Curated Ski Experts Rob G. and Theo G. tested the 2023 Salomon QST 92 skis at Powder Mountain in Utah this past spring. Check out how they performed in the carving, freestyle, and freeride categories, but don’t forget, every skier is different and what works for one may not work for all. If you have any questions on the Salomon QST 92 or would like recommendations on what skis would be ideal for your needs, reach out to a Ski Expert here on Curated.

A quick note that we're not sponsored by any brands, so all of these reviews are completely unbiased.

Brand Claims

What does Salomon claim about the ski?

[Rob] Salomon claims that the QST 92 is an accessible all-mountain ski, and I'd have to agree. It doesn't have any metal in it. It's 92 millimeters underfoot. It's an easy-turning ski that'll hold a carve. It's super maneuverable and pivoty when you want it to be. This would be a great ski for an intermediate to advanced skier. It's not a super hard charger, but it turns very easily. It's a lot of fun on groomers. It's a great cruising ski, and it's happy to be taken off trail once in a while, as well.

[Theo] Salomon markets this ski as sort of a catchall intermediate option, something that doesn't have metal like the Stance line from Salomon, that's going to be forgiving and easy to ski all over the mountain, but that's still a premium ski option. This is not a beginner ski. This is not a rental quality ski, as you see from some brands in terms of their intermediate offerings. This is a fully-featured ski appropriate for intermediate and some advanced skiers.

Overall Impressions

What is your overall impression? [Rob] I'll say I was not expecting to like this ski. This is a ski that I thought was just not going to be enough ski for me, but even in a shorter length than I would normally ski, I had a lot of fun making short to medium turns on it. I would take it all over the mountain. The skier who wants to be on this ski is a progressing intermediate to advanced skier who likes skiing on the groomers but also wants to start exploring off-piste.

[Theo] I enjoyed the ski for what it is, which is a very popular intermediate option. It's really a workhorse, the best of several worlds in terms of all-mountain capabilities. I was skiing it pretty hard, I like to think, but it didn't punish me for that at all. I didn't feel unstable. I didn't feel like I was getting bucked out of any of the turns. It wasn't hooky. But overall, this is a good ski for a large variety of conditions with a few exceptions.

What is the profile of the ski? [Theo] As with a lot of modern all-mountain skis, there's a good amount of rocker here in the tip, which will provide float. It has a turned-up tail, so if you do end up riding switch by accident or on purpose, you won't get into too much trouble. That'll give you some maneuverability when skiing backward, and it does have some nice camber underfoot to give you a responsive edge-to-edge turning motion.

Carving

How is the ski for carving? [Rob] I was really impressed with how this ski carved. I wasn't trying to drive hard through the tips. But for a more modern, centered stance, it held an edge really nicely carving on blue groomers.

How are they to turn? [Rob] It releases really nice out of the turn. It doesn't have a ton of energy coming out of a carved turn, but it is easy to tip the ski onto the new edge and start a new carved turn. [Theo] It turns really smoothly. It's super forgiving and easy to turn. I skied a 176, which I was initially apprehensive about. Usually, I'm north of 180. I didn't find it to be too flimsy or too pivoty. It was great in softer snow.

Any chatter in the ski? [Theo] Yeah, this isn't a very damp ski. If I had one major qualm, it is that from about halfway from the binding to the tip, you will experience a good amount of chatter on firm snow if you're going pretty fast. Wasn't anything that affected my turns. When I was really laying into carves and on edge, I didn't notice it, but if I was more on my bases on a larger radius turn, some chatter was involved. In terms of the chatter on the tip, I would only be concerned if you like going super fast and laying an edge into steep, firm terrain. Upgrading to a more expert-advanced option would eliminate a lot of that softness in the tip. Something with more metal would be helpful in that regard.

If you're spending most of your time on greens and blues and in the trees on more rolling terrain, even getting into some steeper icier stuff with short radius turns, these are going to be perfectly fine for you.

Freestyle

How is it on jumps and stability on landings? [Theo] I can't imagine most folks who are purchasing these are looking to land big airs. If you do end up in the air, they won't give you too much of an issue on the landing.

Could you speak about playfulness and pop? [Rob] This isn't a park ski. But I would definitely have fun taking this on a few laps through the park, hitting some tabletops, but it's not as poppy as a true park ski, and it's a little heavier than most true park skis.

