M's Intermediate Skis: 2010

This is your year for a breakthrough, and these are the skis that will show you the way. Gentle and easygoing, yet strong enough to guide you, they bring out your best and forgive your worst. They will make you better—now.

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Atomic Smoke 2009-10

MSRP $749 w/binding

Dimensions 115-76-105

Category ranking No. 3 (tie)

Average score 3.28

There’s almost nothing to this ski. No metal, no wood, not a ton of sidecut. Which makes its high-end performance all the more astonishing. The Smoke, which loves to tip and rip on flat snow, is one of those skis that make you wonder why an expert would want to pay more. Yet it works at slow speeds, skids readily, and if you happen to stand in the right place, it will show you the way to carved turns. “Push it, and it responds; but it’s smooth and forgiving as well,” said McGrath.

Best for Getting comfortable arcing at higher speeds

Not for Learning to link quick turns on steeps