The Best All-Mountain Skis of 2027

There are skis you dream about for those once-a-season days, and then there are skis that actually make sense to own. We get it. Big, fat powder skis are dreamy, and what we all wish we could be riding most days of the season. They’re exotic and aspirational, and really really fun. And that’s fine. But, sometimes you’ve got to think about the rest of your days on the mountain. In fact, let’s be real, if you ski a lot, that ends up being most days on the mountain. And for all those days, a narrower and more versatile all-mountain ski makes a whole lot of sense. 

How do we define “all-mountain?” Simple. It’s a ski that is happy to go anywhere in the resort. It can carve, it can ski some powder, it could do a lap in the park. In other words, it’s a jack-of-all-trades. Without pigeonholing ourselves into limited waist widths and shapes, we’ll say that these will typically fall anywhere in the 95-110mm underfoot category, and will come in many shapes and sizes. This list encompasses skis for both aggressive hard-charging ex-ski racers, jibby and playful freestyle-focused skiers, and everyone in between. We’ve added both the men’s and women’s version where applicable.

When it comes to ski design, we’re absolutely living in a golden era. Most brands have figured out how to make their one-ski-quivers (aka all-mountain skis) do a whole bunch of things really well, instead of just specializing in a single category and letting the rest be an afterthought. The reality is that most of us skiers want to explore the mountain and vary up the terrain on any given we’re out on the hill. Riding the same old trails gets boring. Call it freeskiing, call it all-mountain riding—I just call it just “plain ol’ resort skiing.” Consequently, most of the skis on this list will handle anything from refrozen crud to a few inches of fresh snow just fine. So the question is less “what can the ski do” and more, “what do I prioritize doing on skis?”

We like to think that there are two ways to go about this. Some folks like to lean into their strengths. Say you’re a traditional, directional skier who maybe used to bash gates in high school or college, and you love laying deep trenches on groomers at very high speeds. Maybe the move is to shop for a ski that will help you do that even better than before, taking advantage of new materials and shapes to get the most out of every turn.

But others like to tailor their skis to their weaknesses, to help expand their range as riders. It’s fun to try new things. So playful, freestyle-focused skiers (looking at you, park rats) could look for something more stable and powerful, knowing that they have the skills to ski it playfully if they so desire, but want a ski that can hold up to higher speeds, bigger airs, and more aggressive skiing.

Neither of those approaches is any better than the other, but it’s worth thinking about where you fall on that spectrum. Do you want a ski that does the things you already like doing really well, or are you looking to expand your comfort zone?

About Powder’s Editors Picks

Our Editor’s Picks lists are collections of the skis, boots, outerwear, and other gear that stood out to us while testing. If you want to learn more about how reviews work at Powder, we’re very transparent about our process.

These lists are constantly growing and evolving as we try new gear, all season long. If you’ve got a favorite piece of equipment that you think we should write about, let us know here. And, if you represent a brand or company and think your gear deserves a writeup, we’d love to get in touch.

2027 Blizzard Canvas 108

• Sidecut: 140mm – 108mm – 128mm
• Radius: 19m (186cm)
• Profile: twin rocker, camber underfoot
• Weight: 1870g (186cm)
• Best for: playful all-mountain skiing, floating transfer gaps

Blizzards are stiff and filled with metal, right? Not this one! The Canvas 108 is a stark departure from what we’re used to seeing from the Austrians at Blizzard. 

The Canvas 108 skips the stiff nature of just about every other ski in the existing blizzard lineup–its poplar and paulownia wood core provides a soft, poppy, and very round flex profile. I was actually surprised to learn that a small strip of metal runs down the center of the ski, since it doesn’t add a “heavy metal” feel to the ski by any means. It’s no noodle, but I found it quite easy to flex.

As such a stark departure from what we’ve seen coming out of the Blizzard factory these last few years, I think the Canvas 108 is a ski that’s going to be best suited for an entirely different set of skiers than a Rustler, Anomaly, Sheeva, Black Pearl or Cochise. Truth be told, the Canvas breathes some much-needed fresh life into Blizzard’s ski lineup and will be a great choice for any modern, progressive freeskier looking for a do-it-all resort ski for riding out West, or a pow-day ski for East Coast riding. The best part? Thanks to its still excellent on-piste performance, I don’t think it will alienate skiers who still demand a ski that can carve and make a “real” ski turn–it can do that plus hang in the park, slash and butter in pow, and turn all the resort sidehits into your personal fun zone. 

2027 Ellis Kanso 106

• Sidecut: 134mm – 106mm – 126mm
• Radius: 18.6m (186cm)
• Profile: twin rocker, camber underfoot
• Weight: 1900g (186cm)
• Best for: surfing slush

During POWDER Week at Grand Targhee Resort, we spent hours talking about and sharing opinions on skis. It might not come as a surprise that most of our tester crew prefers stiffer, more serious skis that are built to handle tough conditions, high speeds, and more aggressive skiing. What did come as a surprise was how much the tester crew liked a ski that falls completely outside that spectrum: the Ellis Kanso 106. 

Ellis, a small new brand out of Colorado, added the 106mm waist Kanso 106 to their lineup to complement the hard-charging Meraki 112 (which won a POWDER Editor’s Pick last year). It’s not a serious ski, but it’s a seriously good ski. 

The Ellis Kanso 106 perfectly fits the bill for the modern freestyle-oriented all-mountain skier looking for a quiver-of-one ski for just about any day you might encounter at your local hill. It’s soft, drifty, and fun and loves park laps as much as it loves ripping groomers, skiing bumps, and blasting sidehits. In the spring, it’s one of our favorite rides on soft, slushy days. 