[Theo] In terms of your turn shape, it's a pretty playful ski. It's easy to initiate turns. It's not a very poppy ski. It's not good for freestyle skiing and hitting side hits and jumps. That said, if you do go off a few park jumps, you'll have a nice stable landing because of the camber underfoot. But I did find on some portions of the mountain where I've frequently been skiing today, other skis that I've been on have provided a lot more pop and given me the air that I was looking for, which these did not. That's probably a factor derived from how versatile and stable they are. They're not designed to give you a lot of pop and be really ultra variable in terms of the things that you can do with them, pressing on the noses and the tails in terms of butters. But it does have a lot of benefits across the rest of the mountain.

Freeride

How would the ski be in powder? [Theo] This isn't a great powder ski. I think if you're skiing in New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and even maybe at Sundown in Connecticut, and for some reason, you were to get four or five inches of snow, you would have a lot of fun on these. That said, I wouldn't want to ski these at Snowbird or Alta or here at Powder Mountain on a deeper day in January or February with a lot of fresh snow. I think they would sink pretty easily. But in trees, maybe there's some spring snow, or maybe a few inches of fresh snow, these nice wide tips and the rocker in the tips, are going to give you some float, so you're not going to be nose-diving.

How is the maneuverability in the trees? [Rob] I took the ski into the trees; it handled really well there. I think it would be a forgiving and accessible ski to improve in the moguls.

[Theo] These are a really fantastically maneuverable ski. I think that if you did get them in the trees for a long portion of time—I did not—they would be absolutely fantastic for weaving in and out of the different zones that you would find yourself in.

How are these on uneven terrain? [Theo] There's not a whole ton of ski in terms of the amount of metal. They're not the heaviest option. I wasn't on the longest ski in the line, but they wouldn't be the easiest ski to push fresh snow and wet, bumped-up snow around. You're not going to have a large degree of autonomy over moving snow that you encounter in moguls.

There is a bit of chatter with these. I think that if you were in some really rough snow, they're not going to be a great option. If you're looking for a charger through crud, there are a lot of other skis you could pick, like the Blizzard Cochise, even the Salomon Stance line, or something with a little more underfoot and some more metal through it, maybe less tip early rise. But on the East Coast, I think that the ease of pivoting these and getting them edge to edge will reward you on firm and icy conditions. But if you're in sort of post-storm, classic Western crud, these aren't going to slash through that and destroy it as some wider, heavier, longer skis would.

Is there any location this ski is ideal for? [Theo] This is a great ski for folks in the East who ski all over the mountain, who are getting out regularly throughout the winter, and who may be skiing off-trail but aren't spending a ton of time in powder snow. It's a ski you could bring out West on vacation once or twice a year. I would say this is a great skier for someone on the West Coast, in the Rocky Mountains, who skis 10 to 15 times a year, considers themselves an intermediate, sticks to blue-groomed terrain, and isn't out there on the deeper storm days of the season.

Recommendations

Who would you recommend this ski to? [Rob] If you like cruising groomers and are not looking to go mock looney or hold an edge at really high speeds on extremely firm Eastern snow, this will be a fun ski. It's something you could ski in the East and take out West, or if you're a Western skier who spends 80% of your time on groomers and likes to dip into the trees once in a while, this would also be a really solid choice for you. This isn't a true twin tip, but it's got a bit of an upturned tail. So if you want to start playing around with skiing switch, this would be a solid ski to start doing that on.

[Theo] These are one of the best skis out there for intermediate skiers who love the sport, want one ski to do it all, and aren't spending most of their time on the West Coast. Even if you're taking a few trips up to the West Coast each year, these will do the job. If you're a skier in the West who sticks to groomed terrain, in the trees and isn't skiing a ton of powder, doesn't need that float, these are excellent. They're at a great price point. It's a great ski for folks who don't need a super specialized option, like something that's going to be perfect for powder, the backcountry, or carving. This'll do it all and do them all pretty well. I can highly recommend it if you consider yourself an intermediate.

Who would you not recommend this ski to? [Rob] This ski doesn't have a super beefy construction. So, if you're a bigger guy who likes to charge hard, you might want to look for a stiffer ski, something with Titanal in it.

[Theo] It's not something I would recommend to skiers in the West who are skiing a lot of powder or who are skiing off-trail. If you're opening it up on steep groomed terrain, it's not going to be the most stable ski in the world, and you would want to find something with more metal, a longer effective edge, and a bit of a stiffer flex pattern for those big GS turns. So expert skiers might find themselves looking for more ski in terms of waist width, length, and weight, and will maybe need some more metal underfoot for stability and being able to blast through crud. Park skiers, please do not get this ski. And beginners could probably find different options.

Skis work differently for different types of skiers. If you want help finding the right skis for you, reach out to Rob, Theo, or any other Ski Expert here on Curated for free, personalized recommendations. Note that the 2024 version of the Salomon QST 92 is linked below - same tech, just different graphic: