The Best Powder Skis of 2025 (Ranked)

Photo: Emily Tidwell

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Powder is the reason we’re all here, but it’s also the most elusive kind of snow there is. Powder skis are somewhat niche, and somewhat aspirational—they’re the ones we click into when the mountain is at its best and we want to be, too.

But building a good powder ski is complex. It demands a design that lets you cross all the variable conditions you’re likely to encounter before you actually get to the good stuff. Even skis meant for the steep and deep have to make some compromises toward versatility, which is why we’ve seen powder ski waist widths narrow over the last couple years.

At our SKI Test at Mt. Rose, Nevada, we jumped on 17 powder skis, all with a minimum of 110 millimeters underfoot, to determine which are best suited to the type of powder skiing most of us encounter at resorts. The skis that made this list will maximize fun on any powder day from start to finish—when you’re chewing up leftovers and your quads are quaking.

Editor’s note: The skis on this page appear in ranked order, with the highest-scoring ski appearing at the top of the list. While we’re big fans of the Peak 110 by Bode (and the Armada ARW 112 for women), remember that testing skis is somewhat subjective. Just because our crew of testers deemed this ski the best of the best does not necessarily mean it’s the best ski for every type of skier. So don’t just pay attention to scores and rankings—dig into each review to learn about a ski’s strengths and weaknesses before deciding which ski might be best for you.

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$869 at Peak

Score: 7.88/10Lengths: 168, 178, 188 cmDimensions: 139-110-129 mmTurn Radius: 24 m (178 cm)Weight: 1,890 g (178 cm)

Pros and Cons⊕ Versatile⊕ Smooth⊗ No twin tip⊗ Might be too directional for some

Just like its namesake, the Peak 110 by Bode is charge-y but refined. With a remarkably forgiving and intuitive platform, it floats like a much fatter ski and carves like a much narrower one—with some of the smoothest vibration damping our testers have ever felt. The Peak 110 is our top choice after earning top scores for responsiveness, stability at speed, and versatility.

“It rips,” reported 29-year-old Tommy Flitton, a former freeride coach from Salt Lake City. “But you better be on top of it. Let it find the fall line, and then hold on for a fast and furious time.”

Peak credits its KeyHole technology—a circular cut-away in the top Titanal layer right in front of the binding—with making a long turn radius feel short. This purportedly also allows the ski to float better than a 110-millimeter-waisted plank usually would. Our testers found both claims to be true, whether the hole is the secret sauce or not.

The Peak 110 just feels like it does everything right. Despite lacking a twin-tip profile (one of its only knocks) and being directional by nature, its progressive mounting point fuses all-mountain spirit with a powder ski’s personality. It’s rare for a ski to feel playful and powerful all at once, and yet, this one does.

“It’s super smooth and easy to ski,” reported 5-foot-3 tester and SKI executive editor Samantha Berman. “It really did all the work.”

Read our full review of the Peak 110 by Bode.

$800 at Backcountry $800 at Evo

Score: 7.79/10Lengths: 178, 184, 192 cmDimensions: 140-116-127Turn Radius: 25 m (184 cm)Weight: 1,900 g (184 cm)

Pros and Cons⊕ Well-balanced weight⊕ Outstanding flotation⊕ Good value⊗ Short turns are not intuitive⊗ Clumsy on groomers⊗ Limited length options

New this season, the QST X works its magic via a light core and long turn radius that makes it want to drift and surf. The QST X earned top honors for flotation in our test, but it also received consistent scores in every other performance category.

At 116 millimeters underfoot, it’s a fat ski that goes anywhere and sports the kind of can-do attitude that is redefining expectations for powder skis. It’s accessible enough for intermediates, yet exciting enough for experts.

“It’s a quick, snappy, very responsive pow ski that will float on top of any sort of pow or crud,” said 6-foot-tall tester and shop tech Cooper Johnson.

At under 2,000 grams, it’s light enough to take touring, but calm enough for inbounds crud. Cork in the tip helps keep the ski composed, staving off any jitters usually associated with lighter weights. A mix of flax and carbon fiber in the construction even out the flex and torsional rigidity.

