Our picks for the best touring skis of 2024-25 for those who like to roam the whole mountain.
Touring or backcountry skis are becoming increasingly popular as piste skiers graduate from the resort slopes to seek out their favourite terrain. Whether you’re seeking perfect, untouched powder or simply respite from the crowds, touring is one way to scratch that itch.
While the joys of immersing yourself completely in the snowy wilderness are considerable, it takes a serious toll on your gear, making it vital that you’re comfortable with using it, and that it’s reliable and up to the job.
Deciding what gear to take on the adventure has become increasingly diverse, thanks to a host of modern technologies dedicated to making skis, boots and bindings as versatile as possible, light as possible (for the ascent) but still burly and capable on the descent. It's a balancing act as ever though, so you’ll need to compromise somewhere along the line - light is right on the way up, but there is a weight penalty for that freeride performance carving down.
Choose your quiver wisely - below are our best Touring skis for 2024-25 - if you're after more of a compromise, our lists of best all mountain ski and best piste skis are well worth a look before getting your wallet out...
K2 Wayback 89 Womens Ski
Best for: Adventurers that prize lightweight versatility
RRP: £585
A ski built with lightweight credentials at the top of mind. Alongside a lot of cool tech, the Wayback 89W features a ‘Snophobic topsheet’ which is a water repellent topsheet designed to prevent snow from sticking to the top of your skis to keep them as lightweight as possible! Despite being lightweight, the Wayback didn’t feel unambitious in multiple snow conditions and with a turning radius of 19m, it’s a versatile ski in both tight and wide turns. We loved that this ski was 89 underfoot which keeps it less cumbersome on the climb up but doesn’t compromise float and stability on the way down.
Verdict: A lightweight beast, with charge-ability for big mountain terrain!
Overall rating: 9/10
Line Vision 96 Mens/Womens Ski
Best for: No compromise on the down and fun to boot
RRP: £635
The Line Vision 96 sits in our tester's sweet spot for touring skis this year. A capable ski that balances playfulness and stability for those ski tourers who are not willing to compromise the down for the super ultralight ski mo style up. The 96 is new for this year providing a little more weight than last year’s Vision 98 giving a bit more backbone for nimble turns on the steeps, but also allowing you to open it up and charge down in the open fields. Line skis should be fun and the Vision 96 stays true to its brand promise!
Verdict: All mountain versatility in a lightweight touring package - a real quiver.
Overall rating: 9/10
Faction La Machine 3 Mens/Womens Ski
Best for: Super-off grid missions that require some burl
RRP: £769
Sitting in the middle of the width options of the ultra-lightweight, carbon-loaded La Machine family is the Faction La Machine 3 in a 109. More surfy and progressive compared to Faction’s equally rad Agent series, the La Machine 3 is a perfect ski for backcountry aficionados looking for something that will hold up when you’re super off-grid; lightweight enough to go far and fast, and burly enough to charge your chosen line. The rockered shape allows for a super easy pivot and smearing in any snow conditions.
Verdict: A lively and energetic touring ski - burly enough for any descent with impressive weight stats!
Overall rating: 9/10
Elan Ripstick Tour 94 Womens Ski
Best for: Lightweight performance and a smooth ride
RRP: £725
The New Ripstick model for 2025 features four sizes for women from 106 to 88 so a nice range to choose from depending on your favoured terrain. The Ripstick Tours have been designed for lightweight performance - ease and confidence in any snow, but light enough to navigate touring and tricky terrain. The Ripstick has been touted as ‘powerfully elegant’ and we would agree. The Ripsticks have a ‘Flax Fiber’ in the tip of the skis to reduce those chattery vibrations synonymous with touring skis, which we would argue gave these skis a smooth ride both on piste and in more variable conditions.
Verdict: A smooth and elegant lightweight pleasure!
Overall rating: 8/10
Scott Superguide 95
Men's best touring ski
The Scott Superguide 95 scored highly in last season’s tests, and this years’ model is unchanged apart from updated graphics. Designed as a do-it-all backcountry ski, the Superguide range is very similar to the lighter Speedguides, but with the beef to keep up with a more freeride-oriented skier. After the surprise of how light the ski is for its dimensions, it completely out-skis expectations, being both lively and solid for its weight. The straight sidecut is not such a bad thing on the uphill, but it does mean it’s not great edge-to-edge – until you open it up, that is! At speed it will swing beneath your feet while giving the feedback of a much more precision-focussed ski.
