Chris Benchetler Shows Off His Personal Bent Ski Collection, Reveals His Preferences
Artist and skier (and so much more), Chris Benchetler, took to Instagram on a little walk down memory lane with one of, if not the most, notable collaborations to come out of his career‚ the Bent Chetler ski.
2008 saw the first iteration of the Bent Chetler, in a 123mm underfoot twin-tipped powder ski. Today, the Bent line up comes in a range of widths, as well as a smaller, junior version of the ski, and is one of the most popular freeride skis around.
You can watch Benchetler’s full video below and keep reading for more about his collection.
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Over the years, the Bent Chetler has evolved to incorporate new technologies, such as different wood cores, carbon stringers, and so on. The top sheet of the ski has also served as a kind of gallery of its own for Benchetler’s artwork.
The imagery found on the 2025/26 version of the ski permeated beyond and was seen on professional mountain biker Carson Storch’s 2025 Rampage bike, and was projected onto the ceiling of Las Vegas music venue the Sphere during Dead & Co.’s last run of shows.
As Benchetler walks us through the lineup of Bent Chetler’s over the years, we see a few one-offs like the pair of Bent Chetler Nordic skis that apparently, the Norwegians requested be made. He also shows a lineup of special-edition Grateful Dead Bent Chelters made over the years. The first of these limited-edition skis came out in 2019, along with the launch of the Fire on the Mountain film.
Most recently, Benchetler created artwork for a pair of Bent 110s for the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary as a band, which were released as part of a capsule collection with Mountains of the Moon. (Anecdotally, I have a pair of these, and they are truly a work of art and one of my favorite ski top sheets I’ve ever seen.)
Benchetler also walks us through the quiver of skis he’s currently riding. Right now, he’s got a pair of the Bent 120s and Bent 110s, both mounted at factory-recommended settings, with Atomic’s new Shift 16 binding.
The Shift 16 was recently released and is a beefed-up, all-metal version of the hybrid binding. Benchetler also has a pair of this year’s limited-edition Grateful Dead skis in a 110, with a pair of Atomic Strive 16s on them. To top it off is a pair of Atomic’s new park ski, the Bent Decode, which was designed in collaboration with Jossi Wells, Nico Porteous, and more of Atomic’s next-gen athletes.
Related: Chris Benchetler’s New Film Takes His Grateful Dead Collaboration To The Next Level
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