Salomon MTN 96 Carbon Touring Ski 2022 – 2023 | Review - Mpora

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Salomon MTN 96 Carbon Touring Ski 2022 – 2023 | Review

Salomon continues the MTN range of skis with the new and updated MTN 96 Carbon – a lightweight touring ski that’s confident enough to take on a wide range of conditions

Why we chose the Salomon MTN 96 Carbon: Lightweight, powerful, sustainable 

Lengths (cm): 166, 174, 182 & 188
Sidecut (mm): 116 / 96 / 130 (182 cm)
Radius: 19m (182 cm)
Rocker Profile: Rocker-Camber-Rocker
Weight (per ski): 1,480g
Price: £630

More Info

The all-new MTN Carbon range from Salomon represents some best in class weight to power ratio, all while sporting a construction that’s easy (as can be) on the earth. This, the Salomon MTN 96 Carbon, is the lightest wide touring ski that Salomon has made. It comes in at a weight of 1,480 grams.

The MTN range from Salomon has been the companies’ flagship touring range for some time. Their ‘MTN Explore’ range of touring skis (which this ski replaced) combined a blend of low weight and high downhill performance for ski tourers who wanted a ski that doesn’t feel like a hyperactive pitbull on the downhill.

Salomon MTN 96 Carbon Construction

Low weight and high performance usually don’t go hand-in-hand. Often brands need to find a good balance between the two, with some brands happy to give up weight savings in favour of high performance and vice versa.

In the case of the MTN 96 Carbon, Salomon aimed to get the skis to the middle of the weight range. At 1,480 grams (for the 182 cm length), the skis aren’t a ski mountaineering-specific ski (that usually run around the sub-1,000 gram mark), yet they are now a downhill-specific touring ski (that are usually tipping the scales above 2,000 grams).

The MTN 96 Carbon blends together many of Salomon’s clever constructions, with a powerful and snappy hybrid carbon laminate being used to bring the skis down to this impressive weight. First thing to note is the addition of Salmon’s Cork Damplifier construction in the tips and tails. While Salomon has previously used Koloryd in their MTN Explore skis, they’ve now brought in the effective dampening properties of cork (which Salomon claims is three times more absorbing than Koroyd).

“A ski that doesn’t feel like a hyperactive pitbull on the downhill”

Further impressive performance improvements include a full sidewall construction, which is something we’re always hyped to see ski brands bringing into lightweight touring skis. A full sidewall will work wonders in boosting the stability and precision of the ski, while also helping to further absorb any vibrations that you might come across when skiing in refrozen or crusty snow conditions.

One final note on the construction has to be on Salomon’s ability to build the ski out of 40% recycled materials. Much of this recycled construction is evident in the bases, which have been built from fully recycled material.  This recycled material gives the base a really nice multi-coloured flex to them, which is something we’re naturally big fans of.

Salomon MTN 96 Carbon Shaping

Looking at the shaping, the MTN 96 Carbon borrows the silhouette of the old MTN Explore 95 touring skis and adds another 1 mm in width underfoot. The tips and tails feature a touch of tapering (much more in the tips than the tails), to help with ease of turn initiation and soft snow manoeuvrability. This shaping brings the radius to 18 metres.

Looking at the rocker profiles, you’ve got a pretty subtle rocker both in the tips and tails; resulting in a long effective edge to provide bite on firm snow. Camber underfoot further helps to increase the pressure applied to the edges.

Who Is The Salomon MTN 96 Carbon For?

The Salmon MTN 96 comes from a strong family tree of touring skis that are more than capable on the downhill, and which are confident in a wide range of conditions and terrain. Mount these with a touring-specific binding, like the Marker Kingpin 12, and you’ll have a setup that’s lightning fast on ski tracks and an absolute joy to ski on the down.

What Is The Salomon MTN 96 Carbon Good At?

Touring: 8/10
Hard Snow: 8/10
Soft Snow: 7/10

Topics:

Salomon Ski 100 2022/23 Touring Skis
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