Dynastar’s Cham skis tend to excelt at Snowbird, where the combination of long tip rocker and a pintail design make it easy to carve soft snow straight down the fall-line. The W 97 is no exception, as it intuitively arced off-piste conditions, cutting through powder and crud one short, sweet turn at a time. Trees, short chutes and steeps are also pleasure. As one tester remarked, “It’s an all-mountain queen.”

On groomers, however, it isn’t nearly the same. Speed is hard to manage, as is the consistency of round-shaped turns. Our advice? Stay in the powder, and ski the highline, where it shouldn’t be a concern.