Quiver of One for Soft Snow: Elan Ripstick 102 Black Edition Review

Lots of skis claim to be the perfect quiver of one. And most skiers want one pair of skis to do everything: float on pow days, carve up groomers, and handle everything in between. Spoiler alert — no single ski handles everything perfectly. But the new 2024/25 Elan Ripstick 102 Black Edition skis are a forgiving, good-natured design that comes close.

Launching in August 2024, the Black Edition models add carbon to the traditional Ripstick — including a core deck, bands along the edge, two rods in the tips and tails, and mid-body reinforcement underfoot — for lightweight stiffness. And there’s no metal inside.

The lineup is relatively pliable and playful, making them a great choice for intermediate skiers. They’re also a solid option for anyone who prioritizes fun and creativity over high-speed charging.

In short: Ex-racers and high-speed crud-crushers may balk at the limitations of these slight, spirited boards. But almost any skier can have fun in a wide range of soft-snow conditions with the Elan Ripstick 102 Black Edition skis, a wider choice in the queue. Their unique shape and light, carbon-laden construction make them forgiving and lively to rip in any conditions, but they’re at their best while free-form skiing off-piste.

Read our full review below or our GearJunkie Best All-Mountain Skis Buyer’s Guide to see how the Elan Ripstick 102 Blacks stack up.

Elan Ripstick 102 Black Edition: Review

Slovenian ski manufacturer Elan redesigned its Ripstick lineup in 2020, including input from ski legend and mohawk enthusiast Glen Plake. That’s when the brand debuted most of the features that are still found in the Ripstick 102 Black Edition, which launched for the 2024/25 winter season.

Notably, the only metal is the edge. The wood core has two carbon rods for stiffness. And the Black Edition adds two additional carbon rods in the tip and tail. 

Ahead of the launch, I tested a fresh pair of the Black Edition Ripsticks in late spring 2024, which provided a broad, entertaining range of conditions at both Breckenridge and Copper Mountain. Our laps ranged from forgiving, slushy bumps to double-digit storm dumps with cold, light snow. I was able to ride the Ripstick 102 Black Edition skis for six half-day sessions, but I would’ve been glad to stay on them longer if I could.

Ripstick Collection, Black Edition, Women’s-Specific Models

While Elan has previously produced limited-edition runs of Black Editions for various ski models in the past, including the Ripstick, those typically sold out super-fast. This season, Elan aims to produce a higher volume to meet the demand in addition to overhauling the designs of both the traditional Ripstick and the Black Edition.

This new Black Edition model sits among a robust Ripstick lineup from Elan that includes 102mm and 96mm waist widths plus the women’s 94mm. Alongside the Black Edition, the brand still dishes out the traditional Ripstick with 88mm, 96mm, 102mm, and 106mm widths. Then there’s the women’s-specific Ripstick in 106mm, 100mm, 94mm, and 88mm.

If that’s not enough, lighter weight Ripstick Tour skis are available for backcountry skiers in 104mm, 94mm, and 88mm, plus the women’s iterations notated with a “W” — the 94W and 88W.

The women’s specific models are the same construction as the unisex models but come in different widths and lengths and unique graphics. For instance, the women’s Black Edition has a midnight matte-and-gloss zebra print while the men’s Black Edition offers a tactical black-on-black camo wrap.

Field Impressions

At the recommended mount point, I rode the 182cm length. At 6’0”, 190 pounds, and as an expert skier who defaults to high-speed, directional skiing, I normally prefer a longer ski for most conditions. But the 182s didn’t feel short, perhaps because they encourage a slower, more playful pace. Still, if I were buying a pair as my daily drivers, I’d probably go with the longest option: 189cm.

In soft snow, these skis are nothing but amusing and intuitive to drive. But the Black Edition Ripstick 102 also builds trust quickly in a wide range of conditions, as they’re a ski that behaves predictably, if not perfectly, from mixed chop to powder to firm snow.

The lack of metal and relatively soft tips show at high speeds in variable snowpack. But they’re a comfortable ride as long as you know the speed limit.

Design Overhaul, Carbon Layup

Both the Black Edition and the regular Ripstick skis carries Elan’s Amphibio design, which is the brand’s uniquely dedicated left and right ski with an interior cambered edge. But many other design details have changed, including narrower tips and wider tails to help improve the handling and power through turns.

Elan now uses strands of unidirectional (UD) carbon along the edges instead of the carbon weave used in previous years. The approach is dubbed Carbon Deck Technology. The strands of carbon go underfoot for stability and edge hold. The result? Better vibration damping compared to the former weave. Elan also added a layer of flax fiber in the tips to help reduce vibration at speed.

The biggest difference in construction between the regular Ripstick and the Black Edition is the bonus carbon to stiffen them up, which justifies the cost jump. The Black Editions have four independent carbon rods instead of the two found in the traditional lineup. They also include a layer of carbon underfoot for additional stiffness, called C-Ply Carbon Reinforcement.

