Elan Ripstick 96 Black Edition

If you're looking for a quick ski edge to edge to tear up groomers, maybe go off-pisty a little bit, this is definitely a ski to consider. This ski is...

As I mentioned, they're really, really good skis. It's just to reiterate, it's pretty unbelievable how smooth these skis are considering how light the...

I just got done skiing the Elan Ripstick 96 Black Edition. Back from the dead, they're bringing back the fully loaded up carbon version of the Ripstic...

Really heavy. The bindings and boots you picked are par for the course looking at double-duty gear, but those skis are heavy even for dedicated alpine use. Would recommend something more like a Head Kore or Elan Ripstick if you really want one setup for everything. Also, I'd go down a width or even two.

Great ski for an intermediate progressing to advanced/expert. Excellent control on groomers and in the trees.

In the the 80’s with old skis you needed longer skis. Now my Elan Ripstick 96 at 172 have more surface than the old 205 skis I had. In the last 10 years I have NEVER had a moment where I said I need to go faster, but I have had multiple where I said I need to turn or stop to avoid a tree, lift, rock, person, cliff, or rope.

That ski is pretty fun. Of course, It's very hard to buy a BAD ski these days, and the difference between skis is usually very minimal if they have a similar shape/size/purpose. Usually it's just material differences. It's easy to get stuck in the weeds comparing a bunch of skis that at the end of the day will ski very similar to each other, especially if you don't know the difference (since you're likely to not try 20 skis).