Improved

Leading into the new season, manufacturers bring us the very best of what they have on offer. Each and every year, some of them stand out from their peers with a unique set of refinements and value propositions that provide us with a cool new ski and/or shake up the industry landscape. This category is here to give the innovators and the risk-takers a moment to shine, as it can be hard to truly bring something new to the table each and every couple of years.

Honorable Mention: 2027 Nordica Unleashed 106 CA

I have spent so, so much time on the Unleashed 98. I even dubbed that model my “favorite” ski entering the 2025/26 season. When I heard there were improvements and refinements entering the 2026/27 season for the Unleashed family, I made it a priority to investigate what Nordica was cooking up. Boy, did they deliver on something special. The Unleashed 106 CA highlights the multitude of changes the lineup has in store for the upcoming season. The Unleashed 108 is no more, and in its stead we find the new 106, with two new models, including this 106 CA. No metal to be found in this one, simply a performance wood core and fiberglass. The 106 CA has revised shaping, with additional tip and tail taper as opposed to the outgoing 108, allowing for slashy and smeary turns that the 98 and 108 wouldn’t have liked to make. This is all while the 106 CA, without metal laminates, is able to be nearly as capable as it’s titanal siblings. This was incredibly impressive given how comprehensive of a package the ski is. It’s slashy, it carves, it’s somewhat approachable, and it absolutely rips. I was impressed and wanting even more time with it. It’s a straight up improvement over the outgoing Unleashed it replaces, yet carries its own identity. Well done, Nordica.

Most Improved: 2027 K2 Mindbender Collection

**2027 K2 Mindbender Collection**

**Quiv3r’s Most Improved Ski of 2027**
**2027 K2 Mindbender 88**

Throughout the past season, I’ve been fortunate to ski the entirety of the upcoming 2027 K2 Mindbender collection. To be honest, I wasn’t fond of the outgoing generation of Mindbenders. They were excellent carvers, but they were demanding, exacting, and very stiff. For next year, they’ve been completely revised and refreshed, yet retain the same positioning in K2’s catalogue as powerful, directional all-mountain freeride skis. For this category, I had to go with the whole collection, because frankly, they all deserve recognition for their refinement. Spoiler alert, I really like them all, and they’re much improved over their predecessors. With an infusion of new Dark Matter technology, revised shaping and construction, and a simplified lineup with a model for everyone, I was incredibly impressed with the new Mindbenders.

From the frontside-focused 88 all the way to the powder-hunting 111, the new Mindbenders provide comprehensive performance capabilities without being offensive nor unforgiving. A reminder, however, that they are still undeniably Mindbenders. The 2027 Mindbender collection makes an impressive leap forward, and hopefully finds a great deal of success in the years to come.

Manufacturer of the Year

For this category, I’m noting the brands that captured my admiration over the course of the season, not necessarily based on recent releases, model updates, or something new. I wanted to highlight manufacturers that succeed in holding true to their identity, and having skis that represent said identity. I want a ski to make me feel something. How it inspires me to ski, how it shines with a particular type of performance, etc. When a brand is able to have similar characteristics across models and widths, it defines itself and integrates personality throughout its catalogue. Whether or not the personality is what I would prefer, when a brand captures an identity through performance, graphics, or athletes doing something incredible on them, it supplants the brand an identity. These few manufacturers weren’t afraid to stick to their guns about who they are and what their skis can offer.

Honorable Mention: Black Crows

Black Crows is a brand that intuitively captures your attention, and does so in a few distinct ways. You’ll see Nikolai Schirmer scale up a harrowing cliff face that he then proceeds to launch himself off of in a spectacular feat of mountaineering. Many of their skis have absurd shapes alongside some radical graphics. Look a little closer and you’ll note their sizing is formatted uniquely, too, hopefully you’re okay with some decimals. You’ll also see ad campaigns with folks parading around in bird costumes. Needless to say, Black Crows knows who they are, and their skis follow their unapologetic ethos. In addition to the previously mentioned Vena Cor, I skied the Corvus this year. While the shape and profile of the Corvus is tame in comparison to the brands other models, the performance of the brands first ever model (now in its second generation) is the most ridiculous thing about it. A staggering 25 meter turn radius coupled with the strength and stability that would satisfy elite freeriders, the Corvus is a weapon. Smooth, stable, with a need for some serious speed, there is hardly terrain here on the east coast that could satisfy the Corvus’ capabilities. It’s a wild ski, from a wild brand that carves its own path.

Manufacturer of The Year: Liberty

**Liberty**

**Quiv3r’s 2027 Brand of the Year**
**2027 Liberty Scope 110**

A brand steeped in identify, rooted in freeride and freestyle. Throughout the season, I spent time with three separate models from the brand, all of which impressed me in unique ways. The Super Radian 88 is an energetic, versatile all mountain ski new for 2027. It’s quick, it’s surprisingly supportive, and it rips carves. Packed with a tight 15m radius, the 88 is a quick turning dream. Ascending up in width, the Radian 100 was another agile yet versatile all-mountain offering. I tested the 100 alongside some much heavier and damper competitors, and as a lighter option, it held its own in terms of power with a fun and slashy attitude to boot. There wasn’t much the Radian 100 wasn’t capable of, and it could easily be skied every day at most resorts in the country. It’s that capable.

