The 9 Best Skis of All Time According to Our Testers

The perfect ski is akin to the Holy Grail. It’s a legend we all believe in because as anyone who loves the sport knows, magic happens. The right ski on the right day with the right conditions on the right slopes makes us feel like a superhero. Then we spend the rest of the season, and every season after, trying to match that perfect moment.

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We can’t control snow, but the one element of that elusive “perfect ski day” that's within our reach is choosing the right ski. So, in honor of this pursuit, here are our nominees for the best skis ever, which we’ve found have that mystical harmonic convergence. This list was compiled by ski fanatics, former pros, and of course, our core test team, with athletes from six countries represented.

While many of us might personally avoid a term like "best of all time" to describe a ski (as any ski on a list like this is often best for something specific), if we had to tap a single pair for that honor, we've agreed it would be the Nordica 100—which performs about as flawlessly for every condition from hardpack to powder and glades to bowls as a single pair of boards can get.

The caveat? The interface between skis, you, and the snow-of-the-day is pure alchemy. It’s a unique interaction between the material and composition of the ski and your particular style. Some skis are simply a great fit, while others you learn how to drive over time. A good ski keeps up with our daily ambitions. But a great ski opens the door to better technique and future aspiration.

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Finally, while we all have wild powder dreams, the vast majority of time for most of us will be spent on hard-packed slopes and groomed runs. While it’s easy to get goo-goo eyed over those big wide boards, chances are that a true carver will better cover most of your days on the slopes. Pick the wider powder board for your second ski. If your plans are something in between carving and floating, we’ve got a few spectacular both-base choices for you here, too. Whether you're squeezing in a day or two a month on the slopes, a week-long ski vacation, or that bucket list heli trip, here they are: our votes for the nine best skis ever made—so far.

Our Testing Process: Why You Should Trust Us

With thousands of pieces of ski and snowboard apparel and gear to sift through, our team of nine testers knows how to do their homework. Collectively, we’ll rack up more than 1,000 on-snow days in a given season just testing out gear to see if it lives up to its promise. Most of us have been testing apparel and gear for over 20 ski seasons. We’ve skied New England and Eastern Canadian hardpack, Whistler powder, Pacific Northwest cement, and everything in between, including months in the French, Italian, and Swiss Alps. Our testers have visited more than two dozen ski resorts in every condition imaginable, and skied plenty of peaks, steep slopes, and couloirs.

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Best Overall All-Mountain Ski: Nordica Enforcer 100

When it comes to stable exuberance under speed and nothing less than all-terrain, all-conditions versatility, the Nordica Enforcer 100 is hard to top, and has won numerous accolades accordingly. The all-mountain ski line was first introduced in 2015, and every iteration just keeps getting better. The carbon-reinforced wood core helps reduce swing weight, and combined with two sheets of metal, provides spring-loaded rebound. This ski has the right balance of rocker, camber, sidecut, and construction to keep everyone from adventurous intermediates to experts happy. Plus, for a ski with such reassuring edginess, the Enforcer 100 provides ample float for softer conditions.

• Sizes (cm): 165, 172, 179, 186, 191

• Sidecut (mm): 133-100-121 (186)

• Radius (m): 18.4 (186)

• Weight (g): 2,190

Best One Quiver Ski for Pushing Your Limits: Volkl Blaze 106

If we had to sum up this ski in one word, it would be “money.” The Volkl Blaze 106 is the benchmark of aggressive versatility, whether you’re heading deep into uncharted backcountry or carving up a storm in Aspen. This ski has it all: stability, floatation, quickness, rebound, and it’s eminently forgiving. It's the best one-ski quiver for people who challenge themselves with ever-changing terrain. There’s an underfoot plate that adds edging power, plus a TPU strip that parallels the edges for vibration dampening and tracking. Pair it with the Marker Duke PT 12 binding ($700) for a setup that transitions effortlessly from resort to AT (alpine touring) mode.

• Sizes (cm): 165, 172, 179, 186

• Radius (m): 17 (180)

• Weight (g): 1,828 (179)

Best Resort Ski: Black Crows Serpo

The Serpo is fun, powerful, poppy, and fast. The flat-tail ski is light in the nose and tail with a lightning-like transition. A unique H-shaped titanal plate—an aluminum alloy embedded into the ski for amping power and stability while dampening choppiness—provides a quick, agile feel with sturdy forgiveness at speed when you’re pushing it. In addition to being the perfect tool for charging groomers, it’s wide enough in the shovel and underfoot to ski powder and crud. Here's the ideal resort all-mountain ski with a big mountain feeling.

