Why we chose the Elan Ripstick 96: Versatile, light, powerful
Lengths (cm): 164, 172, 180 & 188
Sidecut (mm): 136 / 96 / 110 (180 cm)
Radius: 18m (180cm)
Rocker Profile: Rocker-Camber-Rocker
Weight (per ski): 1,650g (180cm)
Price: $699
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Already established as one of the most popular all-mountain skis on the market since its redesign last season, the Ripstick is ready to charge and conquer even the most difficult conditions (something which its competitors struggle to grasp). Elan have mixed together vital components in a well performing, predictable, ski and packaged them inside a 96 waist ski that will never feel too wide for the piste, nor too narrow for the softer stuff.
In previous years, the Ripstick was often only critiqued on its lack of edge grip when thrown onto the hardest packed icy snow. However, since listening to the customer base, Elan have gone and reinvented the a-symmetrical sidewall and cambered inside edge in order to give a longer contact on each inside edge.
The skis feature left and right markers printed on the topsheets to ensure the skis are constantly used to their maximum potential on the ski days.
The Tubelite wood core inside each of these skis hold 2 carbon tubes that run through the length of the ski to maximise torsional and longitudinal responsiveness. This is all happening inside a super lightweight package which keeps the weight to a minimum. This allows upsizing in this ski to become more common for the skier that might want to focus their use of this ski in the softer snow. These shredders require less swing weight, but more surface area to stay afloat in the powder.
Elan’s Vapor Tip also dampens vibrations and reduces weight further. This results in maximum grip and predictability in the toughest of conditions.