The best encapsulation of Liberty that I found, however, was through my time with the Scope 110. A surfy powder ski that was so easy to ski, it was uniquely refreshing. The Scope 110 was a blast in the trees with it’s soft tail, yet had enough substance underfoot that it didn’t get nervous on choppy groomers. All three models highlight an impressive lineup family for Liberty, earning my 2027 moniker of Manufacturer of the Year.

Ski of the Year

While I’ll highlight a lot of superlatives and accolades here, it’s important to remind ourselves that ski performance is subjective. I’m penning these thoughts to help consumers make an educated purchasing decision that’s best for their personal needs and wants. These opinions are based primarily on my personal preferences as a skier, but don’t be fooled. The following skis are truly exceptional products. I’m fortunate to have skied so many different models this year, and these skis stand out from that group. Some do it all, others excel at one specific thing that cements them as a real winner. Whatever it ended up being, these three options were my favorites this past season. As you’ll soon see, it’s the year of the freeride ski.

Honorable Mention: 2027 K2 Mindbender 111

**2027 K2 Mindbender 111**

2027 Quiv3r Ski of the Year Honorable Mention

Like I’ve mentioned, the whole Mindbender lineup brings tons of personality and performance to the table for 2027. Each model has something unique on offer, and the 111 I tested this year was nothing short of a riot. Smooth and progressive, it’s a floaty big mountain ski that has an whiff of approachability to it. It’s much more of a centered mounting position than the 88 and 96, highlighting it’s freeride capabilities. Like it’s little brother, the 101, the 111 also has the Dark Matter brought closer to the underfoot zone, freeing up the tips and tails for a looser and more flexible feel.

Don’t let those previous characterizations fool you, the 111 is no slouch. On firm groomers, it was composed and compliant, which had me a bit amazed given the size of the ski I was riding. I was gliding down Perry Merrill at Stowe Mountain Resort having too much fun on a ski that was made for big freeride lines and cliff drops. The available ski for testing was the absurd 187cm length, not usually the size I would grab, given the choice. Despite the gargantuan length, the 111 was a great combination of smooth and playful. It’s compliance on groomed terrain and it’s ability to be very powerful yet compliant earns it a spot on this list.

Honorable Mention: 2027 Rossignol Sender 110

**2027 Rossignol Sender 110**

2027 Quiv3r Ski of the Year Honorable Mention

There aren’t many skis that can be an appropriate choice for truly diverse array of skiers. For the few that can, the Sender 110 from Rossignol is the poster child. Want a strong powder ski for the deeper days? How about a wider option for some slushy park jumps? Maybe you happen to be competing in the Freeride World Tour? Or maybe you just want a fun option for a travel ski that isn’t out of place anywhere. If any of those apply to you, consider the Sender 110. It’s just so much fun to ski, and made me feel like a much better skier than I really am. Forgiving at times, yet encouraging enough to let you rip it through any and all conditions. It’s hard to have a bad time while skiing this thing, and I’m glad Rossignol is bringing this thing back as the same ski from previous years. It’s got a new name and topsheet, but the Sender 110 is a stalwart freeride ski that will likely go down in history as one of the pioneers in this category.

Ski of the Year: 2027 Salomon S/Lab QST Blank

**2027 Salomon QST Blank**

Quiv3r’s 2027 Ski of the Year

I face a difficult task declaring the Blank as Ski of the Year, for many reasons. I spent most of my season on the QST 106, accumulating nearly 30 days on it. Across all conditions, locations, moods, whatever. That ski is excellent for me, and I felt gravitated towards it all season. When I got the opportunity to ski its big brother, the Blank, I felt a conflicting moment of mourning for the 106.

There is nothing my 2025 QST 106 can do that the 2027 QST Blank can’t. Powder lines, trees, firm groomers, in my opinion, it’s across the board better than the 106. The Blank also floats better, is just that much surfier due to the width and additional rocker, and the loss of performance on groomers was negligible at best. I failed to truly find a weakness in the Blank, at least compared to its little sibling.

Is it truly one of the most well rounded skis on the market? If I’m being honest, it’s. I don’t ski Whistler or Revelstoke every day, as much as I wish I could. I’m bound to New England for most of my season, so I won’t even pretend I would need or even want to use the Blank every day. All that being said, the feelings it evokes as an aspirational freeride skier are truly what drove me to the sport in the first place.

First tracks down Gondolier at Stowe Mountain Resort on a firm groomer day brought about an exhilaration you might find in a fever dream. Composed, insulated, and buttery smooth. As a reminder, the Blank is 112mm underfoot, not even close to being an all mountain ski. I remember writing my thoughts down after my first few runs on it, jotting down emotional tirades of complete astonishment. I really still don’t know how a ski so heavy and wide can be so maneuverable and playful. It defies logic, physics, and even my lofty expectations.

Evocative, emotional, and honestly, fantastic. I will own a Blank one day, not just because it’s an incredibly good freeride powder ski, but because it reminded me why I fell in love with this sport in the first place. If that doesn’t make you want to award it Ski of the Year, I’m not sure what else would.

2026 Quiv3r Ski Test Roundup

43 skis tested

18 manufacturers

6 Resorts

42 Days on Snow

7 Categories