2022 Salomon QST Blank

[SkiTalk Test Team]

I was finally able to get on a ski in the 110+ range in conditions that it was designed for and not just one day, but a few, at Steamboat on a powder day and at Deer Valley where we got first chair and almost an hour to ourselves on Empire. Salomon calls this the Blank for a reason: it didn’t want to pigeonhole it into being just a girthy powder ski at 112 mm underfoot in a 186 cm length.

With a 17m radius, the 186 QST Blank was extremely nimble in the bumps at Steamboat, especially going down Nelson’s, which was my favorite trail of the snowy day since the Pony Express area was not open. At Deer Valley, the snow was not Utah-light but more Tahoe-like in density and the Blank was not fazed at all.

Insider tip: If you are going to do some touring, a Shift binding is not a bad option.​

 

[Philpug]

Long term update: With 10' (yes, ' not ") of snow hitting Tahoe, I thought it would be a chance to bring out the big gun to play around with. The snow that we received was not light and fluff but really good as a base for rest of the season, it was deep, I know because I fell in to and took almost 10 minutes to get up but it was the top 12" that we skied. The Blank really rose to the occasion, there are some flexible skis in this range that would have gotten pushed aound but not the Salomon. The Blank just begged to head into the trees and wanted to play in there. The 17 meter radius made weaving in and out a pleasure, no matter what speed you were skiing.