An expert level freeride ski, born in the Chamonix valley? This ought to be the most intimidating ski on the market, and indeed one of our testers called it 'a real handful!' But is it out of the question for mere mortals...?
The H95 from Zag is primarily superb fun if worked reasonably hard. Similar in character to the Elan Ripstick but more stable and bouncier (our test team may come to blows if we try to pick a winner from the two).
The H95 just hooned through the highly variable off-piste. It will catch you when you drop and will hold you up when you get a little into the backseat. Put some effort in and it will help you out. It even allowed for some tight turns on heavy legs at the end of a hell-for-leather run.
It is quicker from edge to edge than it should be, and it floats better than it should. 95mm is narrow for a freeride ski but Zag appear to have found some magical geometry. It could genuinely be considered an all-terrain ski, but not an all day ski unless you have legs of steel.
Most of our testers are strong, advanced skiers, but expert freeriders? Not exactly. The H95 did divide opinion a little, with some calling it 'expert only' but that wasn't the consensus. Some loved it without being Freeride World Tour contenders, but let's just say it's not for beginners. It is, however, a truly superb ski.
