All mountain skis
Product 2021
Woman, Man
We had contrasting results for these Salomon Stance 96. After some skis were judged lacking in personality and a little drab over the past seasons, the brand seems to be overcompensating with these Stance 96: full-on materials, and high-level skiability.
These skis have dark colors, a slightly classy look, not very joyous but nevertheless an elaborate design. They give an overall impression of well-finished skis, with a Titanal double laminate, which before testing we assumed would behave like “giant” skis.
These Salomon Stance 96 have a 96mm waist. The transition from edge-to-edge is a little more laborious and less lively than on less substantial widths. The Stance are intended for using on groomed slopes but with their width they can be good for going into deep snow.
Salomon puts it more in an all mountain category (unless it’s freeride?), with performance on pistes that can also go past the markers into off-piste territory.
Given the skis’ structure and length they are quite heavy on the snow. The bindings are also weighty. There’s a lot of inertia and suddenly you lose the desire to play with the terrain, and jump around. You just want to lock in, gracefully lengthen out your curve and lean into the power and speed.
The Salomon Stance 96 scream down the piste, don’t be looking for liveliness, and to play with bumpy grounds and nip between trees. With these you need to anticipate long in advance and have a good physique to control the situation.
They have fairly good absorption but they are not skis that are designed to go slowly.
So as we have already said, no need to try gymnastics with these, get onto a clearer fall line, where the snow is more regular, then you can taste the pleasure. The Salomon Stance 96 just plead to speed up. Absorption changes in relation to your speed, the faster you go, the less vibrations you suffer.
With their 96mm waist, you can go into big powder. The tips do the job, they absorb and plane well, even if some skis come out better. They don’t have an excessive rocker or extremely wide tips and so they are designed for specific conditions and terrain, which they suit perfectly.
On the piste we find the same characteristics, they are a rocket on the edges. If you initiate a carving turn, make sure there’s no one around because if a skier comes out of a dip, you’ll slice him in two. You are stuck in a radius and it is very hard to get out of it.
The Salomon Stance 96 are very hard to oversteer, we had a lot of trouble. On the contrary, they just want to accelerate, to open up, and then the faster you will go, and the more stable you will feel. But this means it takes a lot of energy to get into the skid, and finish the turn.
Its 20-meter radius is a bit long, it requires physical strength especially as they don’t immediately enter into the curve. The tips are a bit slow. You have to ski it underfoot at the rear: that’s one way to get performance and acceleration. The Salomon Stance 96 are of course aimed at powerful riders, fast skiers who feel the need for speed, who have the physique to be able to hold it all day.
With these Salomon Stance 96, we find ourselves in a hybrid range that we find difficult to situate: all mountain, not quite freeride, but freeride while performing well on the piste. We can give a number of definitions to these Salomon Stance 96, they are pleasant skis in deep snow. They work very well on piste even if the switch from edge-to-edge is slow. They aren’t playful skis but they perform well in most areas of their designated program. For powerful skiers.
We used this equipment over a long period of time
These are our thoughts after intensive use:
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