The Best Skis of 2026: Piste | All Mountain | Freeride

We review the Best Skis for the new 2026 winter season, covering the best piste skis, best all mountain skis and freeride skis. Host Iain Martin was joined by The Ski Podcast’s equipment expert Al Morgan. 

Tirol in Austria sponsors The Ski Podcast, which means that this winter we'll be able to find out more about some of the great destinations in Tirol, and how you can connect with the wonderful ‘feeling of life’ there. 

SHOW NOTES

Iain and Al will be at the London Snow Show in October (3:00)
Best Skis of 2026 means the best skis of winter 2025/26 (4:00)
What are the different types of skis (4:15)
How important is that figure for width under your foot? (7:45)
What is meant by ‘side cut’? (10:00)
What is a ‘rocker? (12:00)
How long should your skis be? (15:15)
Is sustainability still important in ski production? (18:45)
The Ski Sustainability Forum is organised by POW, Atomic and FESI (21:00)
When and where did testing take place? (22:15)
SIGB is the Snowsport Industries of Great Britain (22:45)
Most testing takes place at SIGB’s annual ski test in La Clusaz (23:15)
How much do bindings cost? (25:00)

THE BEST PISTE SKIS OF WINTER 2026 

K2 Blur 74 W (women) (26:30)
£600 / 148cm-169cm

Blur is K2’s new piste ski range for winter 25/26. The 74W has a little lift through the front and back, is built around their aspen wood core and uses Flax with channels milled into it. 

They only do this in this ski and the Blur 79W to enhance agility. It should also save a little weight, although the 74 is about performance and a perfect partner for advanced and expert female skiers shredding the groomers.  

It has a 13.9m radius in the longest length and testers reported it as silky smooth, easy to ski yet snappy, with great boost turn-to-turn. It’s super reactive underfoot, quick to pivot and rotate for short turns. 

Nordica Dobermann Multipista DC FDT (29:00)
£930 including binding, 160cm-185cm

The Multipista is new for this season, focussed equally on fun and performance. It may look similar to the Steadfast skis in its outline, but there’s a lot more going on than simply a curvy figure. 

It has Dobermann in the name, which hints at this ski’s powerful drive, and when you open the throttle you’re rewarded by the bucketload! 

The rise though the front and back, paired with the taper at each end, means you never feel like your locked into a turn. It can lay trenches on the groomers, but if you want to nip off the side, take on some slush or get a little airtime, it's as composed as you could ask for.
 
It’s built around their Energy 2 Ti Double Core (DC) construction. An elastomer layer is sandwiched between two beech and poplar wood cores, beefed up by two layers of Titanal metal, one above the wood-elastomer sandwich and one below. 

Even though Nordica states the ski as having a Full Camber Profile, it has a longer rise through the shovel and tail than a regular full camber ski. This rocker profile is part of the Multipista’s magic, bringing a delightfully versatile nature. The tapered profile through the shovel and tail further adds to its performance across a range of conditions. The 74mm waist width, in all lengths, partners with their race on-piste shape underfoot for confidence-rocketing grip. This width is bang-on the money, with plenty of punch through the edge and enough float and stability to tackle a broad array of terrain and snow conditions.

THE BEST ALL MOUNTAIN SKIS OF WINTER 2026

Völkl V.Werks 100(32:00)
£1,750 flat, 170cm-186cm

Völkl has taken all they’ve learnt from ski manufacturing and turned the dial up to eleven with this ski! The company was founded in 1923, and in honour of this they have made exactly 1923 of these skis, with a retail price of €1923.  

This ski is see-through. If you place your hand behind the ski, when holding it up to the light, you can see where your hand is. It’s quite spectacular. It also highlights the complex structure they’ve perfected for the fibre placement. 

They combine carbon and natural flax fibres, which work in harmony with the superb 3D H-Woodcore. This is made of two enviro friendly FSC-certified poplar and beech cores, with a central reinforcement, and this all has a very noticeable and technical 3D shape. 

The fibres, translucent layer and wood core allows the designers to transfer the movements and forces from the skier through the ski and to the edges, for a ridiculously intuitive control. You get a regular camber underfoot but enough rocker in the shovel and tail for a mega-versatile shape.

Atomic Maven 88 CTI (Women) (35:00)
£570 without bindings, 147cm-172cm
 
This ski is based around an ash and poplar wood core, boosted by the addition of carbon and Titanal. These laminates add greater damping and energy to the ski, whilst helping to keep the ski light. 

The change of shape through the shovel, as we saw in the wider Maverick and Maven models last season, keeps this ski incredibly playful. This HRZN 3D Maverick/Maven tech sees the wood core extend right up to the very front of the ski, designed to improve stability and smoothness when charging hard. 

These skis can certainly be skied fast, but the thing you notice most with all skis with HRZN tech is just how much it enhances the fun nature of the skis. They are not twin-tips, and have a directional shape, although the rise in the back means you can ski switch if you really want to. Atomic builds in a 15% rocker through the shovel and a 10% rocker at the back, with standard camber in the middle of the ski.

Salomon Stance Pro 86(Unisex) (38:00)
£640 flat, 151cm-185cm
 
Salomon’s Stance range sees significant change, taking what were already great skis and making them industry leading. 

It has a full poplar wood core, with the Powerflex Ti metal layer sitting full width underfoot and tapering out in front of and behind the binding. The metal edge is made thicker to aid grip and power, and will endure more services, therefore lasting longer. The base has a 50% recycled content. The profile delivers regular camber underfoot with a 15% rocker through the front and a milder 12% rocker at the rear.

THE BEST FREERIDE SKIS OF WINTER 2026 (40:00)

Head Kore 99 Ti W(Women) (40:30)
£650 without bindings, 156cm-177cm  

The Kore skis are redesigned for this season. This 99mm underfoot model has the same length options as the women’s Kore 97 of last season, but otherwise it’s a very different ski. 

Where the men’s new Kore skis use beech and karuba, the women’s Kore models combine poplar with PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which is a thermoplastic polyester polymer. Think of your favourite fleece, and the chances are it’s made of the same material. 

This is complimented by a layer of Titanal, using at least 40% recycled material, above and below the core, along with a Graphene layer between the metal and top of the core. They add a damping layer between the bottom metal layer and the edges of the ski, to further smoothen the ride. 

Again, as in the men’s, they add flax to the boundary of the topsheet to improve durability. Rocker front and back, with standard camber underfoot, gives the ski it’s undeniable freeride profile.
 
Salomon QST 100(Unisex) (43:30)
£570 without bindings, 148cm-188cm  

New for this season in widths ranging from 92 through to 106, the 100 is an incredible freeride ski and was a hit with everyone at testing. It’s a unisex model, offered in a choice of two colours. 

The new QST’s have full poplar wood cores with basalt and glass fibres, as well as Salomon’s proven Cork Damplifier, where they inlay a cork and TPU border at the tip and tail to dampen vibrations. The 106 has a 22% rocker up front and 18% rocker in the tail. As you step down in width to 100 then 94, they reduce the rocker proportion by 1% at each end, for each drop in width.
 
FEEDBACK

I enjoy all feedback about the show, so if you enjoyed this episode, or if you have any questions about skis we didn’t cover, then please let us know by leaving a comment at Instagram or Facebook – we are @theskipodcast – or by dropping me an email theskipodcast@gmail.com

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