Fischer S-Bound 98 Crown/Dual Skin Xtralite 26/27

98mm underfoot, Crown base with Dual Skin, steel edge, and a 65mm skin width. The S-Bound line is Fischer's answer to backcountry terrain that needs actual turning rather than just travelling.

The trade is glide. A 98 is slow on a flat road next to an Offtrack ski and you will feel it on a long approach. Accept that and you get enough float for real powder and enough shovel to start a turn in soft snow, on a scaled base that still lets you travel rolling terrain without skins.

For skiers whose days are glades and short approaches. If most of your mileage is flat and connecting, the Excursion 88 travels better and gives up less than you would think.

It wants a stiff boot to drive it. The BCX Grand Tour XP on Xplore is the right pairing; a softer touring boot will struggle to steer it in heavy snow.

This is a glade ski that walks, and on a Vermont powder day it is the most fun ski in the Fischer range.