The S/Force range from Salomon impressed last season and is back for another winter, offering groomer-focussed performance for everyone from beginners right through to experts.
The ski itself is the same as last years, but Salomon have altered the binding on the S/Force 7, to make it a little lighter and more responsive in the toe piece – both welcome improvements with no discernible downsides.
The S/Force 7 is a ski that doesn’t feel totally reliable at high speeds, but given its target market is beginners and recreational skiers, that’s to be expected. Where it does excel is in turn initiation – making short turns a breeze and making it super agile for intermediates and above – as well as in smeared low-speed turns, which adds a great level of forgiveness for less confident skiers.
It doesn’t carve a line like a more advanced ski of course, but will firmly hold an edge in a long, lazy, laid out turn.
The price begins to make the S/Force 7 look attractive to anyone; beginners and occasional skiers will love the confidence inspiring character and won’t need to skip the rental shop too many times to justify the price. But even those who ‘don’t ski the piste’ might look favourably at this ski as an affordable and fun option for days when they can’t hit the backcountry.
Comfortably our budget ski of the year.