Lightweight Frontside Overachiever: Renoun Endurance 98 All-Mountain Skis Review

Ski construction hasn’t seen a ton of game-changing innovations since shape skis came out. Sure, every year new skis come out that combine carbon, metal, wood, and plastic in unique ways, but nothing earth-shattering.

Direct-to-consumer, Renoun uses a non-Newtonian polymer (I’ll attempt to explain later) to give their skis variable vibration damping. And they have a case for being the most significant innovation in skis in decades. 

The on-snow performance isn’t entirely revolutionary. But, for a lightweight ski, the Renoun Endurance 98 planks outperform expectations and delivers an all-mountain ski that will satisfy skiers looking for dampness without a major weight penalty.

A relatively narrow waist and modest soft snow performance at speed means they’re best suited to a frontside skier who wants a light ski without sacrificing carving capabilities. To see how they fit in with the wide range of skis that can be called “all-mountain,” check out the Best All-Mountain Skis list.

In short: The Renoun Endurance 98 are true all-mountain frontside skis that are fun and trustworthy at low to medium-high speeds. The low weight and overachieving dampness puts them above other light skis that are often either too loose or too stiff.

Renoun Endurance 98 Skis Review

The brand itself stands out as well, offering a direct-to-consumer model and a 100-day money-back guarantee to encourage skeptics to look beyond the rack at their ski shop. In a product category dominated by conglomerated legacy brands, it’s nice to see some innovation in a unique ski with its own spot in the marketplace.

If you’ve heard of Renoun’s skis, it’s probably from your social media feed or online ads. Like many modern direct-to-consumer startup brands, Renoun leverages the Internet and word of mouth to reach its customers instead of retail shops, matching an innovative business model to its innovative skis.

The Vermont-based engineer minds behind Renoun started with a tech innovation in 2011, and have evolved from a good idea to good skis in the subsequent years of iterations. 

Testing Conditions

I’m a strong expert skier, 6 feet tall, and 190 pounds. So, while Renoun’s size guide recommended the 177cm length, Renoun told me I should size up and stick with the 184cm length I normally prefer.

It was the right call, as the 184cm version felt neither too short nor too long. There’s also a 163, 170, and 177cm length on the menu. The Endurance is also available in other lengths with a narrower 88mm width.

My initial impression of the Endurance 98 made me nervous. Their light and somewhat thin build made me concerned they were just another lightweight potato chip of ski like the many carbon-heavy backcountry ski I’ve tested.

Six days on the skis between Loveland, Breckenridge, and Copper Mountain convinced me that, while light for the alpine ski category, these are damp skis you can trust on-edge, on-piste, and have fun almost everywhere else.

I’ll admit I’m not Ted Ligety, and I almost always chase soft snow off-piste over groomers. But a year of high school ski racing and 30-plus years of skiing have given me enough technique and experience to push a ski’s carving chops.

I drove the Endurance 98 across a range of on-piste conditions, from refrozen hardpack to icy groomers to spring slush, and felt limited only by my abilities. 

Distinct Anti-Vibe Tech

One of the promises of Renoun’s proprietary VibeStop Technology in the Endurance 98 is that “when exposed to vibrations while skiing, the polymer instantly reacts and actively dampens the ski up to 300%.”

In short (in my crude understanding), the stringers of polymer laid between the wood in the core firm up when energy goes into them, stiffening the ski. When you’re noodling around at low speed, the material stays fluid and lets the ski flex more.

For better or worse, this isn’t like a switch flipping. That’s probably a good thing, as it’d be nerve-wracking if the ski went from plush to rock-solid with a slight trigger. Keep in mind that there’s plenty of traditional ski construction going on here as well.

The VibeStop material is inlaid into the maple wood core, which is in turn sandwiched between two full-width sheets of titanal, otherwise known as “metal” — a tried-and-true way to dampen a ski.

I’ve heard all manner of hyperbole out of ski manufacturers, so I’m highly skeptical of how much impact new tech will have on a ski. Renoun has a lot of data to back up its claims about the vibration damping of the VibeStop, which won them an international ISPO Gold Award twice. But the tech only matters if it makes your time skiing better in some way.

