Expert Review: 2023 Salomon QST Lumen 98 Skis [with Video]

Curated Ski Expert Jessica Whittam tested the 2023 Salomon QST Lumen 98 this spring at Powder Mountain in Utah. Check out how it performed in the carving, freestyle, and freeride categories, but consider the fact that each and every skier is different. If you have any questions about the QST Lumen 98 or need recommendations on which ski would be best for you, reach out to a Ski Expert here on Curated.

One final point before we dive in: It's worth noting that Curated Experts are not sponsored by any brands. All of these reviews are completely unbiased.

Brand Claims

What does Salomon claim about this ski? Salomon built these skis with a modern twin rocker and double-edged sidewalls. The double sidewalls they claim helps the ski stay on edge in ice and crud. And the freestyle rocker helps it float in powder.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression of this ski? My opinion of these skis is that this is a really, really playful all-mountain ski. These are a lightweight, freestyle ski. Super playful. I would recommend these to anybody who is in advanced to expert skier, looking for something to explore the whole mountain or compete in all-mountain competitions.

Carving

How is the edge hold? These are going to be super responsive. The double edged side wall, I could definitely feel how well that they did on the groomers. They definitely held an edge super well. They have the spoon tip.

How is the dampness? Is there chatter? So if you run into some crud in the spring days, or you hit a rut or anything, these skis should respond pretty well and really eat up all that chatter. It's been snowing about two inches here at Powder Mountain today. And under that is some ice left over from the last couple days.

When we skied in the trees with these, after we got through about two inches of powder, there is some icy crud underneath, and these skis really did handle that crud well. I didn't feel too much chatter. They were really soft on my knees, and I do have a bad knee.

Freestyle

How playful is it? They are a twin shape, so you can totally ski switch. You can totally butter. I really loved the feel of these. They are really playful.

Freeride

How would they be in powder? You can see that they have early rise in the tips here, and that'll definitely help with float in the powder.

What would be the best location for this ski? This is going to be a ski that's better for the western conditions. You could definitely ski these on the east for powder. These would definitely be more of a powder ski for the east coast, but this could be a total everyday driver for anybody on the west in variable conditions.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this ski to? The ski would be ideal for somebody who is intermediate-to-expert. As an intermediate skier, I would say you want to be in high intermediate, looking to improve. This is a ski that you're really going to want to progress in the sport on. If you're looking to get into all-mountain skiing and into playful freeriding, this would be the ski for you. Advanced expert skiers, go for it. Give them a try. They're a hoot. They're so much fun, so responsive.

Who would you not recommend this ski to? If you're just looking for a casual intermediate cruiser, this is not the ski for you.

Do you have a favorite thing about this ski? Actually, I do. The bases I want to show. One thing about this year's version that I personally really like–My favorite color is purple, and I think the base of these are dope. I think the purple tips are really cool, and I think if you got a nice shot coming off a cliff on these skis, it would look very cool from the top or the bottom. The front graphics are really pretty, nice teal color as well, and I kind of like those, too.

Skis work differently for different types of people. If you want help finding the best skis for your needs, reach out to Jessica or another Ski Expert here on Curated. They’ll help you find the right skis for you.