Testers reported that it’s a little bit more cumbersome on hard snow and groomers because of the long turn radius (a whopping 25 meters in the 184 centimeter length). “It’s planky on-piste, but who cares—you’ll love this ski for what it’s for,” noted tester and ski shop owner Luke Larsen.

$850 at Evo $850 at Ski Essentials

Score: 7.78/10Lengths: 165, 175, 185 cmDimensions: 135-112-130 mmTurn Radius: 17 m (165)Weight: 1,785 g (175)

Pros and Cons⊕ Very playful⊕ Super even flex⊕ Intuitive⊗ Jittery at high speeds on hardpack⊗ Not the best in crud

The highly playful Armada ARW 112 was a bit of a show-stopper for our female testers, who couldn’t get over how floaty, forgiving, and agile these planks proved in tricky snow conditions at Mt. Rose. “This ski embodies playfulness, nimbleness, and pure off-piste fun,” said Kelli Gleason, a 5-foot-2 veteran tester who clicked into the 175-centimeter length.

While the ARW 112 demonstrated slight weaknesses on hard snow and crud in favor of powder performance, testers felt the tradeoff was worth it. It’s still an all-mountain machine that floats like a butterfly.

“This ski can make so many ladies smile—from an excited beginner on a powder day to a pro who just wants to have fun,” said Taos local Erika Northrop.

Some of that wide appeal can be traced to the way Armada bonds the sidewall and core together to deliver an even, predictable flex pattern. Our testers liked how fast the ski turned over, which might seem like a given in powder, but then again, not all powder is as effortless as the Utah variety. The ARW 112 maneuvered unimpeded through some of the heaviest snow we could find at our Mt. Rose test location. And if turning snot into champagne isn’t some kind of divine trick, we don’t know what is.

Read our full review of the Armada ARW 112.

$800 at Evo $800 at Rossignol

Score: 7.73/10Lengths: 160, 168, 176, 184, 191 cmDimensions: 140-110-133Turn Radius: 20 m (184 cm)Weight: 2,200 g (184 cm)

Pros and Cons⊕ Dependable in a variety of conditions⊕ Great balance of playfulness and powder⊕ Large size run⊗ On the stiffer side⊗ Geared toward experts

Thankfully, the Sender Free 110 returns unchanged for this season. Testers loved this workhorse of a pow ski at our 2023 SKI Test in Sun Valley. And after testing it at Mt. Rose, Nevada, in some funky, wind-affected powder, they were even more impressed with its versatility.

The ski is the perfect combination of power and playfulness, thanks to its construction: a twin-tip profile allows for more effortless float, turn initiation, and turn release. The poplar wood core (sustainably sourced and PEFC-certified) is reinforced with a Titanal plate underfoot and a layer of Rossignol’s Diagofiber throughout the ski for enhanced power transfer. Vibration-damping technology in the tip and tail smooth out terrain roughness and increase stability at speed.

“These were a blast for the conditions. Super stable while busting through crud and soft bumps, and they pivoted effortlessly while maneuvering through the trees,” reported tester Avery Pese, VP of Merchandising for Boston Ski and Tennis. “Stay centered though, this near-symmetrical ski has a freeride shape and the tip and tail gets loose when trying to carve.”

Testers advised mounting these planks back from the recommended mount point to increase stability at speed and on firm snow. They also cautioned that while experts will appreciate this ski’s tenacity in all terrain and snow conditions, it’s on the heavy and stiff side, and might be too much ski for intermediates.

$849 at Ski Essentials

Score: 7.6/10Lengths: 177, 184, 191 cmDimensions: 140-111-127 mmTurn Radius: 21.1 m (184 cm)Weight: 1,890 g (184 cm)

Pros and Cons⊕ Power in a lightweight package⊕ Floats like a fatter ski⊗ Prefers large radius turns⊗ Might be too directional for some

Is it a contradiction to say a ski can be both directional and surfy? The Kore 111 pulls off both, with power to boot. It boasts rocket-ship qualities and a responsiveness that lets you get off the (very long) rails and smear turns at high speed. Testers hesitated to call it playful, but it did an amazing job of floating and drifting. It was also the test favorite for smashing through crud.

