My garage here in Serre Chevalier, at times, is like a reference to ski touring design over the last 15 years or so, and that's not including the skis that have already taken their last ride, which was to the dump.

One common denominator is that all could ski fresh snow well (image below), but it's when the snow transforms to a more technical snowpack that their various frailties begin to show. On the whole, the lighter the ski the more challenging the skiing on hardpack with the tips chattering and flapping around and the edges having a mind of their own. The wider the ski the more exasperating they became!

The picture below is of the author encountering the Italian Smoke / Fairy Dust in Val Maira way back in 2014 on Scott Powd'air's 100 @ 183

Back in the day and even now, the average length of my skis is 184. Even last season I was riding my SCOTT Pure Tours, length186!

In advance of the test I'd already decided to go a little shorter in length on both the touring and All Mountain skis. That said, recently I have been riding my old faithful Black Crow Atris 184s and at that length they are absolutely perfect.

I have them mounted with Tectons and use them for some of the classic slack-country we have here in Serre Chevalier.

The week before the test in early February was probably the best of the season, though many lines were getting tracked out, not helped by La Grave being closed and many guides bringing their groups over to Serre Chevalier.

When testing the All Mountain skis I'd already decided to concentrate on how well they handled the piste / hardpack rather than induce more suffering to my aged knees skiing chopped up snow. That very much laid the precursor of a plan to test touring skis the following day.

I also thought that skiing All Mountain and touring skis of similar dimensions would make for an interesting comparison.

For the test, I also tried out ski boots with the boa system, the Salomon Shift Supra Boa 120 GWs, a rigid ski touring boot that focuses on descent, similar in flex to my Atomic Hawk Ultra XTD's, very much a descent-orientated boot. For big climbing days I use my lighter Salomon MTN Slab boots, still with 120 flex.

Arriving at the SCOTT stand I was blown away by just how light the Explorair 95 is, mounted with a minimalistic set of Plum bindings. This is almost, by SCOTT standards, venturing into the world of ski-mo, especially as it is their only ski in this size, and not just a light version of other models in a range.

SCOTT Explorair 95 177

I almost felt embarrassed that I was proffering up the Salomon rigid downhill touring boots to wear on these beautifully engineered skis!

I shot off the chairlift due to their exquisitely prepared bases and just put a few turns down to the next chair, and I knew these were different for all the right reasons.

To be fair, the first couple of skis tested in the morning session always are at an advantage due to the better conditions, in this case, which I know sounds at odds with testing a touring ski, the perfectly groomed snow!

And the Explorairs loved it, (image top of page) as good as, if not better than any of the All Mountain skis I tested the day before. Then after some more carving; and yes. using the word carving in a touring ski test, the penny slowly dropped.

In that here was a real contender for that all elusive one quiver ski

As I have alluded to, I have no doubts about the potential the ski has away from the piste, and normally the only limiting factor is the skier's own capabilities, but I will throw just the one caveat in. I do not know how they, due to their light weight, would handle heavy spring snow, and again I'm basing this on my own body's capabilities (knees), and maybe an extra 5cm+ in the waist might help overcome that?

As for specifications.

Normally I would have opted for the 184, but the 177 felt fine. Would I miss the potential float of those extra 10sq cms (less 10mms width and 10cms length) in deep snow or would I prefer the shorter length of a ski for kickturns and combat skiing in the trees? As ever skiing can be all about compromises.

My wife Elaine has merrily been extolling the virues of her own one quiver ski these past three years and I used to question her how a light touring ski such as her DPS Pagoda Tour 106s could ever be right for the piste? I now take that back.

Scott Explorair 88 178

Once back down to the Ski Test Village and the SCOTT stand it was a quick changeover to take the smaller 88s out, and I was told that these were stiffer than the 95s.

And again they ripped as well as any of the All Mountain skis. As for specifications, there is also a 92, as well as an Explorair Womens Ski, with lengths 150, 157 and 164.

I only use my existing SuperGuide 88s on very easy days when I know that it's predominately spring snow to be skied, and maybe climbing with skis on the pack or even with the e-mtb, ski-touring to get to the snow line, But then as I often say you could pretty well ski with any ski on spring snow.

So out of the two, the 95 would be my ski of choice and I suspect this time next year we might well see a waist of 100+ in the range.

After that I started scouting around for my next weapon and the Zag stand had a large number of skis, many of which had touring bindings so they piqued my interest.

ZAG UBAC 95

Now being honest, I've been aware of Zag but have never skied any or even looked closely at the range or read anything about them, so I had no idea what to expect.

Normally I would have opted straight for the 102s and 184 length but I wanted to be consistent in my testing so went for the 95s at 178.

And again as I shot off the lift, with the first few turns I was impressed with the ski.

