Salomon MTN Explore 95 Ski
If your objective with skiing is to go as light as possible without sacrificing even a bit of the ability to rail turns like your alpine gear, then look no further. Salomon’s MTN Explore 95 is the carving, floating, smile-inducing ripper designed to charge in any terrain. A 3D Full Woodcore construction reinforces the ski where it’s needed and drops weight in superfluous areas that could use a trim, reducing swing weight and mass on the way up. The core is wrapped in a pre-preg CFX Superfiber that runs tip to tail, enhancing power transfer and minimizing the amount of core material needed to create a strong and damp ski. Total Edge Reinforcement above the edges is sandwiched within the core to reduce chatter, thus creating a more confident edge hold along the entire length of the ski. An ABS-Reinforced Koroyd tip further increases surface-area-to-weight ratio and deadens impacts to create a lighter ski that tracks through crud like a meaty plank. The tip and tail employ a five-point tapering tactic, called Hook Free Taper, designed to increase the smooth performance in soft snow and tracking precision in less than ideal conditions. With substantial new-school shaping influenced by Salomon’s alpine line, the MTN Explore 95 doesn’t mess around when the skis get pointed back down the fall-line.
- Oversized Pulsepad is a vibration reducing layer placed along the front half of the ski that contributes to the confident handling in any terrain.
- Carve zone maximizes the effective edge length on hard snow without affecting the performance of the tip and tail rocker.
- ABS Sidewalls underfoot deaden impacts and chatter, while also increasing durability.
- MTN Rocker is a gentle and generous rocker design specific to the MTN line of skis.
- Spaceframe 2.0 minimizes swing weight for quicker kick turns and energy savings on the climb.
Update 2020/21 – Just a topsheet change with pretty new graphics.
Specifications | |
Lengths (cm) | 169, 177, 184 |
Weight |
1395g [169] 1505g [177] 1585g [184] |
Weight (pair) | 2790g [169] 3010g [177] 3170g [184] |
Dimensions
|
130-95-116 [177] |
Turn Radius
|
17m [169] 18m [177] 19m [184] |
Skin Fix
|
Round tip, flat tail |
Specs Verified | Yes |
Design | |
Profile
|
Rocker tip, camber underfoot, flat tail |
Shape
|
Round tip, medium-turn radius, slightly tapered tail |
Construction
|
Superfiber sandwichs with mini sidewalls |
Core
|
Karuba wood |
Skimo Co Says | |
Usage | All-mountain skiing, traveling to parts unknown |
Notes | Burly enough for resort skiing |
Bottom Line | All around crusher for either Hemisphere |
Compare to other High-fat Skis |
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Questions & Reviews
I have the ZeroG95's and I love the stiffness and how they rail in hardpack, so I guess that's my benchmark for lightweight skis how they should perform. And I cannot say it under-performed compared to the ZeroG95's.
Was lucky to have a pow pow day in the backcountry and all I can say is I enjoyed skiing much more the MTN compared to the ZeroG95's. I got these for multi-day tours when I foresee powder days, so hopefully these will serve the purpose well.
On the uphill, they were just fine and can't say I felt the additional ~300gm compared to the ZeroG95 pair (with bindings). May be on longer tours/altitude that would be noticeable, but for now I really can't feel the difference. I like lightweight but not an obsessed gram shaver. :)
Is it more or equally demanding like the ZeroG95's? It didn't feel that way. Never felt like I have to drive and put a lot of skier effort. Felt tad easier compared to the ZeroG95's. Pretty sweet swing weight and predictable. It has a bit more camber than ZeroG95's, so I guess that also helps with the pop and rebound a bit more.
It will be interesting how they perform against my Zero's during spring tours, when ski objectives and conditions are quite different. I'm 170lbs at 177cm, I got the MTN at 177 as well, although my ZeroG95's are at 171. So it will be interesting, long term which ski I reach out for most of my trips.
Shout out to Skimo team since they always do an exemplary job in communication, packaging, and even leave a nice personal sticky note :) Cheers!!!
The Control has a little more sidecut than the MTN Explore and will be a bit "turnier," and so I suggest gearing your decision between the two based on your preferred turn shape.
They have reasonably soft tips, but are stiff underfoot. This is a great ski that can be ridden hard or in a relaxed manner at any level and on any terrain. A great all-round option.
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