Alpine skis
Product 2027
Man
We tested the Salomon S/Lab Equipe GS Pro in a 179 cm length. As its race-inspired cosmetics suggest, this ski takes its cues directly from competition stock, at least in spirit. Built strictly for hardpack on-piste performance, it targets expert skiers, instructors, and former racers looking to carve precise, powerful arcs at speed.
Our test model even featured an athlete name badge insert. Right out of the gate, you notice the substantial race plate system underfoot and its heavy, reassuring weight. We anticipated a taut, demanding ski—one you’d have to actively drive and stay ahead of, half expecting it to take control. Yet, from the very first turns, came a major surprise: not at all.
When steered from the back seat, the tail flexes excessively and loses edge hold. It’s quite astonishing, as the soft tail flex stands in stark contrast to the stiff flex underfoot. However, if you keep your stance centered and perfectly balanced over the ski, you manage to find decent bite. Still, it feels somewhat unsettling; given the technical firepower packed into this Salomon S/Lab Equipe GS Pro and the heavy race plate, we expected flawless, bulletproof edge hold. In fact, several skis without race plates—such as certain Atomic models—deliver just as much performance.
On the flip side, the Salomon S/Lab Equipe GS Pro offers excellent straight-line stability, showing no signs of weakness when picking up serious speed. But when it comes to pure edge hold, high angulation, or recovering from slight backward balance errors, confidence wanes. Its saving grace? Excellent radius versatility—it transitions and adjusts turn shapes remarkably easily, especially by working the tail. Turn initiation is surprisingly effortless. With such a forgiving tail, the ski feels almost quick to oversteer. Yet pairing a race plate with such a soft tail flex feels fundamentally contradictory,leading us to conclude that our specific test pair likely suffered from a manufacturing flaw or structural inconsistency.
Glide performance was rated as good, and the ski boasts a clean, high-end finish.
A ski engineered for powerful, accomplished skiers looking to carve hardpack. However, our test model suffered from a far too soft tail to deliver complete peace of mind at speed.
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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