Knowing the pistes of Monetier well as we live in Serre Chevalier, there are always a couple where many visiting skiers do not venture, and they were in superb condition, with everything from pristine corduroy through to chalky fresh snow. So I have to admit that most skis could have handled the snowpack well, but driving these skis hard it was difficult (again) to think that I was skiing a lightweight touring ski and not an All Mountain from the day before.

On the Zag site for the UBAC they describe its main selling point in a word: versatility.

'The UBAC 95 is the right choice for a mountain guide for a reason: it can do it all. 95mm underfoot to enjoy all terrains, even during long rides. The new shape of the UBAC 95 makes it even better on snow changes, still super fun and accessible but with a stiffer flex to go down quickly.'

In fact, the weight of the UBACs is very similar to the SCOTT 95s circa 1,400gm, and to be honest, without testing both skis against each other in all snow conditions I would not like to say one is better than the other.

Have to smile at the above image, as I bet there are not too many ski touring with reviews showing a piste and a chairlift but. hey. at least it shows we actually skied them, unlike many a website.

Overall I was very impressed by ZAG and feel a tad embarrassed not to have skied their skis before, but that probably has more to do with them not being present at the UK Ski Industry tests where we've been testing over the past ten or so years?

So I look forward to skiing Zag again and maybe next time round the 102s?

And I did ask what UBAC translated to, and basically it means 'north facing' or 'slope in the shade'..

Now when you've tested three skis, of which two immediately impressed, you develop a gut feel for what feels right and or wrong, and so that is the case for the next ski that I tested.

Blizzard Zero G 96

I think immediately I was put off by the skinny tail. In comparison to the SCOTT and Zag, this ski looked like more of an out-and-out lightweight climbing ski and not designed for the descent.

Evidently, Blizzard has revamped its Zero G ski range for the next year's 2025-2026 season, which had not changed for around four seasons. Gone are the Zero G 85s, (replaced by an 88), and gone is the 95, which is now a 96mm waist.

And it should be said that my wife Elaine last year tested the 95s in powder as well as piste and loved them.

 

The ski itself did not compare to the previous touring skis' All Mountain qualities when descending the same lines and it felt like what it was, a lightweight touring ski that could probably handle fresh snow well but did not feel at ease when trying to charge the slope, maybe due to the tails I don't know?

 

Salomon MTN 96 Carbon 182

Now this was an interesting test and more of a comparison, with the Salomon All Mountain QST 94 I tested the day before.

A good friend had specifically asked me if I could test these, and I also thought it would be interesting to compare the two skis. - and lo and behold,  I thought the MTN 96 was a better ski for the conditions than the QST.

The Salomon Ski tech also advised me, when he saw the boots that I was wearing (Salomon Shift Supra Boa 120 GW) not to crank too hard as the bindings that the skis were mounted with with might pop (release), so I duly held back a little but confidence soon took over and I enjoyed the ski.

Maybe the increased length, back up to my usual 180+ helped as I felt I could have charged more with this ski and, as ever, one really needs to be able to test a ski in all conditions but that is simply not practical.

But, I actually gave the MTN 96 Carbon better marks than the QST 94.

 

This was all now quite refreshing with nearly all the skis as good as anything I skied yesterday, well almost, and I still had the time and legs to ski one more.

Elan Ripstick Tour 94 178 

The final stop was at the Elan stand and seemed to be a much smaller offering than at the UK ski tests that we've attended. Chatting to the guys, they suggested that I test their new revamped ski for the next season (25-26) the Ripstick Tour.

Again it was on a par with the All Mountain skis but maybe didn't quite seem as responsive as some of the others, or maybe by then I was getting tired of skiing the same line for the umpteenth time?

I'm sure my mojo and legs were fading and as I've found so often when testing skis, the final couple are always up against the hours in the day and overall leg stamina.

The only plus point was that the snow was still chalky and firm as you can see in the picture below, so you could ski these skis with as much edge as you dare, not something usually attributable to a touring ski.

 

 

Conclusion

As I stated at the beginning just about any ski can handle fresh light snow, apart from the skinniest of skis, and the one omission that I acknowledge here, and that I don't really mention, is the techinical snowpack you so often encounter on a ski tour, which is crud and bad snow.

Though that is why I still use my trusty old Black Crows Atris when I suspect that type of snowpack might be on the agenda. And the reason why is simple, the heavier the ski the better it can handle bad snow, smashing through it.

But my Atris should really be replaced by something like the Corvus Freebird, at least a little lighter

So I suspect that the one weakness of the above skis, as they are all around 1,400gm will be their capability of handling crud, but as we know, there is no such thing as bad snow only bad skiers. 

As for the length of skis tested, on the whole I opted for a smaller ski than usual, a 177/8 instead of a 182-184, (I'm actually 179) and did not notice any major difference, though I might question that in thigh deep fresh.

I'm still a little concerned that I did not favour the Blizzard Zero G where as in other tests it did really well, such as the intensely detailed Outdoor Gear Lab touring skis test.

 

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