The Best Freeride Skis of 2027

There’s no clear answer as to where and when the term “freeride” skiing got started, but without sounding too poetic, I’ll say it clearly got started in the hearts of skiers looking to have a good time. On snow, there’s not much that’s more fun than chasing your friends through whatever terrain you feel like, jumping off things, spraying each other with snow, and skiing with reckless abandon. Whether you’re deep in the backcountry riding proper big mountains, or simply ripping around your local resort pretending your on the Freeride World Tour, that simple pleasure is all the same. 

From a technical standpoint, though, the type of ski you might want for freeride skiing really depends on where you’re riding, what type of snow you’re dealing with, and your personal skiing style. Ask yourself: Do you prefer a more directional ski, or a looser, surfier, twin-tip construction?

How do we define a “freeride” ski? These fall somewhere on the spectrum between all-mountain and true powder skis, with waist widths typically between 105mm and 115mm, typically with stiffer flexes and slightly heavier weights, all with the intention of skiing aggressively through technical terrain and variable snow. These can handle everything from firm hardpack, a foot of blower, chalky bumps, and everything in between. They are made to charge and the ski’s damping, stiffness, and shape is meant to do much of the work for you.

2027 Armada Antimatter 114

• Sidecut: 138mm – 114mm – 132mm
• Radius: 21m (187cm)
• Profile: directional twin rocker, camber underfoot
• Weight: 2100g (187cm)
• Best for: Surfy freeride skiing in all conditions

What’s the Antimatter 114 all about? It’s the ski from Max Palm’s wildest dreams. The young freerider possesses an uncanny ability to mix wildly aggressive skiing with a surfy, silky smooth style, and this ski allows you to do exactly that. Armada’s new Antimatter metal construction, paired with a very unique directional twin-tip shape, produces a monster truck of a ski perfect for powerful big mountain skiing whether it’s in the resort or backcountry.

There’s a sense of refined aggression, paired with a hang-loose surfy vibe when you kind of just want to chill. It’s an Armada ski, after all.

“I enjoyed that I didn’t really have to think about what the snow was, it made a great fall line turn wherever I needed it to,” says tester Ian Halderman. “Super stable when it got rough and floated nicely despite not a lot of tips splay, the rocker profile worked for both fresh snow and running it out in the chop.

2027 Atomic Maverick 115 CTi

• Sidecut: 140.5mm – 115mm – 129.5mm (185cm)
• Radius: 18m (185cm)
• Profile: Powder Rocker 30/50/20
• Weight: 2150g (193cm)
• Best for: backcountry freeride skiing

Atomic’s 2027 Maverick 115 CTi is a bit of a genre-bender when it comes to design and construction. With a wide 115mm waist width, it’s undoubtedly a powder ski, but the stout, directional shape hides a very freestyle-friendly character. The shape takes some cues from both the Bent and the older Backland 117 freetouring skis. It resembles a Bent up front and blends into a Backland behind the binding, with a flatter tail and long taper lines. However, the surprisingly centered mount point pairs with a short-ish 18-meter turning radius and a medium-stiff and very round flex to make the ski feel loose and playful in pow, and a charger on firmer snow.

Take one look at the Maverick 115, and it’s clear where this ski is at home: fresh, deep snow. They plane easily and, with their carbon and Titanal lay-up, have a solid backbone despite not being particularly heavy. The lower swing-weight and tail rocker add a standout feature: maneuverability. “Slarvy” skis—that is, skis that disengage quickly and easily from turns—are very much in right now. The Maverick 115 exemplifies this category. Thanks to the quick or wide, drifting turns they facilitate, one tester compared them to a motorboat. 

If you sometimes treat the mountain like a freeride venue and prefer a somewhat directional shape, but aren’t interested—or don’t need—a truly bruising pair of planks, this is the ski for you. They hit an approachable sweet spot that’ll satisfy a wide range of skiers. They even have some potential as a chunkier touring ski, too.

