2024 Women’s Touring Skis
Veritable vehicles to get you places – and bring you back with a smile on your face
The women’s Touring skis featured in the 2024 Fall Line Gear Guide:
- Atomic Backland 88 W
- Elan Ripstick Tour 94 W
- K2 Wayback 89
- Faction Agent 2X
- Scott Superguide 95 W
- Völkl Rise Above 88 W
To access the full list and in-depth reviews of Touring skis in the mega 2024 Fall Line Gear Guide, click below on the cover to buy the issue (£3.50) and flick through the full roster of women’s Touring skis:
Atomic Backland 88 W
£500
Lengths 155, 162, 169cm
Radius 15.4m @ 162cm
Dimensions 120-89-108.5mm
Weight per ski 1,200g @ 162cm without binding
atomic.com
THEY SAY
Created for those women who seek limitless skiing, the Atomic Backland 88 W offers the ultimate touring experience with a lower-impact design.
WE SAY
A completely new ski for Atomic. The 88 is a new width, using their Lower Impact Design. The most impressive aspect of this ski is the fact it’s so light yet skis so incredibly well. Pair this with their new Backland XTD boots and you have a dream setup.
OVERVIEW
Atomic has been working on their new breed of Backland skis for a couple of years, to improve the skiing and reduce the environmental impact. For this season, for the Backland 85, 88 and 95, as well as the SL models, they’re using a new Lower-Impact Design. In the 85, for example, they’ve been able to drop the carbon footprint by around 30%.
The 88 is a new width and uses the same construction principles as the 85 and 95. You can basically pick your length and colour, as the 85 and 88 are the same for men and women, just with different graphics and lengths. The wider 95 is only available in the unisex/men’s range. Touring skis can wash out through the front when you apply pressure, which is hard to deal with for the touring newbies coming over from Alpine skiing, so Atomic’s designed the new Backlands so you can pressure the shovel to start the turn.
SPEC
The core is poplar wood then under the binding, where you need to ensure strong binding screw retention, they insert a section of denser ash wood. The core is now thicker for a greater proportion of the ski. They use two glass layers, rather than three as per the previous Backlands, and in turn use less resin. Recycled metal is incorporated into the edges and they’ve got a new construction through the shovel. You still get the chamfered nose, but in this HRZN 3D they injection mould PA plastic to get the shape they want, including the lightening holes, so there’s no waste from removing material. The new shape of these Backlands is far more versatile. We’ve hammered it down hard packed pistes on all three widths and they’re a vast improvement on the previous versions, which were already popular.
We tried every which way to make them come unstuck… Even in fairly deep, soft snow, over heather tracks, the front just picked up and kept us cruising
PERFORMANCE
Ffion said: “When skinning, the lightweight construction is immediately notice able saving bucket loads of energy in the legs for the all-important downhill. It copes magnificently on-piste and is easy to steer, whether you are using edge, pressure or rotation. In soft snow these skis punch well above their modest 89mm, giving an effortless performance you can rely on all the way down.”
Some of the excellent off-piste performance could be down to the fact that all the Backland 88 skis are wider than 88mm underfoot. We tried every which way to make them come unstuck, and our favourite game was trying to get the tips to bury. Even in fairly deep, soft snow, over heather tracks, the front just picked up and kept us cruising.
We skied them with a variety of boots, and the skis handled them all, even inappropriate heavier freeride touring boots. Ideally you want a lighter touring boot, so check out the women’s touring boot section for more on these. Skiing on-piste was a surprise for a dedicated touring model, behaving like a freeride ski. Atomic’s got the mix right with the new Backlands.
BEST FOR
The Backland 88 works for beginner tourers right through to seasoned pros. If you want more float, go for the 95, but as an all-round touring ski, the Backland 88 is the one to beat this season.
Elan Ripstick Tour 94 W
£699 without bindings
Lengths 157, 164, 171, 178cm
Radius 13.7m @ 164cm
Dimensions 129-94-109mm
Weight per ski 1,330g @ 164cm without binding
elanskis.com
THEY SAY
Elan’s Ripstick Tour 94 W is designed for adventurous women who want all of the benefits of lightweight technology in a wider chassis designed for bigger mountains and deeper snow.
WE SAY
A lighter touring version of our beloved Ripsticks, the Ripstick Tour 94 is so darn sweet to ski. Whack on a lightweight tech binding and float off in search of freshies.
BEST FOR
Anyone who has skied a Ripstick and wishes it was a bit lighter, and everyone and anyone looking for a wicked touring ski that’s ready to rip.
K2 Wayback 89
£575 without bindings
Lengths 153, 160, 167cm
Radius 15.8m @ 160cm
Dimensions 121-89-107mm
Weight per ski 1,150g @ 160cm without binding
k2snow.com
THEY SAY
Completely redesigned with input from athletes and guides, the Wayback 89 W boasts a new construction, shape and profile featuring K2’s Titanal Touring Tech, All Terrain Rocker and Bio-Resin.
WE SAY
They’re not the only brand to be looking at how they can reduce the environmental impact of their skis, but it’s great that K2 are changing things up. The new Wayback 89 is a cracking width for ski touring, and the construction and profile provides a sensational ski down, as well as an easy time pitting yourself against gravity.
BEST FOR
A superb choice for intermediate to expert tourers wanting to save every gram without compromising on their skiing enjoyment.
For more Touring skis featured online, check out our top pick of men’s 2024 touring skis:
