RENOUN CITADEL US$999

BEST FOR: A lightweight ride that doesn’t ski like it.

LENGTHS: 169, 178, 184, 191

DIMENSIONS: 136/106/126 @ 184

RADIUS: 19 @ 184

WEIGHT: 1,717g @ 184

Rarely do we compliment a ski for feeling heavy, but the Citadel is no ordinary ski. It’s the lightweight that stings like a heavyweight. Renoun, a direct-to-consumer Vermont-based skimaker, uses the same basic construction in all its skis: carbon fibre and a core of aspen and VibeStop, a secret-sauce polymer. In the Citadel, strips of the vibration-absorbing material run along each edge, and then three more at the front and back of the ski. Non-Newtonian in nature, Renoun says its stiffness changes with the amount of chatter. We noticed that the more we needed the ski (as steep, fast, fall consequences increased), the ski felt more stable and powerful without the usual weight penalty. It’s not a lively ski, or particularly energetic. But it’s extremely approachable: skied slowly it felt easy; ski it aggressively and it never noodled or deflected; soft snow felt great, but it also bit into ice (as we’d expect from Vermont skimakers). “I could charge in the morning like I was on a metal ski, but then when my legs were tired, I could relax like I was on a wood ski,” noted Ryan Stuart. There may be more thrilling rides, but few that can keep up no matter where or how we want to ski. Bonus: Renoun has a money-back guarantee.