Curated Ski Expert Brandon Westburg got his hands on the 2023 Atomic Bent Chetler 110 and put it to the test at Powder Mountain in Utah. Check out how it performed in the carving, freestyle, and freeride categories, but don’t forget, every skier is unique; if you have any questions on the Bent Chetler 110 or would like recommendations on what ski would be ideal for your needs, reach out to a Ski Expert here on Curated.

Before we jump in, a quick note that Curated Experts are not sponsored by any brands, all of these reviews are completely unbiased.

Brand Claims

What does Atomic claim about this ski? This is a brand-new ski in the Atomic Bent Chetler series 110 underfoot. Atomic claims that this is a lightweight, wood core, charging, all-mountain, and freeride ski.

Overall Impressions

What's your overall impression of the ski? This truly is a versatile ski that I think was long-awaited in the Bent Chetler series. The Bent Chetler series has been very popular over the last few years, but only offered the 100 and the 120. It's very refreshing to see them add a 110 to this lineup. It’s very versatile. The 120, I have been on it before. It is tough to move edge to edge on groomers. For this 110 ski, I was very surprised by its light and playful nature. It’s very refreshing to see a fun, playful, and surfy ski now in the Bent Chetler series. So far, the 110 has been really sick; it's equally as sick as the graphics.

How is the shape of the ski and the ski profile? And how does this impact the skiing experience? Atomic designed the Atomic Bent Chetler 110 with 25% rocker in the tip, 50% camber underfoot, and another 25% rocker at the tail, which keeps the ski fun, lightweight, and playful. It also gives it a lot of edge grip and control on the groomers.

Carving

How is its edgehold? I enjoyed skiing groomers and moving this thing edge to edge today here at Powder Mountain. You would think being 110 underfoot, it wouldn't be the sickest groomer ski or the easiest to move edge to edge. There is a lightweight wood core in this ski, so it wasn't incredibly difficult to get edge to edge.

What about dampness? Any chatter in the ski? I did notice a lot of chatter, to be honest with you, on anything that's super stiff and super firm, but the ski is surfy and playful at the same time. I can't exactly get super surfy in the firm stuff, but it was really fun. With side hits and catching air, there were definitely stable landings and just a little bit of chatter in the trees.

With anything solid, I would expect some chatter from the ski. Again, it does have a lightweight wood core with absolutely no metal at all in the core. This makes the ski light, surfy, playful and fun, but the con of that is you definitely have to expect some chatter on any firmer snow.

How is its control at speed? I did experience a bit of chatter when taking this thing to higher speeds. I did get to also take it to lower speeds, smear some turns, have some surfing and more playful turns out there today in Powder Mountain. But when reaching those tip-top speeds, any sort of frozen terrain, or granular and variable snow, definitely expect the 110 to be a bit chattery at the tip. And that is expected from a 110 ski on a firm groomer.

Freestyle

Any playfulness in the ski? It is certainly supportive enough for almost all freestyle abilities out there on the mountain. I had a blast out there today and definitely was able to rip this thing up on a variety of terrain. I really enjoyed spinning this thing, taking it into the border cross today, and catching some air on some side hits. It really is a freestyle ski at heart, and it's pretty stable in landings as well.

How is it riding switch? I did a little bit of switch carving since it is like a full rocker, camber, rocker ski. As expected, it was great riding switch.

Does it feel stable on landings? On the in-run to one of the little jumps we found, getting to the jump was a little dicey with the chatter, but nothing that's disconcerting. I missed the transition for the landing, but they held up pretty well from a good little impact—better than I thought because they are super light. Typically, with a heavier ski, you get that burliness.

Being on the Bent Chetler series before, I was expecting a stiffer and little bit more supportive ski on bigger airs. With these skis, when going bigger and pushing your limits, do expect a bit of chatter. There will not be the most 100% stable landings when you're out there going big and pressing the envelopes.

Freeride

What is the float like with the ski? It is certainly capable of getting into plenty of pow.

How does it handle chop and chunder? We got to ski lots of spring snow today and this thing will plow through the chop and chunder. There's no metal in the build of the Atomic 110 this year, so it is stable, but do expect a little chatter when blasting through any chunder or any variable snow pack. It’s certainly not enough chatter to be concerning, or not wanting to get into any of that specific terrain. Just a little bit of chatter, but I felt plenty confident underfoot on most all terrain today out here at Powder.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this ski to? I would definitely recommend the ski to any intermediate or advanced freestyle, all-mountain, powder, or big mountain skiers.

Who should avoid this ski, there are better options for them out there? If you're a beginner skier looking to get your first all-mountain or powder ski, there certainly are better options out there that are a bit easier to turn. Look for a ski that has a bit less width underfoot, as well as a bit smaller turning radius than maybe 20 or 21. It's going to be a lot easier to move edge to edge and get a great feel for all-mountain and powder skiing.

Skis work differently for different types of skiers. If you want help finding the right skis for you, reach out to Brandon or another Ski Expert here on Curated for free, personalized recommendations on the best setup for you.