Curated Ski Experts Brandon Westburg and Daryl Morrison tested the Salomon QST Blank 112 skis at Powder Mountain in Utah this spring. Check out how they performed in the carving, freestyle, and freeride categories, but remember that every skier is different. What works for one may not work for all. Any questions you have on the QST Blank 112 or any other ski can be answered by reaching out to a Ski Expert here on Curated. And just so you know, we're not sponsored by any brands, so all of these reviews are completely unbiased.

Brand Claims

What does Salomon claim about this ski? [Brandon] Salomon claims that the QST 112 Blank is a Jack of all trades, big mountain, and powder ski. It's a pillow-popping, powder-loving, fun ski that has a very energetic backbone to it.

[Daryl] Salomon claims that these are just going to be a really fun, solid ski, great for high snow days, great for really high snow regions, definitely something that wants to be skied in powder, but can handle other things.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression of the ski? [Brandon] I did think it was quite a heavy ski that I really would not like, to be honest with you. After two runs, I did see what this ski is designed for and was able to ride it in a few inches of snow as mentioned before, which made it seriously epic to get a great feel for this ski. If I was riding this ski on just a hard pack or groomers, certainly I would not have thought of what I did today. Fortunately, we had some amazing testing conditions specifically for some big mountain or powder skis today here at Powder Mountain. And that made it a ton of fun to hop on the QST Blank 112.

[Daryl] My first impressions were that I like this ski. So my first run, I was filming someone else on these. And what I like about filming a ski is not having to think about where I'm going. So to feel like the ski is not going to all of a sudden catch an edge or just be out of control at any point.

How is the weight of the ski? [Brandon] It is heavy, there is a lot of metal in the core. But one thing I noticed that made it not so heavy and able to turn on groomers was the corked amplifier in the tip. So there is no metal in the tip, it's just cork, does not chatter, fortunately, but it does help with the overall weight of the ski and getting it to the edge as well. Not a groomer’s.

What is the flex of the ski? [Daryl] As far as flex goes, these are very interesting flexing skis. I would say they are progressive and in a very good and positive way. So they have very soft tails. As I mentioned earlier, they have a generous amount of rocker in the tail but the tail is also soft.

How is the tip? [Brandon] The Salomon QST 112 has a partial twin tip, not a full twin tip. It definitely could be skied switch with landing and on groomers.

[Daryl] It’s effective at dampening any tip and tail chatter that you get. And if you want to do butters tip and tail, the ski can do that for you.

Carving

What is the edge hold like? [Brandon] This is definitely not a strict groomer ski. Being built with a very stiff backbone and 112 underfoot, it isn't exactly the quickest edge to edge on groomers. In other words, it did feel a bit hard to get edge to edge on groomers, but it was nothing but nimble in the trees or when going into tighter terrain.

[Daryl] Definitely just an awesome ski. That being said, the effective edge does go a fair bit behind your binding on these skis and comes up to about right here on the tip.

How is its stability? [Brandon] I felt super duper stable on these things. Took them into the trees, and did some nimble turning. It doesn't feel like a 112. I did get it super tight turns in the trees, did catch some air, and a little bit of swing weight with these skis obviously since there is some metal in the core, but these are overall a really fun free ride-oriented ski that is an absolute powder crusher. Didn’t experience any chatter, very stable ski.

[Daryl] They’re stable, which is really surprising given how generous the rocker profile is on them. They have a lot of rocker tips and tails, but they're still really stable skis.

So it's very short underfoot, but the ski is very stable. It's just a great fun ski in my opinion.

How are they at speed? [Daryl] They rip, they like to go fast. As soon as you point them straight, they're ready to just take off down the hill, which is awesome.

Freestyle

Any playfulness in the ski? [Daryl] I’d say in terms of play and pop, they are poppy and playful without sacrificing any stability. They're great skis. They're pretty easygoing, I would say, but can also be pushed hard.

Freeride

What is the float like with the ski? [Brandon] This is a nice freeride and powder option. With the rocker, camber, rocker pattern on this ski, there's going to be plenty of float in the powder. The nice thing about this ski is once you put it into a turn or a carve, you can jump out of that turn or carve without really big consequences. They're definitely happy to change direction at speed, change up your line, or do whatever. So I liked that about these. I like a versatile, maneuverable, energetic ski, and that's certainly what this is.

What type of terrain are these skis ideal for? [Brandon] In uneven terrain, this is what this thing is built for. Take it off of the groomers, please. This is where it really excels is uneven snow, any fresh snow. Of course, ripping those biggest of big mountain lines.

[Daryl] Not quite as much as I would love to ski these in, but these would do extremely well on deep days. They have a generous rocker profile and they're just going to rip all over the mountain. We had quite a bit of interesting grooming conditions and difficult off-trail conditions that were frozen trenches from skiing in slush or big chunks of snow and ice.

These had no problem with that. They were perfectly fine just charging through everything, even scrubbing speed in those conditions, with no problem whatsoever. I'd bring these anywhere probably, except for the East Coast.

What type of terrain should skiers avoid with this ski? [Daryl] I would not ski these as an East Coast ski, just because they're very wide.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this ski to? [Brandon] I would recommend this ski to anyone looking for a somewhat playful, but very supportive and stable, big mountain and powder ski.

Who would you not recommend this ski to, there are other better options for them out there?

[Daryl] So I would not recommend these skis for someone who is just starting. I think that while this is a fairly easygoing powder option, there are better choices for people who are trying to get confident on their skis.

Different skis work differently for different types of skiers. If you'd like help finding the right pair of skis for you, reach out to Daryl, Brandon, or another Ski Expert here on Curated for free, personalized recommendations.