Salomon has found a huge following with the release of their Rocker 2 skis the past few seasons, and they’re expanding on their designs with a whole new line called the Quest Series. These new skis will have much the same features as the Rocker 2 line with honeycomb tips for reduced swing weight, but will also be more backcountry friendly with flatter tails. Salomon calls these skis “All Mountain Backside,” which sounds to me like the ultimate one-ski-quiver for both in and out of bounds.
Although the Quest skis won’t be available until the 2013/14 ski season, I got to ski all day on two models at Alta – the Quest 115 and Quest 105. Conditions in Little Cottonwood Canyon was packed powder, with fresh groomers and chopped up pow off-piste. It was a welcome day to test these skis and see if they could handle anything, because Alta dished it up.
I first made turns with the Salomon Quest 115. Salomon says they have utility rocker for versatility and directional stability, hook-free taper with a 5-points sidecut, honeycomb tips with an ABS frame, full wood core from tip to tail, and semi-sandwich construction from edge to edge. On the snow, I first bombed down Mambo, a blue-square groomer to get a feel for the ski’s behavior and turn radius. The 115 skis felt very stable and were capable going from edge to edge, despite the 115mm underfoot. The camber underfoot and flatter tails also gave the skis a “poppy” feeling not found in most powder seekers.
The rest of my time on the Quest 115 was spent in the chop. Soft powder pillows between days-old tracks fell before the skis tips, and they slayed anything in their path. Hopping from powder stash to powder stash, I felt the 115 skied very similar to the Rocker 2, especially with how easy it was to turn without having to muscle them thanks to those light-weight, honeycomb tips. Overall, the Salomon Quest 115 charge in mixed terrain, and bust cut-up conditions with ease. While they’re not amazing on frontside groomers, and have to be driven, I think they would be ideal on a deep powder day or in untracked backcountry, but will still get you to the bottom of the lift with little complaint.
The rest of the day at Alta, I skied the Salomon Quest 105. Like their bigger brother the 115, the 105 also have utility rocker, hook-free taper, honeycomb tips, full wood core and semi-sandwich construction. The way they differ is the slimmer waist which I think makes them more versatile as a resort ski than the 115, yet are still more than capable to float on deep days.
Truth be told, I had a lot more fun on the Quest 105. For me, skiing groomers is simply a means to get back to the lift line. But on these skis, I actually had fun carving corduroy for the first time since I don’t know how long. They felt super snappy going from edge to edge and were very quick to respond. I actually couldn’t believe I was skiing wide skis considering their performance. I think I may have even giggled. With that flatter, tapered tail, I was able to engage the full edge and whip myself out from one turn to the next, whether I wanted to swing wide or carve tight crescents in the hardpack.
But the powder is where I feel most at home, and the same can be said for the Quest 105. Off the groomers, they furiously gobbled up any soft snow that Alta threw at them. The rocker tips float nice in both the powder and choppy snow, and the practically non-existent swing weight in the tips made fast turns possible, which was especially important in tight trees. In fact, I only had to think about turning, and they responded.
However, those honeycomb tips do come at a price as I noticed they would deflect easier in chop than other skis. If I wasn’t careful or paying attention, the skis could get tossed around. So while the Quest 105 have the dimensions to be tanks, they are not monsters that can steamroll through heavy crud.
On the whole, while the Quest 115 will certainly be Salomon’s flagship ski of the line and likely will be seen on the feet of many aggro skiers next season, I think the 105 is where it’s at. The versatility, powder capability, and actual snappy performance on groomers make the Quest 105 the perfect, all mountain ski that can handle anything in both the resort and backcountry. In fact, if they were available today, I would buy them. Too bad we all have to wait until next season before setting out on quests of our own.
Salomon will have other skis available in the Quest line as well, including Q-98 and Q-90 models, as well as women’s versions including the 103 Stella, 96 Lumen, and 88 Lux.