“It has a shape that lends itself not only to crushing pow laps, but it can also hang all day in the real world where you get one or two fresh laps and the rest of the day you’re skiing cut-up crud,” said Brady Newton, who regularly skis at Alta and Snowbird.

Made with carbon fiber and graphene, it’s a stiff ski with a low swing weight that isn’t fazed by speed, less-than-favorable conditions, or demanding drivers. In fact, testers reported that this ski is squarely in the service of aggressive chargers. While it might scare off more playful skiers looking to make short turns or ski switch, it offers an energetic platform that saves your legs when there’s hard work to do.

It doesn’t boast the widest turning radius of skis on this list. Testers noted that the Kore 111 is drawn to open terrain, but it can still shuffle or GS down groomers and chalky steeps when it needs to.

$900 at Evo $900 at Ski Essentials

Score: 7.56/10Lengths: 174, 180, 186, 191 cmDimensions: 146-114-135 mmTurn Radius: 20.4 m (186 cm)Weight: 2,025 g (186 cm)

Pros and Cons⊕ Dependable in variable conditions⊕ Can do more than just float in powder⊗ Requires a strong driver⊗ Not especially quick or forgiving

Released in 2022 as a more playful and manageable alternative to the longstanding Enforcer series, the Unleashed has a bit of bias to overcome. Unlike its burly cousin, it isn’t as heavy or demanding, sporting a lighter (but not light) construction.

That translated to a high score for flotation and impressively consistent marks across other categories, with only a small knock for forgiveness. The ski was so evenly dialed across each performance criteria that it’s hard to pick out one particular strength or weakness. The word we use for a ski like this is “dependable.”

“It’s surprisingly nimble for a ski with some heft,” said tester Avery Pesce, who weighs in at a light 138 pounds. “It was easy to make directional changes through the trees and bumps, and I didn’t get bucked around transitioning from one to the other.”

Other testers felt the Unleashed still took a bit of work to move around, and was best suited for stronger skiers in more open terrain. The ski can arc just as well as surf when you get it up to speed, thanks to a progressive mount point and good mix of camber and rocker—you just have to do the work to get it there. Unlocking that versatility does take a stronger-than-average pilot.

“It will force you to become a better skier,” concluded Jon Sexauer, a 5-foot-7 tester from Colorado.

$850 at Evo $850 at Christy Sports

Score: 7.25/10Lengths: 165, 175, 185, 192 cmDimensions: 135-112-130 mmTurn Radius: 21 m (185 cm)Weight: 2,100 g (185 cm)

Pros and Cons⊕ Saves your legs on big days⊕ Exceptionally maneuverable⊗ Doesn’t plow through crud⊗ Dainty at high speeds

Freshly redesigned this season, Armada calls the latest version of its legacy ARV 112 a “freestyle pow ski that can handle full-throttle charging.” And our testers found that to mostly be true—depending on your definition of charging. If wailing on side hits and high-speed slashes is your jam, then yes. If straight-lining couloirs is, then no. But, most of us aren’t straight-lining couloirs, so it’s nice for a brand to believe skiing doesn’t need to be scary to be fun.

Though the ARV 112 has a softer flex and progressive rocker best suited to soft snow, it features thick, resilient edges and sidewalls bonded directly to the core, giving it a remarkably smooth flex. Testers noted it hovers decently over crud, but it doesn’t have enough backbone to smash through it. At 112 millimeters underfoot, it’s not the fattest powder ski out there, but it acts like it.

“A nice, easy powder ski that’s plenty forgiving for less aggressive skiers, but super poppy and playful, making those side hits, cliffs, and transitions across the mountain look like a terrain park,” noted Jon Sexauer, who regularly skis at Copper Mountain Resort in Colorado.

Light-footed intermediate and expert skiers looking for a do-anything, jib-capable pow ski should swipe right on this pair.

$850 at Backcountry $850 at Evo

Score: 7.22/10Lengths: 168, 174, 180, 186, 192 cmDimensions: 142-114-132 mmTurn Radius: 20.5 m (186 cm)Weight: 2,070 g (186 cm)

Pros and Cons⊕ Smashes through anything⊕ Extremely reliable in all conditions⊕ Lots of length options⊗ Doesn’t float well at lower speeds⊗ A bit heavy

Blizzard’s fan-favorite, the Rustler 11, continues to show up on our list as a highly predictable and dependable pow-slayer with talents that span big-mountain terrain as well as resort groomers in most every condition. It’s no surprise that it tied for top marks for versatility in our test.