- Best for: Skiers who split their time between skin, powder and piste.
- Verdict: One of the most versatile touring skis out there - a true quiver-of-one.
- Overall rating: 10/10
- RRP: £525
K2 Talkback 96
Women's best touring ski
The Talkback 96 is the widest model in K2’s touring focussed range and is the female equivalent of the popular Wayback. K2 have gone back to the drawing board, utilising Ti-spyne technology to make a significant reduction in weight possible, but the titanial laminate still works to increase dampening, stability and edge hold. These features are great for enjoying uphill approaches on longer tours, but without compromising on downhill performance. Attributes like all-terrain rocker in the tips and tail with camber underfoot makes for great control in variable snow, while offering enough width to be able to manage all conditions.
- Best for: Established skiers looking to explore it all.
- Verdict: The K2 Talkback is an all-round impressive ski that makes for effortless uphill approaches.
- Overall rating: 8/10
- RRP: £525
Salomon MTN Explore 95
The MTN 95 from Salomon is billed as a freeride touring ski, which is always an optimistic claim – can a lightweight climbing ski really perform like a freeride plank? At 1450 grams they are not quite the lightest touring skis on the market, but they’re certainly in that ballpark, meaning a genuine comparison to an out-and-out freeride ski would be a little unfair. In the chopped up crud of our Scottish test centre the ski struggled a little in terms of having the stiffness to power through, but it is certainly agile enough to pick a careful line. It is not super-stable on an edge, but again, being nimble covers for that shortcoming to a large extent as it is more capable of making forced turns.
- Best for: Great for gram counters and uphill enthusiasts.
- Verdict: For when weight is a priority, but you don’t want to compromise on the downhill.
- Overall rating: 8/10
- RRP: £540
Faction Agent 3.0
The Agent 3.0 is a descent focussed touring ski meaning all the fun hasn’t been rinsed out chasing lightness. Stable at high speeds they suffer at lower speeds, typical of a touring ski. They aren’t particularly lively or playful but hold an edge on long radius turns and are relatively smooth through chopped up crud.
These skis are agile enough to ski gulleys with confidence and despite decent downhill ability, they climb okay, although on longer tours you will start to feel the burn due to the relatively high weight. If you’re skiing firm snow you may be surprised by their ability where the dampness, stiff flex and weight really comes into play.
- Best for: Descent focussed ski tourers and freeriders.
- Verdict: Great for what they’re designed for, touring with an emphasis on descents.
- Overall rating: 8/10
- RRP: £600
Black Crows Navis Freebird
The Black Crows Navis Freebird is aimed at off-piste skiers looking for the liberation of backcountry touring but without the weight of a typical freeride ski. The genius of the Navis Freebird is in shedding that weight while keeping the playful construction and flex – if not quite the power. The pop and ability to launch off hits is fantastic, and to feel so much potential energy crackling beneath your feet in a lightweight touring ski is exciting. This ski would score similarly highly even if it were tested in the freeride category, and given that some skis in the touring category don’t tend to inspire downhill confidence, this is quite a feat.
- Best for: A versatile ski for a versatile skier.
- Verdict: The newest incarnation of Black Crows’ Navis Freebird is simply superb.
- Overall rating: 9/10
- RRP: £635
K2 WayBack 96
For a brand known for fun and freeride, the WayBack range from K2 is surprisingly weight-conscious. Coming in at 1397 grams in the 177cm length, the WayBack 96 is lighter than some models aimed at lycra-clad Skimo racers. So far, so uphill friendly. But the mid-fat dimensions are great for descents too, making this ideal for ski tourers who enjoy both. With a fairly straight sidecut this is well designed for stability on the steeps - it gives you more contact with the snow when weighing up your next jump turn in a sketchy couloir, say. The sidecut is also conducive to long radius freeride turns. Skin clips, naturally, complete the backcountry-ready package.
- Best for: Adventure skiers who like both ups and downs.
- Verdict: Light for a ski that’s so wide, and so good on the descents. Agile too, which is a big plus.
- Overall rating: 8/10
- RRP: £775
