Last year, Atomic beefed up their touring-specific line with the 107, the widest version of its Backland models, and earned an Editors’ Choice Award in the process. The Backland 107 returns unchanged, aside from updated black graphics to tack “dark and handsome” onto its list of affable attributes.
“Provides confidence in powder,” one tester said, “but won’t allow you to sit back and relax.”
Aesthetics aside, the 107 shows up with Atomic’s HRZN Tech, a beveled, boat-hull-shaped tip to decrease the likelihood of catching an edge and to help soften each turn. “Provides confidence in powder,” one tester said, “but won’t allow you to sit back and relax.”
Take it out of the deep, and the Backland 107 still keeps up. “The Swiss Army Knife of touring skis,” one tester said, while another echoed, “A true quiver killer. Solid everywhere, always.” The 107, originally adapted from the freeride-focused Atomic FR 109, utilizes a playful shape that’s scaled down from its predecessor with less rocker in the tip and a relatively stiffer, flatter tail for increased stability and longer, smoother turns. It’s so smooth, in fact, that one tester compared riding the 107 to “drinking a big, oaky, jammy cabernet.” Said another, “The shape allows it to carve hard, but also hold up in the crud.”
A carbon-laminated poplar and karuba core keeps the ski light enough for long days, too. “One of the few, true backcountry lightweight boards that I would trust no matter the conditions,” one Utah-based skier said. “This Backland will stand up to anything you throw at it.”
$850
atomic.com
137/107/124 6.8 lbs. (182)
Lengths: 175, 182, 189
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