While the Rustler 11 features a healthy amount of tip rocker and a more forward (i.e. progressive) mounting point that eliminates swing weight and allows for drifting, testers found it a tad less pow-centric than the other skis on this list. That’s probably the result of its stiff wood core with Titanal and a more moderate sidecut, which makes this ski fairly directional in nature. But that translates to a rock-solid platform that lets you do most everything with confidence.

“It’s very dependable in changing conditions and stayed right with me,” said tester and Salt Lake City ski shop owner Luke Larsen.”

Testers found the Rustler 11 a little heavy—and therefore a touch resistant to floating—but very keen to blast through crud and rally at any speed. For those with strong legs, it’s a go-anywhere powder ski that can handle anything you throw at it.

“This ski suits expert skiers looking to showcase powerful turns and technique, and advanced skiers looking to step up their game and go faster,” noted Brady Newton, a 6-foot-1 tester from Utah.

$750 at Evo $750 at Völkl

Score: 7.22/10Lengths: 177, 184, 191 cmDimensions: 146-114-128 mmTurn Radius: 18 m (177 cm)Weight: 2,251 g (177 cm)

Pros and Cons⊕ Handles well in crud⊕ Loves to go top speed⊗ A little sluggish⊗ Burly

With 114 millimeters underfoot, the Revolt 114 isn’t the widest plank in Völkl’s freeride lineup (there’s a Revolt 121), but for most, it’s plenty fat. As is, it’s a burly charger with more than enough float for anything south of Alaska, earning high marks for its buoyancy, crud performance, and stability at speed.

At Mt. Rose, the Revolt 114 shone in open terrain more so than in the trees. Though it features Völkl’s 3D radius technology—which is designed to allow for different turn shapes and sizes depending on how much you pressure the ski—it really just wants to smear large radius turns at high-speed.

“It charges like a race ski but is built for wide-open powder turns,” said Rob Hudson, whose home mountain is Winter Park, Colorado. “If speed is the name of the game, this ski won’t back off the throttle.”

Tip and tail rocker marry with a subtle camber pocket and stiff flex pattern for a shape that favors hovering above snow—whether that’s pow or crud. While testers found it reasonably versatile, they called it heavy and distinctly unforgiving. But if you’re a hard-charging expert who doesn’t need a pardon from your ski, the Revolt 114 is a powder and crud-busting machine.

$900 at Evo

Score: 7.13/10Lengths: 180, 187, 193 cmDimensions: 147-116-137 mmTurn Radius: 20 m (187 cm)Weight: 2,150 g (187 cm)

Pros and Cons⊕ Great flotation⊕ User-friendly⊗ A bit soft for variable snow⊗ Doesn’t love going fast on hardpack

Maxing out at 116 millimeters underfoot, the fattest board in Fischer’s Ranger lineup does exactly what a powder ski is built to do: it floats like a boat, despite being one of the heavier skis we tested.

Unlike some other pow skis on this list, the Ranger 116 includes some metal tailored to key areas of the ski body for dampness without adding too much torsional rigidity. Fischer also incorporates what it calls a Flex-Cut—a strategically shaped layer of Titanal in front of the binding—to allow a more natural flex at the binding mount. By all accounts, it works.

Rather than burly or heavy, testers found the Ranger 116 playful and soft, shining in untracked snow but proving a little weak in variable conditions and at speed. Its relatively long turn radius (20 meters at 187 centimeters) also means it doesn’t go quite everywhere with the same zest, but for many, a powder ski doesn’t need to.

“It’s a pow ski built for fun,” said Otto Gibbons, a bootfitter from Bellevue, Washington. He called it soft but energetic, and found it excelled in open trees.

“The Ranger 116 offers the freedom of a surfy ski for those who prefer to stay in the front of their boots,” he added. “The easy-flexing forebody helps keep the tip up on those deep days when you don’t want to find the bottom. Aim for first chair on a pow day to make the most of this ski.”

