Volkl AC50 (2010)

Völkl’s German designers must see it as a challenge: How wide can a ski be and still have hard-snow integrity? With the AC50, they’re really showing off. Does it float? With an 85-mm waist, that’s a given. Meanwhile metal laminates, an extra-wide binding interface and extra mass stacked over the edges combine to give the AC50 the kind of power and stability you once only expected from a race ski. It’s a lot of ski, to be sure. “Don’t lay off it, or it’ll get bored with you,” said McGrath.