Expert skiers looking for exciting all-mountain skis that provid the kind of versatility needed to handle everything thrown at them on the 'frontside' of the mountain - that includes groomed slopes, moguls, chopped up snow at the side of the piste and the occasional bit of powder - could consider the Vantage X83 CTI.
The widest skis in the Vantage X series, they're designed for powerful turning on hardpack snow with the added bonus of having capabilities to ride parts of the mountain piste skis just wouldn't enjoy.
We score them low for float, because although some skis in the all-mountain category can handle the deep stuff, we think these prefer staying up on top. But despite ski lengths in this model being pretty short (the longest is a 182), they remain super stable at speed and encourage the kind of confidence needed to whip up high speed carving turns on the first run in the morning when the piste feels like the freshly laid top layer of a German Autobahn. It helps that the edge grip feels sharper than a Samurai's sword - possibly one of the best edge holds on all-mountain skis we have tested.
Saying that, we also enjoyed the fact they suck up the moguls comfortably without throwing you around like full-on piste performance skis might. Perhaps that's because the carbon tank mesh construction provides a more versatile, lighter feel - they also come with Atomic's extra-full Firewall, Power Woodcore and Titanium Backbone 2.0.
You need to have all the tools in your own box to get the most out of them though, they need input to get the output - if you're a technically strong skier then you'll definitely enjoy the power they give back. But does it do what it says on the tin? We think so - great all round skis for someone looking for piste performance - would also suit an instructor.
