Salomon’s X-Drive 8.8 is perfect for hard charging skiers who like to step on–and stay on–the gas. It has the stability and power to head mach schnell down the steepest lines at any area thanks to Salomon’s X-Chassis (featuring carbon and polyamide diagonal reinforcements), sandwich sidewalls and single Ti laminate. Our bigger, race-style testers loved this ski, with one ranking it his absolute favorite.

Other testers thought it was too one-dimensional, lacking the ability to make short swing turns, feel playful in the bumps or really do anything but go fast. Buy this ski if all you want to do is regularly blast past the speed limit.