Dynastar Intense 10 l £385
BEST FOR Experienced female skiers who like carving on-piste.
This ski has it all – fantastic edge grip, easy transition into the turns, a balanced ride through the arc and responsiveness edge-to-edge. For an advanced or expert female skier, you’d need no more should on-piste carving be your primary raison d’être.
The Intense scored top marks for edge hold on groomed slopes – at high and low speeds – with great response in long and short radius turns.
The lightweight wood core combines with fibreglass and metal laminates, along with a tip rocker to produce and surprising playfulness.
Off-piste, things aren’t so fluid, but these skis aren’t designed for powder – they cope well in moguls though, soft enough, yet responsive and light.
VERDICT - 5 Overall
The stand out women’s piste ski for 2016 with incredible performance at such a reasonable price point.
Blizzard Quattro 6.9 W Ti | £600
BEST FOR Advanced skiers looking to carve up the groomers in style.
The 6.9 W Ti is a women’s ski very much focused towards piste performance and is the narrowest in the collection at 69mm under foot.
For expert skiers, it packs a punch if you’re into short, snappy and lively slalom style turns, bordering on the feel of a race ski. But our team enjoyed them when opened up to higher speeds too – with marks for edge hold out-stripping many other skis here.
You’d want to be a technically competent skier to really get the most of them though, they are not built for recreational skiers cruising around. Despite this, they are forgiving enough to handle slower turns – but they really only deliver their best when you know what you’re doing.
VERDICT - 4.5 Overall This ski will suit experts who want to produce technical turns all day without the hard work of a race ski.
Völkl Flair SC | £500
BEST FOR Women skiers who like to carve in all conditions on-piste
We rarely find a Völkl ski that we don’t like, and the Flair SC is no exception – it’s a powerful on-piste ski with fantastic edge grip that also allows for elegance and style on groomed, and not so well groomed, slopes.
It’s the kind of ski that will suit an advanced female skier looking to further improve their carving turns on groomed slopes. They hold an excellent edge in hard pack conditions, boosting confidence from turn to turn. At higher speeds, they are stable and solid – something you’d expect from Völkl but impressive all the same.
The lightweight wood construction and tip rocker produce Völkl’s usual impressive combination of performance versus ease of turning.
VERDICT - 4.5 Overall
A stand out women’s piste ski with great edge hold and high speed stability, if a little pricey.
Atomic Backland 85 | £330
BEST FOR Fast, lightweight ski touring with all-mountain ambitions.
The Backland 85 from Atomic would make a good compromise for someone looking to mix some longer and shorter ski tours together, as well as high performance in a variety of conditions.
Responsive and lively, they handle groomed slopes well considering they are designed mostly for off-piste. The 85mm waist means they still keep enough floatation and stability in powder but are quick edge-to-edge and happy in all conditions, except possibly big mountain faces.
They are the kind of ski you could take across the Haute Route one week and play on the front side the next.
At under 1.2kg they’re not the lightest, but considering the performance element, the balance feels spot on.
VERDICT 4.5 Overall
A high-performance, good value option for a mix of long and short skis tours, with all-mountain versatility.
Völkl Flair 78 | £475
BEST FOR Expert all-mountain ladies who want to blaze the pistes.
For ladies who like to ‘launch’ themselves down the mountain, the flair will light their way, whatever speed they fancy ramping things up to.
There’s a powerful feel to the turns that the steel sidewall seems to enhance but despite the aggressive nature of the skis, they are easy to turn at low speeds too, making them suitable for skiers looking to start off with a ski and grow better and more confident with it.
As you’d expect from a Völkl, the edge grip on groomed and hard-pack snow is fantastic, and in short turns, the response is super quick. You don’t need to hang around in the long radius turns either, these skis are made to go fast, just hold on tight and let them run.
VERDICT - 4 Overall
A powerful, hard-turning, fast ski which can handle slow turns and won’t embarrass you in the powder.
