Fall Line’s 2024 Overall Ski of the Year
Does our choice for the 2024 Ski Of The Year surprise you? Fall Line, who verge on the obsessive about heading away from the circus of piste life, picking a Piste ski for our number one. And the vote was (almost) unanimous…
Yes. Out of the All-Mountain, Freestyle, Freeride, Touring and Freetouring skis we tried and tested on the mountain in La Clusaz, it’s Salomon’s new Addikt Pro thats taken top spot for Winter 2024. Time to find out why…
Salomon Addikt Pro
£780 (inc. bindings)
Lengths 149, 156, 163, 170, 177cm
Radius 13m @ 170cm
Dimensions 120-66-104mm
Weight per ski 2,690g @ 170cm with binding
salomon.com
Salomon says
Designed for skiers addicted to spending every chance they get carving down the mountain, Salomon’s newest on-piste Addikt Pro will instantly get you hooked. Its innovative Motion Tail technology and narrow waist make it a responsive yet forgiving ski that keeps it fun to mix short and long turns as you ski all day.
Fall Line says
Hands down, the most excellent ski Salomon has produced for some years. Why have we selected this as our 2024 Ski Of The Year? Everyone, irrespective of gender, who got on the Addikt Pro just lit up. Even people from other brands were gob-smacked at how good it is. It was equally loved by female and male testers, from 50kg to over 90kg, intermediate to professional level. We all only skied it in a 163cm and 170cm and still loved it. Its appeal is down to the heady mix of accessible performance, energy, grip, feedback and FUN.
This is not a race ski, and there are plenty of more powerful piste skis out there. The beauty is that you get on this ski and don’t have to think– you just ski for the soul-nourishing pleasure of it and have the biggest grin. Maybe that’s the g-forces at play?
Addikt Pro overview
We have a feeling you may read this and think we’re being paid by the brand or just making the Addikt Pro sound better than it is. We’re not, and honestly do whatever you can to try this ski. It’s the most versatile piste performance ski, with fabulous grip and energy, in a package that’s accessible to so many ski ability levels.
Salomon does make a regular Addikt, which is £100 cheaper. It shares the Motion Tail of the Pro and is mounted with the same binding, but it’s quite a different ski. The Addikt Pro is a full-camber piste ripper, with Blade Technology from the race department. While the standard Addikt shares the look, it’s only a cheeky graphic. That ski also has a 15% rocker through the front, a wider waist and longer turn shape. It’s still marketed for piste skiing but actually works well as a piste-focussed all-mountain ski. The Addikt is a very good ski, but it’s just not in the same league as the Addikt Pro. They could be called completely different names, so don’t go thinking that buying the Addikt is just a cheaper way of getting your Addikt Pro fix.
Addikt Pro Spec
Did you know that making sidewalls of skis has a wastage of around 40%? Neither did we.
Salomon takes the trimmings from making other skis’ sidewalls and compresses them into a new sheet of sidewall for the Addikt Pro, hence the funky colours. You get a full poplar wood core and two layers of metal, helping with stability, energy, dampening and drive. The Blade Technology’s been snaffled from the S/Race skis and is where Salomon fuses fixed polymer layers into the titanal layer. This means the Addikt Pro is easier to flex, so you can make tighter turns and get incredible edge angles without having to ski at Mach 10.
The back of the tail has a cutout, looking like the swallow tail of powder skis. Here, it’s about increasing flexibility, softening the back end up by 5%, so you’re not locked onto the turn and can be reactive and nimble when you need to alter course.
The Z12 GW binding sits on a pre-mounted plate, has a DIN range of 4-12, and works for flat ISO 5355 Alpine and curved ISO 23223 Grip Walk soles.
Addikt Pro Performance
“It’s seven months since we tested this and I’m still fizzing,” says gear editor Al.
“I’ve had chats with so many people about this ski, and not just our test crew. Not one person has played it down. How can something so seemingly specific and almost mundane looking be so energizing and unifying?”
If you don’t want to feel like a better skier, if you’d prefer not to experience the feeling of pressure, speed and control right through the turn and if you don’t like it when your mouth turns up at the edges, then this ski certainly is not for you. If you’re a beginner, there are easier skis.
If you race and only want to ski at break-neck speed, smashing yourself against plastic bendy things, then again there are other skis that’ll serve you better.
For everyone in between, this ski will work for you. The balanced, accessible flex means you can really feel what’s happening. Let the skis slide, tilt your ankles into the turn and the shovel engages. It doesn’t grab or snap you into the turn, but encourages you to increase the speed, confidence rising as you feel the pressure building, along with the grip.
Even on boilerplate hard snow this ski never wavers or feels like it will wash out.
The forgiving tail means dodging little lumps or nasties isn’t a problem, and if you find yourself in the back seat, balance all wrong, you don’t get spat out. The narrow waist, at 66mm, ensures edge-to-edge transitions are quick, aided by the energy release as you come out of the turn, firing you up into the next arc.
As you dish out more turns, you enthusiastically turn up the dial, canting your knees over for increased edge-angle and you’re left feeling as though racing may not be that hard after all.
Hero-turn after hero-turn, tights and longs, easy cruising and full throttle, the Addikt Pro helps you in all types of piste skiing.
Many people focus on all-mountain or freeride skis, thinking these will help with their powder skiing. If you want to get better at powder skiing, work on the fundamentals, which we all learn on the groomed terrain.
Get the Addikt Pro and you’ll be surprised by how enjoying the piste, and improving speed and edge control, translates to an enhanced skiing experience when the soft stuff falls and it’s time to dust off the powder slayers.
Addikt Pro Best For…
This is a piste ski for groomed terrain. It suits moderate to stronger intermediate skiers right through to experts and seasoned pros, female and male. It doesn’t require you to have a full-on Alpine boot. We skied it with race, piste/all-mountain and freeride boots and still enjoyed the similar sensations.
It is dynamic and reactive when pushed, but easy at low speeds and a pleasure to ski.
Now, please excuse us, we’re going shopping.
