Review: 2027 Elan Ripstick 94 W Black Edition Skis

At first glance, the Elan Ripstick family isn’t exactly a ski that jumps off the wall at you, so to speak. After all, it’s another line of all mountain skis, with some pretty standard widths available and a subtle graphic styling. However, the understated nature of the Ripstick just might be one of the coolest things about it. Rather than pulling you in with a flashy graphic or wild tail shape, the Ripstick is quietly one of the most thoughtfully engineered skis on the market that lets its reputation do all the talking.

Smack in the middle of the Ripstick W line up, in terms of width, is the Ripstick 94 W, which is also the only ski in the women’s build of the Ripstick to receive Elan’s Black Edition treatment. Elan has opted to add carbon reinforcements to a handful of their skis across all different lineups in order to add a bit of torsional stability. At 94mm underfoot, the Ripstick 94 W seems the most obvious choice given the narrower 88 W and 84 W have less edge-to-edge width to get funky in a turn and the 100 W and 106 W lean more in the direction of a soft snow ski. 

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2027 Elan Ripstick 94 W Black Specs

• Lengths available: 147cm, 154cm, 161cm, 168cm, 175cm
• Sidecut: 129mm-94mm-109mm
• Radius: 15.8m (168cm)
• Profile: Amphibio rocker profile
• Weight: 1500g (168cm)

Shape, Flex, and Construction

The Ripstick 94 W has a delightfully directional shape with the Ripstick’s signature wide shovel tip and a flat tail that allows you to really hook into a turn. The sidecut of the Ripstick 94 adjusts fairly significantly based on length, with the 168cm ski being the only one that actually comes in at 94mm underfoot, as the name denotes. However, with a width of “effectively” 94mm underfoot, the Ripstick 94 W is made to take you anywhere on the mountain, whether it be carving turns, skiing bumps, or taking the 129mm tip into a bit of fresh snow. The pronounced sidecut of the ski also gives it a fairly short turn radius, under 16m, save for the 175cm length ski, which has a 16.8m radius. Perhaps the most interesting thing about the shape of the Ripstick 94 W, (and the rest of the Ripstick lineup), is what the brand calls Amphibio Technology. In other words, the skis are asymmetrical and the inside edge of the ski’s contact point is closer to the front of the ski than on the outside edge, meaning there actually is a left and right ski. 

Elan uses what they call the Tubelite Woodcore for the Ripstick, which features a lightweight, laminate wood core with two carbon tubes inserted into it along the length of the ski. The tubes follow the shape of the side cut, which provides torsional stability along the ski’s edge, gives a snappy rebound when coming out of a turn, and reduces the need for more material in the core. Elan also uses a layer of flax fiber near the tip of the ski to cut down on chatter up front. Where the Black Edition of the Ripstick 94 W differs from the regular, and the rest of the Ripstick W collection, is in the additional layer of unidirectional carbon fiber placed along both ski edges. These carbon bands give even more edge grip, torsional stability, and help to dampen the ski. Like we mentioned earlier, this makes a lot of sense for a 94mm ski, given the extra carbon helps to beef it up and dampen things in variable conditions. They’re not much stiffer, just damper.

On-Snow Performance

Taking this thing out on snow is like stepping into a sleeper car. You know, the kind that looks innocuous from the outside, but really packs a punch once you step on the accelerator. At first, they might seem unimpressive, but point them down the hill and you’ll quickly unlock their high-speed groomer potential. It’s extremely fun to get these up to speed and carve medium-long and really smooth turns. For a ski with no metal, these sure feel really damp.

The best word to describe how these feel on snow (much like the rest of the Ripstick line) is “zippy.” They want to accelerate in and out of turns and really reward energetic skiing with tons of rebound and pop. Edge grip is remarkable for a ski this light (hello, carbon!), meaning they feel locked in on firm snow.

Turns out the Amphibio tech works really well. Ever lock into a carve and feel like the wide tips of your skis aren’t tracking properly and just want to cross? That’s exactly the problem this unique shape fixes. By moving the inside and outside contact points of your ski to different points on the sidecut, your uphill and downhill skis will engage into a turn differently—specifically, your downhill ski will track a slightly longer turn and enter a carve just a hair late, preventing it from hooking up and contacting your uphill ski. It feels incredibly natural on snow, you won’t have to adjust your ski style at all.

At 94mm underfoot, these are the second-narrowest ski we tested this year, and certainly skew heavily toward to groomer/piste side of things. Off-piste, there’s not really enough ski there to stay on top of deep snow, but the clever rocker profile does allow the tips to plane much more than expected. We wouldn’t recommend these as a pow-day ski, or really as much of an off-piste adventure ski, but they’re really fun and nimble in chalky bumps.

Comparisons

On paper, the Ripstick 94W Black shares more attributes with a lightweight backcountry touring ski than anything else, with a low weight, short turn radius, and lots of carbon inside. Perhaps the best comparison would be to two other narrow skis we tested this year, the Stöckli Nela 93 and the Salomon QST 94.

Compared to the Stöckli, the Ripstick is far more approachable. The lighter weight, softer flex, and unique shape make it much easier to engage into a carve with. The Stöckli is the kind of ski that rewards aggressive skiing (it’s from a race brand, after all), and won’t be quite as fun for intermediate skiers.

The Salomon QST 94 (and Salomon QST 100, for that matter) are very similar. Softer flex, a shape that eases you into a carve, and plenty of low-rise rocker in the tip and tail make these feel nearly identical. The QST and its uber-damp construction takes the win when the snow gets a little chunky and uneven, but the Ripstick 94W feels more agile and poppy.

What type of skier is the Elan Ripstick 94 W Black best for?

If you’re looking for a new ski to add the quiver for firm mornings days after a storm, or are perhaps a mom that wants a ski to cruise around with the kids that can also lay down some high-speed carves on your own time, then don’t skip the Elan Ripstick 94 W Black. It’s a reliable, fun, and super-energetic hard snow ski that makes those hero groomer days feel even more awesome.