15 Skis I Personally Would Not Buy: Honest Picks and Why

Introduction

Most ski coverage focuses on what to buy. This piece flips it around: fifteen skis that, after testing and demoing, would not earn a spot in my own quiver. Some are genuinely weak performers. Others are fine skis that sit awkwardly next to a better model from the same brand, or designs that have simply gone too long without a refresh. None of this is a knock on anyone who owns them. If you are getting on snow and having fun, you have already won.

A fair bit of sugar to take with the medicine: for nearly every ski listed here, the manufacturer makes another model in the same family that I genuinely love. With that said, here is where my wallet stays shut.

Skis That Disappointed on Performance

Armada ARV 100

Advertised to me as a light powder ski, the ARV 100 skied nothing like one. The freestyle shape forces you to manage fore-aft balance constantly, it is extremely pingy, and it never gave me a turn shape I enjoyed. As a powder ski it just does not do powder well. Maybe there is a freestyle crowd it suits, but if so, it should be advertised that way. It was one of the worst skis I have ever been on for my style, and it cooled my interest in the rest of that line.

Blizzard Bent 100 (Pre-2025)

The pre-2025 Bent 100 was the ski that pushed me toward doing this seriously in the first place. Everyone online praised it as a do-everything ski of the year, but on snow it was far too noodly. The wood core lacked firmness, carving offered no solid platform, and the bottom half of the turn simply fell apart. The good news: the 2025 and newer version fixes all of this, and I now think the Bent 100 makes real sense as a first powder ski. Anything from 2024 and earlier, though, I would pass on.

Atomic Redster Q9.8

This ski did not make bad turns, which is exactly the problem. It made them for me. The turn initiation runs on autopilot, engaging even when I did not want it to, and I found that overbearing and frustrating. It feels like driving a modern car that refuses to change lanes without approval. Everything else was fine: the platform was solid and the dampness respectable, but it is a niche piste ski that takes control out of your hands, and I would never spend my own money on it.

Faction Dancer 2

I called this ski the boogie board of the ski world, and I stand by that. Set the edges and it makes its one turn shape on its own. You are not building pressure in your boots, not changing the shape of the turn, not learning the nuance of a real carved turn. It makes you feel like you are carving without building any of the skills that get you there, the same way pretending to shift in an automatic is not really shifting. I can see why the breakthrough moment appeals to people, but the experience is gutted, and I would not buy it or recommend it to anyone I care about.

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Skis That Left Energy on the Table

Nordica Enforcer 100 (Pre-2025)

The older Enforcer 100, renamed to the 99 later, simply did not give energy back out of the turn. You put the ski in and it stayed the course, which suits skiers who already throw the skis and let them hook, but not anyone who initiates from the tips and builds through the turn. It was excellent at powering through crud but lacked subtlety and rebound. The newer 99 fixes this and still keeps the back-of-the-boot turn style, so my objection is really to the pre-2025 versions only.

Blizzard Anomaly 88

The Anomaly 88 is the weak width in an otherwise good series. The tails drag, and the whole ski lacks the character I look for, as if a conference room listed everything people liked about other skis without arriving at a clear vision. It felt like borrowed shaping from brands that do it better, without the polish. To be clear: the Anomaly 94 is a great width, Blizzard makes plenty of skis I like, and the Rustler 10 remains excellent. But the 88, in the demo pair I tried, was a real disappointment.

Skis Overdue for a Refresh

Fischer Ranger 102

The Ranger 102 is not a bad ski, and for a powerhouse skier who drives through everything like a wrecking ball, it can work phenomenally. But for my style it is beefy, and the design feels long in the tooth. Five or ten years ago this would have been an impressive ski, but modern all-mountain designs offer far more range. Put it against something like an Atomic Maverick 105 CTI and the gap is obvious. As of this season I would not open my wallet for one.

Dynastar M-Pro 90

The M-Pro 90 feels like a very old ski, something I might have skied in 2013. It has a distinct shape and is fun off trail and in powder, which explains its fans in eastern glades, but it is a one-trick pony: not forgiving, not versatile, and narrow for an off-trail ski at that width. If I wanted that role, I would pick a designated powder ski instead. I have heard great things about the wider M-Pro 3 models, which I have not been able to test, so this may be an issue with this particular ski rather than the line. Still, having paid to demo it, I would never buy it.

Skis Overshadowed by Better Siblings

Blizzard Bent 85

The Bent 85 is stripped down to hit a price, and the cost is obvious the moment you step up to the Bent 90. The 90 gets Horizon Tech, can massage out turns, and offers far better range and value for the money. The 85 is meant to be beaten up in the park, and for a kid or a dedicated rail ski that is fine. But as a consumer buying for general use, I would not buy the Bent 85 while the Bent 90 sits right there delivering so much more.

Salomon QST Blank

The QST Blank is not a bad ski. On a deep powder day it did fine. But it adds so little over the QST 106 that I cannot see buying it. The Blank is hard on your legs and overbearing, while the 106 delivers the distinct QST feel, more character, and easier maneuverability with very few downsides. I am talking about the 2025 and earlier generations here, since I have not tried the newest version. If you want a ski that wide, I would point you to the QST 106, a Bent 120, or a Kaizen 112 long before the Blank.

Rossignol Sender 104 Ti

The Sender 104 Ti I tested was fine, but it lives entirely in the shadow of the Sender 110 Free, a ski I loved and recommend enthusiastically. The 104 Ti was a little finicky and sassy, giving me less feel in powder without rewarding me with better carved turns in return. Ten times out of ten I would reach for the 110 Free, and I suspect East Coast conditions may tell a different story, but between these two I would never buy the 104 Ti.

Skis Not Suited to Tight Terrain

Black Crows Corvus

The Corvus is simply too big for where I ski. In a huge open range it may well perform, but at a smaller mountain you need to negotiate brush and bramble, and this ski is a giant yacht: stable and tracking well in big lines, but overbearing, set in its ways, and hard to maneuver. Other skis manage the same stability with far more agility. I do not think it is a poorly designed ski, but I personally would not buy one.

Skis You Shouldn’t Buy Right Now

Peak 88 and Peak 104

This one hurts, because the skis themselves were good. The Peak 104 is a ski a friend of mine absolutely loves, and the Peak 88 is one I genuinely enjoy. They were distinct, well-made skis, and the online rhetoric that dismisses them as junk misses the mark completely. The problem is the company: it reportedly stopped paying people, lost communication, and shut its doors. Buy a pair today and you have no warranty coverage, no replacement path, and no way to get another pair if you love them. That alone keeps them off my list.

Bomber Crystal 84 Titanium

Bomber skis have a distinct feel, especially the race skis I have tested: beefy, burly, and about as subtle as big pontoons in the snow. That style did not work for me, and the pricing makes it worse. The Crystal 84 Titanium, the banner ski on their site, costs $2,450, which is a lot of money for what I found to be a pretty okay ski. I have only skied their race models, so I cannot judge the rest of the range, but combining that experience with the price, I would never buy these, and nothing since has convinced me otherwise.

Conclusion

Skis end up on a list like this for one of three reasons: they underperform, they stand in the shadow of a better ski from the same brand, or they are imitating a better design instead of having one of their own. We are in the golden age of ski design, and there is a lot to love out there. But spending money on skis demands honesty about the ones that fall short. If you own any of these and love them, keep enjoying them. And if you are shopping this season, check the sibling models mentioned throughout, because in most of these cases the better ski already exists.

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