$799 at J Skis

Score: 7.11/10Lengths: 169, 176, 182, 188 cmDimensions: 136-110-128 mmTurn Radius: 19.5 m (182 cm)Weight: 1,910 g (182 cm)

Pros and Cons⊕ Backcountry-meets-resort versatility⊕ Outstanding jibber⊕ Good value⊗ A little weak on hardpack⊗ Doesn’t love speed when not in pow

If you’ve ever seen J Skis founder Jason Levinthal’s April Fools’ Day videos, you get the sense that he’s a joker through and through: on a mission to infuse whimsical fun into skiing whilst draining out all the seriousness. The Slacker carries on in that tradition, at a weight tailored for touring, but meaty enough to use inbounds, as well.

With its bi-directional personality, soft flex, forward mount position, minimal camber, and good dose of tip and tail rocker, the Slacker has a classic shape that lends itself to surfing as well as slashing. A 110-millimeter waist aims to keep it versatile enough to tackle powder and variable snow, while carbon stringers and a total lack of metal keep it light.

The Slacker very consciously sacrifices crud performance and stability at speed for liveliness and playfulness. “High-speed charging is not its forte,” said Colorado-based tester Rob Hudson, who found it skittish on hardpack. But it’s a tradeoff many others were happy with: Testers ranked it the most playful ski in the powder category.

“It’s a very cool, nontraditional ski for someone who’s more interested in side hits than opening it up and laying trenches,” said Outside’s Abigail Barronian, who found the Slacker’s agility to be five-star entertainment that would suit intermediates and experts alike.

$850 at Backcountry $850 at Evo

Score: 7.03/10Lengths: 168, 174, 180 cmDimensions: 133-105-120Turn Radius: 17.5 m (174)Weight: 1,820 g (174)

Pros and Cons⊕ Highly dependable in all conditions⊕ Goes as fast as you want⊗ Needs speed to float⊗ Pushes back a bit

There aren’t a lot of powder skis made specifically for women, let alone women’s powder skis designed by whole teams of women. That makes the Sheeva 11—a product of Blizzard’s Women 2 Women program—noteworthy, but that’s not the only reason it’s on our list. It’s here because it rips.

At Mt. Rose, female testers were impressed with how well the Sheeva handled more than just the fluff. With a moderate, 112-millimeter waist and Blizzard’s multi-wood core that tailors stiffness and dampness to key areas of the ski—more underfoot, less in the tips and tails—the Sheeva 11 is a well-rounded performer that can carve on hardpack as well as bust through crud.

As a result of its beefier construction, the Sheeva 11 has some heft to it, which pulls it down a bit in deeper snow compared to a lighter pow ski, but it also amplifies all-mountain performance and gives it noticeable crud-busting abilities and great stability at speed. Testers also called out the ski’s quickness and responsiveness, but noted that it takes a strong skier to coax out the Sheeva 11’s playful side.

“These big-girl skis are for lady adventure-hunters who want an exciting ride in powder and also want to use their extra energy for slalom turns back to the lift line,” noted 5-foot-9 tester Erika Northrop, who skied the 174-centimeter length. “But do a couple of power poses before you take this baby for a ride, and bring a lot of energy to the hill to keep her in line.”

Last March, we invited a crew of seasoned industry professionals—ski instructors, ski shop employees, bootfitters, and freestyle and race coaches—to join us for a week-long gear test at Mt. Rose, Nevada, a lesser-known indie resort with amazing terrain, including its notorious Chutes.

The mission: Jump on every pair of skis entered into our five categories (Carving, Frontside, All-Mountain, All-Mountain Wide, and Powder), put them through their paces all over the mountain, and then fill out a digital scorecard with comments and impressions. Testers noted how each pair of planks performed across various skill categories—from carving chops and crud performance to stability at speed and responsiveness.

We asked our crew of 27 testers to identify a ski’s primary strengths, its weaknesses, who it’s designed for, and what terrain and snow conditions it’s most adept at. At the end of the week, we had enough hard data on the 100-plus pairs of skis tested to make your head spin, and we used it all to bring you these reviews of the best skis of the year.

