Best Men’s Piste Ski (For Cruising) 2017/18: Fischer Progressor F17

The Fischer Professor F17 wins Fall-Line Skiing magazine's 'Best Men's Piste Ski: Easy Cruising' award 2018

Sporty yet easy-going, the Fischer Progressor F17 is our top piste cruiser for this season – and makes the last run of the day as fun as the first was with fresh legs

The trickle down effect may not always work in economics, but the Progressor F17 shows just how well it works with ski design! With much of the cutting edge tech from Fischer’s top end race skis re-packaged in a light weight and easy going package, it’s all the fun of the fair (err, slalom course) for intermediates, small people, or anyone who just prefers a ski holiday to skiing hard – and all at a great price too!

The secret to this lies in the Progressor’s construction, and what Fischer call ‘air carbon.’ They use space age light-but-strong carbon composite shafts from the aerospace industry to save weight without compromising strength and durability, which means the Progressor F17 can deliver bags of performance and high-speed thrills without demanding too much from your legs in return.

Cruising the pistes on the Fischer Progressor F17 ski

The special ‘razorshape’ delivers more of this ‘more for less’ philosophy: it saves weight by tapering the topsheet down to meet the ski edges (which looks seriously cool in the rack at lunchtime too), simultaneously boosting edge to edge speed and grip due to the reduced contact area cutting deeper into the snow. The Progressor’s sporty side is further enhanced by early-rise rocker for quicker turn initiation and a dual radius system – different turn radii in different sections of the ski deliver outstanding performance in short and long turns.

It’s how effortless this race ski-like performance is that makes the Progressor such a good ski though, and why we’ve given it our ‘best for cruising’ award. It’s as happy cruising around with the kids (or grandparents) at slow speeds after a nice long lunch and a few glasses of wine as it is stepping on the gas when you get a few runs to yourself.

Being so lightweight and easy to edge saves your legs from the fatigue of more demanding skis too, which means the last run of the day – or week – is just as much fun as the first. Plus when the going gets chopped up and mogully they’re easy to flick around through the lumps and bumps without getting bogged down.

2018 Fischer Professor F17 Specifications:

  • Length: 153, 160, 167, 174
  • Sidecut: 120-73-103
  • Turn radius: 14-17m (167)
  • RRP: £400

2018 Fischer Professor F17 ski product image

The Test Team’s Opinion:

Great ski quick edge to edge, it did all you asked of it with no unpleasant surprises. Super nippy and great fun.

Ian Davis

 

Want to learn all about the best new ski equipment for the 2017/18 season? Head this way to get the bumper Fall-Line Skiing Gear Guide.