All mountain skis
Product 2021
Lady
These are Élan’s new winter 2021 all mountain skis for women. Élan wanted to take advantage of an asymmetrical construction with these Wildcat 82 CX, the right and left skis are shaped differently. They have been exploring asymmetry for many years.
The inner ski area is reinforced with carbon for better responsiveness on the downforce. On the other hand, the exterior of the skis is thinner with less rigidity. This therefore makes them lighter.
The 82mm waist points to the skis being geared more towards efficiency on-piste rather than off-piste, despite the all-mountain label which, in theory, is for going onto non-groomed terrain. We tested the Élan Wildcat 82 CX in soft snow conditions: compact and well-groomed.
Our first impressions gave a feeling of interrupted fluidity along the curve. The skis pick up, then let go, it’s hard to have confidence in the grip and the ride. This phenomenon is even more noticeable on long turns at sustained speed. You have skis that easily find edge-bite, but then the grip is uncertain and not solid or continuous. What’s the reason? Is it due to rigid areas of the ski (others are very flexible) and a poorly refined construction? Whatever the reason, it’s a product that’s aimed at a small skier who doesn’t ski aggressively or attempt short, sharp turns.
In short, skidding turns, at low speed, the results are much better. If you want to put the Élan Wildcat 82 CX on the edges on a small radius, you really have to work to take advantage of the length of the edges and optimize the grip.
The design is pretty mundane, nothing special. Some testers compared them to rental skis. They lack that little extra something to arouse envy.
Off-piste in choppy snow, the Élan Wildcat 82 CX enter turns easily, they pivot nicely and allow you to react quickly if you need to turn quickly or do a sequence of turns. The exit out of the turn is also well managed, without any pitfalls, but once again you mustn’t go too fast.
Who are these Élan Wildcat 82 CX designed for? Not for beginners because you need to have minimum experience to know how to position yourself, measure the speed and force. A skier with an elaborate technical background will be disappointed with the Wildcat 82 CX. So the Elan are therefore destined more for intermediate skiers that aren’t too demanding.
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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