All photos: Charles Trudeau
The Newschoolers East Coast park ski test returned to Bromont for round two this past spring. And this time, Mother Nature came at us with a suckerpunch, but ultimately we still had a blast. The previous week had been sunny and warm, and most of us were half expecting the same clement weather for a nice day of testing park sticks. But, the East Coast obliged as she generally does, and delivered her signature trick: unpredictability.
https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/1077752/oberson-ski-test-2023-finale-mp4
Rain, snow or shine (and often all three), these whips do it all.
The day started out super cloudy and cold with a good amount of wind and snow in the mix. But as the day progressed, the clouds cleared. As a result, while we started out skiing pow, we ended up trying our luck on a thin layer of ice over chop. The weird mixed snow meant the park was challenging, but very good for testing skis to their limits. Luckily the crew NS brought to Bromont was stacked with experienced shredders and this minor inconvenience didn’t hold them back too much. A big thank you to Oberson for bringing the skis together and giving us the opportunity to try next year's fresh whips.
East Coasters + Mute Grabs = Chef's Kiss. Marc-Antoine Lalonde out of the cannon.
Bromont's park was prime for trying the many options offered up by Faction, Armada, Line, Volkl and K2. A line of three medium-sized jumps was followed by a sweet rail garden and left plenty of options for everyone to have fun. It was also nice to have a perfect groomer with a variety of side hits leading up to the park in order to test the skis' performance through a variety of terrain. Watching Nic and Eric Chenard, as well as Phil Clairoux and others throw down trick after trick with ease was a treat. Alex Gauthier's style is unbeatable and watching him ride is a thing of beauty. Not often will you see such a dope cork 7 mute. We also witnessed what a switch master Alec Bernier is. All in all, having so many people skiing together and cheering each other on for every stomped trick was super entertaining. Everyone had a blast despite the challenging snow conditions.
Style queen Alaïs Devlay, tweaking on the jumps
Testers filled out a survey for each ski they tested, four skis per person throughout the day. After all of the data was collected and reviewed, seven skis came out victorious. Here are our picks of the bunch for everything the East Coast can throw at you:
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Narrow Park Skis:
If you ski the east, you know that sometimes the conditions aren’t going to be your best friend. Some days, conditions are bulletproof and that’s when you want a skinny park ski. Less impact, quicker edge-to-edge and at least some chance of gripping on that boilerplate. Our two favorites were:
If you want to push your limits in the park, look no further. With its 88mm underfoot, it is guaranteed that you will have no trouble going bananas on any feature in your way. Even on those days when it feels more like you're skiing on concrete than snow, this traditional park ski will have your back.
"A very precise ski perfect for a slopestyle course. Its flexibility is really enjoyable and you feel safe on every landing. A great balance in order to progress in the park!" - Alaïs Develay
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The Revolt 90 is the weapon of choice for seasoned slopestyle skiers looking to perfect their craft. If you’re going to be sending it big on jumps and getting technical on rails, these won’t see you far wrong. They're also a riot on frontside resort bashing and they pivot and slash pretty well due to being a symmetrical ski
"I absolutely loved these skis and I think Volkl have made some long-overdue and well-directed changes to the Revolt 87/Wall that bring them up to date while still being absolute beasts on big features”. - Milo Harper
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Wider Park Skis:
Once upon a time, a ski over 100mm would have seemed ridiculous anywhere, let alone the East Coast. But wider skis are here to stay, and have found favor with park skiers as well as powder chasers. We love them on rails for the stable platform and for how surfy they feel in the park and all over the mountain. Here are our testers’ top picks for 100mm+.
This one is part of the reimagined ARV series for 23/24. With its 100mm waist, this ski aims to be a bit more versatile than its older brother, the ARV 96. Surprisingly, it is also lighter and aims to be one of the most durable skis on the market, thanks to its new w3Dgewall construction. If you liked what the older version was capable of, you'll be in for an even better time skiing on this one.
"The ARV/ARW 100 is everything I could want from a park ski. It is as playful as it is stable. The ski is solid and also light. Fun guaranteed." - Isabelle Lacour
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The Blend has been a staple of the ski industry for over a decade now. It has proven time and time again that it allows you to push the limits of what people might think is possible on skis. Known for its soft flex and incomparable playfulness, it’s a match made in heaven for the creative skier in all of us.
"The Blend is awesome both in and out of the park! The thing I love the most is how poppy this ski is. It does wonders on rails when it comes to balancing, pressing, and surface swaps. Lastly, it’s the most trustworthy ski when it comes to 50-50s." - Alec Bernier
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The Chronic 101 is the perfect East Coast ski for the all-mountain shredder. Its stability on piste and chop is surprising, and its low swing weight makes it a weapon in and outside the park. If you don't know what kind of weather you're rolling into whip out your Chronic 101s and you're set for an epic day regardless.
“The Chronic 101 is a great choice for ripping park, but still cranking some turns and stomping sidehits. It has enough width to handle some crud and a much stiffer backbone than the Blend. The tips and tails are still plenty soft for buttering too.” - Twig
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The Reckoner 102 is best suited for the skier who wants to go big without compromising stability or weight. The gradually rising rocker profile allows for control on piste while still being able to tackle those eastern powder missions when needed. Our testers were surprised at how versatile it was and how light it felt for its width underfoot. Perfect compromises don't exist, but this could be the next best thing.
“I was really surprised with how light the ski was for a 102 underfoot. It felt nimble, yet stable while cruising through chop and in the park. The flex pattern also just felt perfect to me. It’s playful for popping, pressing and buttering, but it also holds solid on jumps and while skiing at high speeds. This is my new favorite ski.” - Alex Gauthier
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You might have noticed there is another of the Revolt collection in our picks, but that's because they are vastly different offerings. The 104 has a similar sidecut to Volkl's larger offerings which makes it more of an all-mountain ski that can also perform very well in the park. The rocker profile is one of the more pronounced out of our ski test which means you can slash and pivot this ski better than most. All of our testers were surprised to see how light the ski was for its width.
"The ski was super fun. Very lightweight for a 104 underfoot which made them versatile for riding in fresh snow and doing technical tricks on rails and jumps." - Ty Urlich
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