• Sizes (cm): 168.2, 174.1, 180.1 186.3

• Sidecut (mm): 131-93 -115 (180.1)

• Radius (m): 20 (180.1)

• Weight (g): 1.825 (180.1)

Best Groomer Carver: Fischer RC One 86 GT

This award-winning ski is your on-piste (groomed run) weapon. Most anyone can make wide S-turns in powder, but when you're setting trenches on hardpack groomers, you want a ski with great rebound that you can get up on edge while you’re slingshotting into your next turn. If you’re skiing 70 percent corduroy and the rest side trips through the trees and between runs, Fischer's RC One 86 GT is perfect for those GS turns we all strive to master. Despite its narrowness underfoot, the ski is still game for cruddy off-piste conditions. Credit the brand’s shaped titanal layer, damping Bafatex integration, and Triple Radius sidecut.

• Sizes (cm): 161, 168, 175, 182

• Sidecut (mm): 117-87-131 (182)

• Radius (m): 18 (182)

• Weight (g): 2,550 (182)

Best for Intermediates to Up Their Game: Volkl Mantra M6

We first skied the Mantra M6 back in 2005, and with each iteration it has become increasingly more dialed—as have our turns. While experts will enjoy this venerable design to rip around the resort or off-piste, intermediate skiers can count on upping their games with the ski’s readiness to bend for carve-ready arcs and devil-may-care nimbleness on steep fall lines. The M6 is the 6th generation Mantra, and features new technology including Volkl’s tailored Titanal Frame tech, that puts metal only where you need it. Plus the titanal is specific to each ski size, so skiers of varying heights and weights get the same solid performance turn after turn. The 3D Radius sidecut allows for multiple turn shapes in the ski, depending on the part of the ski you initiate the turn, so you can carve, pivot, or skid, depending on the situation.

• Sizes (cm): 163, 170, 177, 184, 191

• Sidecut (mm): 135, 96, 119 (184)

• Radius (m): (R1) 32, (R2) 19, (R3) 26

• Weight (g): 2,150

Best for Freeride Explorers: Salomon QST 106

If you seek the fringes of your resort, popping through boundary gates for some side-country snacking, the Salomon QST 106 is your ski. First released in the fall of 2016, this is the ski you’ll reach for 90 percent of the time. Our testers appreciated its “huge bandwidth," which dances through moguls and busts crud, yet edges like a dream when the best skiing of the day is the corduroy under the chair. The use of Cork Damplifier and C/FX Fiber rather than metal keeps the ski light. We like the new version’s longer rocker in the tip and tail for its quick turns and sure-footed agility.

• Sizes (cm): 157, 165, 173, 181, 189

• Sidecut (mm): 126-106-139 (181)

• Radius (m): 19 (181)

• Weight (g): 1,980 (181)

Best Freestyle Ski: Line Bacon 108

Testers have long loved the iconic Sir Francis Bacon ski, and this new version (the brand sadly dropped the ski’s honorary title and first name) crushed all expectations. Not only did Line Bacon 108 nail the graphics as usual, but the layup with its versatile 108 mm waist, low-swing weight (thanks to less plastic and more bio-resin in the tips), and ramped durability does pretty much anything the freestyle skier asks. This year’s Bacon 108 doubles down with a design that’s ultra-capable in crud and swoopy on the groomers. It's built to withstand the demands of the adventurous freerider who wants to ski everything, along with a few style points for smears and slices 'n' dices. The amped up sidewall stretches to the ski's core while adding more material to the steel edges. The increase of the bonding surface area creates sidewalls that can withstand brutal edge impacts, like sliding rails.

• Sizes (cm): 166, 172, 178, 184, 190

• Sidecut (mm): 142-108-137 (184)

• Radius (m): 17.4 (184)

• Weight (g): 2,180 (184)

Best for the Backcountry: 4FRNT MSP 107

We first saw 4FRNT skis on the feet of expert big mountain skiers in the freeride mecca of La Grave, France. It's damn fun on steep, untracked freshies, and handles surprisingly well on icy mogul fields. Soft corduroy, steep and deep powder, and crusty old snow through tight trees brought testers to the conclusion this is the new standard for all-mountain cruisers. The 4FRNT MSP 107 has a wood core laminate with titanal for stiffness, resulting in a smooth flex throughout the entire length. It’s the perfect ski for dropping couloirs and riding fast down the steeps.

• Sizes (cm): 175, 181, 187

• Sidecut (mm): 138-107-128

• Radius (m): 20

• Weight (g): 2,050 (181)

Best for Deep Powder Days: Atomic Bent Chetler 120

This floatation-friendly ski gets high marks as a lively, directional performer. The overly rockered nose and tail makes it easy to pivot, whether you’re cresting pillows in Japan or floating freshies in Utah. The ski, designed by freeride icon Chris Benchetler, has won a hefty number of awards over the years, since its initial launch in 2009. But you don’t need to be a pro to rock the Atomic Bent Chetler 120, as the ski is surprisingly forgiving, with reliable stability at speed when you’re running it out back to the lift (or heli pad). The ski has a light wood core, single layer of carbon to dampen and strengthen the ski without diminishing its liveleness, and topsheet with artwork by Benchetler himself.

• Sizes (cm): 176, 184, 192

• Sidecut (mm): 143, 120, 134 (184)

• Radius (m): 19

• Weight (g): 1,800