2027 K2 Mindbender 96 + 96W

• Sidecut: 135mm – 96mm – 123mm
• Radius: 20m (183cm)
• Profile: Rocker/Camber/Rocker
• Weight: 1900g (183cm)
• Best for: going fast, all the time

New tech, at least when it comes to skis, is often met with criticism and scrutiny. We’ve all been duped by the latest and greatest advancements in ski technology, only to realize it was just a marketing stunt that didn’t provide any real value. K2’s “Dark Matter” technology, which is implemented on its newly-refined line of Mindbender skis, isn’t that, thankfully. These little blocks of TPU surrounded by powdered stainless steel are designed specifically to reduce vibrations. After skiing the K2 Mindbender 96 across challenging, refrozen spring conditions, we consider ourselves believers.

The K2 Mindbender 96 is what you want in a groomer-focused ski with an off-piste itch to scratch. With its aspen and paulownia wood core and K2’s proprietary “Dark Matter” technology, the Mindbender 96 is incredibly damp at speeds, yet snappy enough to slash and burn between trees.

The K2 Mindbender 96 will be appreciated by former ski racers turned freeriders, and freeriders looking for a narrow underfoot ski during high-pressure cycles. Last season was a dud for many ski resorts out West, but having a ski like the K2 Mindbender 96 in your quiver could make all the difference. For our friends out East, don’t be surprised if the K2 Mindbender 96 quickly becomes your daily driver.

Note: The K2 Mindbender 96 and 96W share the same construction, with different topsheet graphics.

2027 Rossignol Sender Free 100

• Sidecut: 131mm – 100mm – 123mm (184cm)
• Radius: 20m (184cm)
• Profile: Twin tip rocker
• Weight: 2000g (184cm)
• Best for: bulletproof days

There are skis that we want to ride everyday, and then there’s skis that we should ride everyday. The Sender Free 100 is a ski that conveniently falls into both categories. It’s versatility as a freestyle-friendly everyday ripper is astounding–it absolutely rails hardpack, has a ton of pop and playfulness for jibbing natural features and lapping the park, features enough girth to stay on top of a few inches of powder, and is quick and nimble enough for slithering through trees, moguls, and other tight terrain. 

The ski’s uncanny combination of carving ski-like edge grip and super bouncy and playful character makes it so fun. On groomers, that powerful edge grip inspires high-speed carves, and really rewards driving the ski through the front of your boot. However, take it off-piste, and the character changes to a more modern freestyle ski that’s super fun to tailpress and butter and promotes a more relaxed and centered skiing style.

Most importantly, though, it makes easy work of the kind of snow you’ll actually find at the resort better than most, making this an appealing choice for everyone from 50+ day a year chargers to more casual skiers looking for a fun ride. 

2027 Nordica Unleashed 106

• Sidecut: 138.5mm – 106mm – 127.5mm
• Radius: 18.7m (185cm)
• Profile: twin rocker, camber underfoot
• Weight: 1900g (185cm)
• Best for: mobbing through crud

This year, Nordica completely redesigned their flagship freeride ski, bringing it back to the days of the Patron and Soul Rider, albeit with a modern twist. The all-new Unleashed 106 (and Unleashed 106 CA, which shares the same shape with a slightly different no-metal core) is probably one of the friendliest and most fun Nordica skis yet—though there’s no doubt that some of the brand’s aggressive racing heritage is still there. These skis replace the outgoing Unleashed 108 with an updated construction featuring Nordica’s Drift Lock tech (a specifically-shaped sheet of metal in the layup), a refined shape, and even better performance in less-than-ideal snow.

With the new Unleashed 106, Nordica aimed to build a high-power freeride ski that combines a fun and drifty nature in soft snow with locked-in hardpack and crud performance. It’s a ski for skiers that can carve a traditional ski turn through the front of their boot but also want to get sideways, ski backwards, and jump off every air in sight. In short, Nordica accomplished their mission.

In other words, when it comes to riders looking for an aggressive freestyle-oriented freeride resort ski, this is a safe bet, and a ski that you can be very happy on as a daily driver. It comes in one of the largest size runs to accommodate skiers of all sizes (it’s cool to see an aggressive metal-forward ski like this go down to a 157cm length).

2027 Stöckli Stormrider 108

• Sidecut: 137 mm – 108mm – 129 mm
• Radius: 17.9m at 186 cm length
• Profile: Rocker/Camber/Rocker
• Weight: 2056g (186cm)
• Best for: the one-ski-quiver

Skiing the Stöckli Stormrider 108 is like driving a fancy sports car or a cushy SUV. One of our testers described it as the “Cadillac” of the test, and I found that hard to argue with. Another compared the Stormrider 108 to a big enduro bike with lots of travel, while other skis felt like an XC or hardtail rig.

In short, the Stormrider 108 is incredibly damp. So damp, in fact, that many of my fellow testers noticed that I was able to charge through chop and skied out pow on the Stormrider 108 while they were hanging on for dear life. I wrote one note down after a particularly loud snow day—“These skis are so quiet that I sometimes forget they’re easily one of the heaviest I’ve ever skied. The 108 doesn’t feel too wide to slash and burn around trees and moguls, too.”

If you’re a Western skier looking for a premium mid-wide ski that you can rip on 95 percent of days, or you’re a hardy East Coaster that wants to splurge on a wider ski without sacrificing on-piste performance, the Stöckli Stormrider 108 could be for you. Be prepared to turn heads as skiers ask, “Wait, that’s a Stöckli?!” Oh, and get ready to stomach the $1,700 pricetag. The Stöckli Stormrider 108 is an amazing ski, but it will cost you.