Salomon's Lumen, a bright light

Took Salomon's Q-96 Lumen skis out for a day the other week. This is an all mountain ski that is currently in the Salomon line-up. They have given the ski a face-lift for the 2014/15 ski year. The ski is now a mainly blue ski with some detailing, that kind of looks like a forest to me. It's not a bad graphic, but I have to say that I prefer the old look of the ski. Oh well.

This ski comes in four lengths, of which I took the 162cm out for a spin. It's curves are as follows: 128 tip: 95 underfoot: 114 tail. At this length the ski has a 18.4m turn radius. This is a pretty big turn radius. And exactly what I found when riding this ski. It was at it's best when I was riding it in areas where I could do large, sweeping turns. In tighter areas, that required more manoeuvrability, this ski was a bit sluggish. But as soon as I let it run, in large sweeping turns, it became a smooth ski.

I did find that the Lumen cuts through choppy snow really well. It

has a wood core that gives it stability, but also some other technologies (honeycomb tip) that make it not a super heavy ski. But this construction also makes the Lumen a power house. It cuts through chop with no chatter and without bouncing you around a lot. That was a great feeling – I felt like I could charge through anything. Fun times.

The Lumen had none of that pop that I so love at the end of a turn, but I also think that this would be too much from this ski. This ski really just isn't a ski that you expect or want to pop once you get going on it. It's a beast that holds you in good stead, but not a heavy ski.

I would recommend this ski as your 3^rd or 4^th ski – unless you are lucky skier who hits open bowls weekly. When you have a good carving ski and a good all round, all mountain ski, than this is a great addition for days when you are skiing open bowls or fresh snow. As an addition to other skis, I think you would really like this ski. I might have to see if I can add it to my wall next year...

The Goods:

-big, sweeping turns

-cuts through chop

-a power house of a ski

-good as a 3^rd or 4^th ski

-intermediate or advanced skier

The Not-So-Goods:

-sluggish in slower speeds

-hard to do short radius turns with

-not a “poppy” ski