When judging a powder ski, we primarily assess how versatile it is in terms of the type of terrain and snow conditions it can handle. So at Mt. Rose, we put these powder skis through the wringer, testing them on steeps, in bumps, and in the glades, where powder stashes can be found days after the last storm.

Lucky for us, we didn’t have to make do with stale powder—we hit Mt. Rose right after the bomb cyclone that shut down Tahoe-area resorts for four days to give mountain ops teams enough time to clear the feet of snow that dropped on resorts in the area.

The skis that impressed us the most with their balance of skills in powder and in crud, in tight terrain and on wide open groomers, made this list of the best powder skis of the year.

Learn more: Understanding SKI Test Scoring Criteria

Age: 42 | Height: 5’7’’ | Weight: 145 lbs

Coté is a freelance writer and editor who lives in Revelstoke, B.C. He spent his 20s doing freeride competitions and his 30s ski-mountaineering. He’s been testing gear and penning adventure stories for the world’s best ski magazines for close to two decades, and is settling well into the old-man confidence it takes to openly argue that jackets should be closed while skiing.

Age: 24 | Height: 5′6″ | Weight: 135 lbs

Gibbons has spent 23 of his 24 years on this earth on skis. The son of Sturtevants Sports’ former head buyer, Otto has basically lived in the ski shop his whole life and has worked there for the past seven years as a hardgoods buyer. If he’s not in the shop, he’s ripping laps at Washington’s Crystal Mountain.

Age: 31 | Height: 5’10” | Weight: 185

Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Flitton joined the Snowbird ski team as a young racer at the age of 7. He learned his solid ski fundamentals through the Snowbird race team as well as his love of skiing powder. He worked his way through the ranks as a racer, spending time at a ski academy in Vermont before returning to his favorite mountain in Utah. Now he spends his time coaching young freeriders how to send it big at Snowbird. He’s a veteran gear tester who has tested skis for both Powder and SKI.

Age: 35 | Height: 5′5″ | Weight: 140 lbs

Wiegand is SKI’s gear test director and associate gear director for Outside. She grew up in Garmisch, Germany, and cut her teeth on the World Cup slopes of the Hausberg. She started out as a competitive figure skater before realizing skiing was more fun. She ski raced in high school and college, then promptly got herself a job in the ski industry, first as a ski instructor in Crested Butte, Colo., then as an editor at SKI.

Generally speaking, powder skis (or deep snow skis) are fat. They tend to have 110-plus-millimeter waists, generous rocker profiles, and very large turn radii. While they float like a dream in soft snow, many powder skis can perform well in choppy snow as well, and a very special few can actually hold an edge quite well on groomed terrain. For the most part, however, these skis are rarely defined as one-ski-quiver options and are instead used only when conditions warrant, e.g. the deepest of days.

Any ski wider than 105 millimeters underfoot is best suited to a skier who gets to ski soft and deep snow more often than not. These wide skis are typically made of lighter materials, feature less metal in the core, and have less effective edge, meaning they’re not the best tools to handle hard snow, groomers, or bumps. Big boards will enhance any real powder day, but they may feel cumbersome in anything less than five inches of fresh snow.

Because of the increased amount of rocker built into most powder skis, it’s suitable to have longer skis for deep snow to increase the amount of usable edge on hard and variable snow.

Shorter powder skis will feel more nimble than longer versions, but can also sometimes feel like riding a pogo stick due to the increased floppiness that is caused by generous rocker in the tip and tails. Learn more about rocker profile and how it affects performance.

Skilled skiers will be able to manage a wide ski (100-plus millimeters) in most conditions and will still be able to make these skis carve. But intermediate skiers still working on their skills may find wider skis, including powder skis, to be more work in the types of conditions you are likely to encounter at the resort. Learn more here.

In truth, most skis are unisex and not gender-specific. Many brands produce the ski with the exact same construction technologies for both genders, but often create two different top sheets to appeal to men vs. women.

A handful of brands (like Blizzard) are making truly women’s-specific skis, where the ski takes a woman’s physique into account when building the ski. Men and women can ski on the same ski but may want to choose different lengths depending on their height and their skiing ability.

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