My experience on the Endurance 98 wasn’t like skiing something that came off a UFO. But it felt distinct in the level of on-piste performance for their weight class, which let me attack groomers for much longer than I normally would.

Capable Carvers

Despite being marketed as highly adaptable to any conditions, on-piste is where I found the Endurance skis really shine.

Despite having more rocker than a true carving ski, they initiate easily and hold up well at steeper angles and at the apex of turns when the most force is pushed into them. Because of their relatively light build, it took me a while to develop trust. But I eventually was able to push out of my normal comfort zone and lay my hips down more than I normally would for a ski in this category.

The Endurance skis were at their best on sun-softened groomers where I felt like a hero. There, I could carve at medium-fast speeds around the stated 17m turn radius effortlessly. That was thanks to decent energy out of each turn and the lighter weight, which made it easy to hop from edge to edge.

Hardpack is rarely my preference, and while the Endurance didn’t make me love it, I was able to make the most of my carving there, forming not-embarrassing turn shapes and leaving my mark on seemingly impenetrable snow.

Notably absent was any kind of chatter, perhaps with the VibeStop to celebrate. I’ve skied many other brands’ lightweight offerings, but most are too loose for aggressive high-speed turns. Or, they’re too stiff and prone to a terrifying level of chatter when your skis are on edge. While I didn’t test the Endurance 88, I imagine they’re even quicker and more adept at this type of skiing.

Mixed Results in Mixed Conditions

In chopped-up fringes of groomed runs where the snow was at least somewhat soft, the Endurance did well. The moderate waist width doesn’t permit blasting through and over everything at speed like you might with fatter, heavier boards. But a combination of finesse and the relative stability of the skis allows you to transition from chop to groomer and back again as desired. As long as the snow wasn’t too choppy, I could playfully navigate around, carve, pop for little airs, and go back to carving confidently.

Lower speeds help with the fun factor, perhaps by keeping the VibeStop at bay a bit. Even in softish fields of chop, I found the Endurance 98 got knocked around if I let them get going too fast. I’m not doubting the VibeStop here. But I think any ski this light and narrow would be likely to act the same, rattling tips together and struggling to stay smooth over rough seas. 

I’ve yet to find a ski that’s at its best in the dreaded breakable crust. And I thought that here, the Endurance was about average. Despite rockered, rounded tails, I found myself making light jump turns to switch edges, though the tips fared well and didn’t drag me under. The sharp, factory-tuned edges tip-to-tail probably didn’t help. Some selective detuning would likely help with swinging the Endurance around in a range of off-piste conditions.

I wasn’t able to test them in deep powder. I think the waist width would make them adequate but not ideal tools for the task. That said, I think this could be a great ski for an inch or two of the fresh stuff on top of firm snow.

Renoun Endurance 98: Conclusion

The Renoun Endurance 98 skis were a lightweight surprise on any smooth surface. While they didn’t excel off-piste, they aren’t terrible anywhere and are at least average in most conditions, as long as you keep speed under control.

The standout feature is how well they ski for their weight. Casual carvers like me will be surprised at how long they can extend a frontside day on the Endurance compared to heavier planks.

As a soft-snow seeker out West, the Endurance 98 wouldn’t be my first choice for a daily driver. But they’re a great option for Eastern and Midwestern skiers who spend most of their time between the lift lines. Even for Western skiers, this is a very capable frontside tool if you demand carving performance but want some waist width to get more out of soft snow. With a 100-day money-back guarantee, there’s little reason not to give them a shot if you think they might be your all-mountain quiver-of-one.

The 88mm underfoot Endurance could be a good alternative out East for improved carving. If you’re a strong skier used to heavier boards already, you’d probably prefer the heavier dampness of a ski like Nordica’s Enforcer 100, which has a similar shape and width but several hundred grams more beef behind it. For skiers less concerned with carving performance, Atomic’s Bent Chetler 100 is a hair lighter and more consistently playful off-piste. 

For other options in this wide-ranging all-mountain category, read through our advice and top ski picks in the Best All-Mountain Skis Buyer’s Guide.