Racing backcountry skis
Product 2024
Woman, Man
The Atomic Backland 65 UL clearly states its intention with the phrase “it climbs as fast as it skis…”. Weighing in at 670 grams, it’s impressive for ascents. Its 24-meter radius complements its ability to tackle elevation gain. It’s a rocket on slopes with skins attached. It boasts stability and decent grip throughout the length of its edges, providing a sense of security on steep ascents. Its edge hold in these conditions has been described as “pretty awesome”.
During descents, it retains its edge qualities but to a much lesser extent. While the Atomic Backland 65 UL allows for fairly controlled and fast maneuvers across a wide range of snow types, keeping a cool head is still necessary.
This is a ski for competitors, designed to offer maximum lightness. An extreme ski that cannot claim exceptional skiability. It’s undoubtedly a compromise, shifting the focus towards weight savings at the expense of curve quality.
You can feel everything happening underfoot, thanks to the narrow width of the Atomic Backland 65 UL. The significant length of its edges provides good feedback. There’s a slight tail rise that further improves pivotability, along with an effective, ultra-lightweight tip.
Overall, despite its featherweight, the Atomic Backland 65 UL remains skiable as long as it’s used in what can be termed “classic” snow conditions, excluding deep snow or surfaces littered with hard-packed snow clumps, etc.
On the edge, in steep terrain, in phases requiring grip, there’s excellent traction and therefore significant safety. This grip doesn’t compromise the ski’s ability to produce flat turns when you want to pivot the ski.
However, in more complex, hard, irregular, chaotic terrains, the ski’s tip shows more ambiguity. Curve control and turning become very challenging to master. Balance becomes precarious, with the tip catching, slipping, catching again… It quickly returns to position, but it’s disconcerting. It’s difficult to initiate pivoting. There’s a tendency to lean back where the ski provides security because the tail remains stable. It feels solid underfoot, with good grip.
In such chaotic terrains, the Atomic Backland 65 UL doesn’t amplify movements, nor does it particularly absorb, but it doesn’t exaggerate the chaos of the terrain or amplify vibrations. If you push it too much forward, it inspires less confidence.
The performance changes when the snow becomes a bit more consistent; here, you discover a ski that’s rather pleasant, although it should always be considered as a pure competition ski. It approaches the skiability of skis weighing
The performance changes when the snow becomes a bit more consistent; here, you discover a ski that’s rather pleasant, although it should always be considered as a pure competition ski. It approaches the skiability of skis weighing 300 to 400 grams more, with a renewed sense of pivotability and entry into curves.
A pure product for ascents, in competition. Logically, it requires much more attention during descents. It’s for skiers with refined technique. An exclusive ski, chosen for its performance.
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
Receive your answers by mail. Do you have a particular question concerning the design, use, durability or other about a tested product? We will answer your question personally.