Asymmetrical Ski

This is an asymmetrical ski, so there is a left and right ski that you need to click onto the correct ski boot. You might notice if you mix them up. The advantage of this “Amphibio Carbon Line Technology” design is that Elan can give different characteristics to the inside and outside edges.

The Ripsticks have a carbon weave along the interior edges to add stiffness for carving. That’s because the inside edge of your outermost ski bears the brunt of the force.

The asymmetry is pretty subtle. For the life of me, I couldn’t recognize it visually, looking at the ski from every angle. I tried wearing the skis backward and felt like the skis were less intuitive and more likely to catch an edge. But the difference was again very subtle.

Lightweight Design

Yet another notable feature is this model’s fairly low weight. By skipping metal and using carbon, Elan keeps the 180cm length of the ski at 1,830 g, which isn’t featherweight but is noticeably easy to swing around in tight spaces.

They’re heavier than most dedicated touring skis. But you wouldn’t be crazy to use them with hybrid bindings such as the Salomon S/LAB Shift, if you want the ability to go touring once in a while without buying a separate setup. If you’re looking for a dedicated touring ski, though, the Elan Ripstick Tour is built to be an even lighter haul.

I hear a lot of crusty, older skiers bemoaning the “dumbing down” of skis, by which they mean making them lighter and softer and thus easier to ski. It’s ego-edifying to ski big, stiff boards and enjoy it, but most skiers don’t want to have to drive skis hard through every turn and bump to survive.

For casual skiers, this can be downright exhausting. And expert, freestyle-oriented skiers can feel weighed down by bigger, burlier sticks that like to stay glued to the snow. As technology evolves, I’m here for the easy-to-maneuver designs, and it doesn’t eliminate technique or style.

Playful on Soft Snow

Elan could be accused of committing this crime of making their skis easy to enjoy with the Ripstick 102 Black Edition skis. But based on my half-dozen days on them, this is a good thing. Like the Atomic Bent Chetler lineup, they’re just plain fun to ski. They encourage you to confidently move across different snow types with curiosity instead of fear.

While energetic and spry, they don’t seem to have quite as much pop as the Bent Chetlers despite being a slightly stiffer overall construction. They satisfyingly flex into turns, but I expected a little more bounce as I came out of one or pressed into the snow over features and headwalls. They’re not lifeless, but the calm reaction might be the use of carbon instead of metal. Or, the fairly minimal camber underfoot might make them a little less springy than beefier skis.

Sticking with the Bent Chetler comparison, these skis carve better on firm snow and groomers. I found they prefer to be on edge more than flat. It’s easy to get into a hip-dropping carve rhythm with the Ripsticks even when you don’t mean to. Their light weight and relatively stable edges make it easy to initiate and exit a turn then initiate the next.

I skied the Ripstick 102 Black Editions mostly in soft spring conditions, and they transformed mixed sun-beaten chop into a playground. Hopping from mogul fields into groomers and back again was amusing instead of a chore to be endured. 

Limitations

As mentioned above, the Black Edition Ripsticks have a speed limit. While the tails are fairly stiff, the rockered tips show their floppiness at higher speeds in variable conditions. They carve wonderfully at low and medium speeds. But I started to lose confidence on steeper runs when I tried to rail more G-force into the apex of turns at higher speeds. 

The skis aren’t chattery for a design in this class. But race-bred carving enthusiasts should look elsewhere since there are plenty of stiffer carving-oriented all-mountain skis for that purpose.

I personally prefer blasting over crud rather than deftly navigating it. And while the Ripstick 102s are great at the latter, I’d be more likely to reach for a slightly damper option like the Nordica Unleashed 114 on most days.

Elan Ripstick 102 Black Edition: Who Should Buy?

While I’d argue that this is among the best options on the rack for intermediates, I want to be careful not to claim advanced and expert skiers won’t love them, too. I have been skiing for almost 40 years and ski more than 100 days each season, and I had a blast on the Ripstick 102 Black Edition.

This is a great all-mountain quiver-of-one ski for resort-goers who need a tool for mixed conditions off-piste or floating in powder. The blueprint also holds its own on the groomers.

If you want to go even more playful on a similar stack, the traditional Elan Ripstick 106 is a touch softer (and cheaper). The Atomic Bent Chetler lineup is also worth a look. If you need more speed and want a stiffer all-mountain ski that charges a bit harder but still retains the fun factor, the freestyle-oriented Nordica Unleashed lineup might be the answer. And powder-chasers could prefer the 116 width of the Ripstick 102 Black at the expense of some carving capability.

While the 96mm Black Edition Ripstick is probably a better fit for non-Western skiers, the 102mm waist is a happy medium size to handle frontside as well as off-piste conditions. Ultimately, the Elan Ripstick Black Edition ski adds stability and surefootedness beyond the regular Ripstick lineup.