See the next 5 skis in the list
Nordica Sentra S4 EVO | £380
BEST FOR Intermediate piste ladies looking to carve the mountain.
The Sentra series from Nordica is a new women’s range of skis targeted at on-piste skiers and there are models for all abilities. The S4 is aimed at those who can ski parallel turns on red runs, but want to improve technique and carve the mountain.
With a 72mm waist, they are not designed for deep snow, so the all-mountain label applies more to the groomed slopes and moguls.
What they do have is genuine versatility in these areas, with the ability to hold and edge on hard-pack snow and suck up bumpy terrain. Although easy to steer, more advanced skiers won’t dismiss the performance and this is what makes them ideal for a skier who wants to really improve.
VERDICT - 4.5 Overall
An excellent first ski package for light intermediate skiers looking to attack the whole front side of the mountain.
Head Big Joy | £560
BEST FOR Serious female skiers looking for steep, deep adventures.
Yeehaaa – we could leave the review at that, and it would say it all. Take 1m of powder snow, add one blue bird sky, one hard-charging freeride skier and a pair of Joy’s – result: Big Joy.
At 110mm under foot, they are certainly big but surprisingly they deliver as well on piste as in powder.
One of the elements in the construction of the ski is Graphene – the world’s strongest material.
It’s what helps makes the ski so powerful, yet light enough to throw around, meaning that you can twist and turn through the trees as well as opening up on big mountain faces.
Not an obvious all-day piste cruising ski, but at least you know you’ll have fun riding home at the end of the day.
VERDICT - 4.5 Overall
One of the stand out women’s freeride skis of the year; solid on piste and simply stunning in powder.
Dynastar Cham 2.0 W 87 | £385
BEST FOR Seasonnaires looking to make the most of the whole mountain.
Dynastar has made some serious tweaks to the range this year and this new model seemed to inspire our female skiers during our 2016 test.
A new blend of rocker and sidecut construction has been added along with a Paulownia wood core to add strength and reduce weight – these skis would easily double up as a touring option.
In short turns they are snappy and playful, in longer radius they are smooth and flowing, and at higher speeds they are stable. They’re also wide enough to handle powder snow, providing you’re not expecting a big mountain charger, and shaped enough to make powerful carving turns on groomed slopes.
VERDICT - 4.5 Overall
One of our standout freeride skis of 2016 that will help you play up on or off piste in any snow conditions.
Atomic Backland 102 W | £325
BEST FOR Recreational to advanced off-piste-curious women.
A ski like the Atomic Backland 102W will help you make your first forays into the backcounty. With easy-to-turn feel, lightweight manoeuverability and wide platform under the feet it floats through the powder and powers through the crust with relative ease.
On-piste, it lacks a little bit of power, especially in the longer radius turns at higher speeds, although the Backland is very easy to steer at lower speeds in both short and long radius turns.
A lightweight wood core and ‘powder’ rocker tip means it would suit a touring set up for shorter tours. They would suit someone looking to progress from the piste into powder or planning to get away from the marked runs as much as possible.
VERDICT - 4.5 Overall
Ideal for any woman looking to progress from the piste to the powder or budding day ski tourers.
K2 MissConduct | £450
BEST FOR Advanced and adventurous intermediate women.
With its Aspen wood core the ski is very light underfoot and easy to turn and spin, allowing riders to rip and slide with minimal effort.
There is a generous amount of flex and rocker in the tip and tail to help initiate turns, while the MissConduct has the usual K2 tip and tail protectors that help prevent de-lamination and other critical damage. Durability is also aided by the full sidewall, which is great to see on a ski at this price.
The MissConduct could happily fill the role for someone looking for a fun all-round ski. But to really get the most out of them you need to hunt out those jumps and rails, you’ll have a blast.
VERDICT - 4.5 Overall
Quite simply an awesome performer in the Park and Pipe category with ability to spare on the rest of the hill.