2027 Salomon QST Blank

• Sidecut: 140mm – 108mm – 128mm
• Radius: 19m (186cm)
• Profile: directional rocker, camber underfoot
• Weight: 1870g (186cm)
• Best for: Your next daily driver freeride ski

Salomon’s updated QST Blank is going to make a lot of skiers happy, particularly those who seek out bigger terrain and want to ski it fast no matter the conditions. However, it’s not the kind of ski that will tire you out immediately–it’s also quite fun to just cruise around on. If you see yourself seeking out technical terrain at a resort like Palisades, Targhee, Crystal, Big Sky, Alta, or anywhere with a good amount of snowfall, grab a pair of these as your daily driver. They’ll serve you well when it snows, and keep the smiles going days after a storm.

Unlike most other freeride skis, it’s not overwhelmingly stiff. In fact, the new QST Blank left us scratching our head as to how this soft of a ski could feel so stable, planted, and powerful. Flex it by hand and you’ll think it would ski like a bag of marshmallows, but get it on snow and you’ll be surprised at how well it handles speed. That’s the magic of the updated QST construction.

“This is the ski for freeride skiers who want a reliable tool for skiing all types of terrain. I think this ski would work well for people getting rowdy and people who ski more conservatively and don’t want to be surprised by the ski,” says tester Peter Brigham.

2027 Rossignol Sender Free 118

• Sidecut: 146mm – 118mm – 141mm
• Radius: 25m (186cm)
• Profile: twin rocker
• Weight: 2500g (186cm)
• Best for: the strongest skiers on the deepest days

Rossignol’s Sender Free 118, which traces its lineage back to the beloved Blacks Ops 118, feels like a monster truck. If you’re sick of all those bumps and jolts halfway through a powder day, these are the skis for you. That’s also true if hearing “locked-in” or “on-rails” makes you avoidant. The Sender Free 118 may be plush. But it has a forgiving streak that makes it comfortable in the air and turn sideways quickly when needed.

At 118mm underfoot, the Sender 118 was never going to be quick edge-to-edge. It’s not a light ski either, so it isn’t the easiest to handle on groomers or in tight spots. Your body weight is also worth thinking about before springing on a ski this size. One tester, who weighs around 140 pounds on a good day, found them to be a bit much, at least in the 186cm length. “​​They’re super stable and plush, but can definitely get away from you if you’re not on top of them,” he said. “I could sense that they release and slash easily, but at my size, I felt like I was riding a freight train, mainly in tight trees.” 

The Sender 118 makes Rossignol’s widest option a lot more accessible without detracting from its top-level performance. It’s definitely still a niche tool for someone who’s always charging hard somewhere that it also snows a ton. For most skiers, we’d recommend the smaller and more approachable Sender 110, but if you’re the right skier with legs of steel, these are skis that could make your day a whole lot better. 

2027 Fischer Nothing

• Sidecut: 143mm – 112mm – 134mm
• Radius: 22m (186cm)
• Profile: directional rocker
• Weight: 2120g (186cm)
• Best for: Charging hard all the time

On first impression, the heavy weight, stiff hand flex, and long turn radius had me thinking these would be absolute hogs to drag around the mountain and would want nothing to do with terrain that didn’t resemble big-mountain movie lines. While it certainly excelled in that setting, I was truly impressed at how it handled everyday skiing in the resort—something that skis of this caliber tend to have trouble stooping down to.

The Nothing is without a doubt a very powerful ski, but it doesn’t have as much of a barrier to entry than some competitors. Even with the long 22m turn radius and stiff, powerful construction, the balanced swing weight and somewhat more centered mount point makes the Nothing feel very pivoty and drifty, making it easy to throw sideways and scrub speed in tight situations—not to mention tossing cheeky shifties off every sidehit.

Perhaps the most appealing aspect of this ski however, is its stability at speed and the way it smooths out variable snow conditions like they simply don’t exist. For good reason, ski design—particularly on the powder and freeride end of the spectrum—has become more “inclusive” in recent years, meaning that the performance envelope has shifted a little closer to the easier-to-ski end of the spectrum. That has sometimes come at the expense of top-end performance. The Nothing is a refreshing change from that, offering a ski that will make even the hardest-charging skiers happy, with enough weight, stiffness, and oomph to encourage the dumbest ideas on the mountain.