tl;dr Professional skiers rely on the absolute best equipment on the market to push their limits day in and day out. If these skis are good enough for the pros, they are good enough for anyone. Let’s take a look at some of the most commonly used skis by professional athletes.

Armada

Edollo: Henrik Harlaut

The Armada Edollo is a park-skiing weapon designed by Swedish freeskier Henrik Harlaut. Featuring an asymmetrical shape and rocker profile, the Edollo is just as capable of landing huge jump tricks as it is smearing nose butters across the entire mountain.

Harlaut is well known for his baggy clothing and unique skiing style. Over the years, he has won countless big air and slopestyle medals from both the Olympics and X Games. At 31 years of age, Henrik is not as prominent as he once was in the competition scene, but he still has a great influence on freestyle skiing.

Bdog: Phil Casabon

Influenced by Phil Casabon, Armada’s Bdog is flexy enough to grease up any terrain park or street spot. The Bdogs feature a straight section in the sidecut towards the nose for effortless butters without the fear of catching an edge.

Phil is known as one of the most stylish skiers of all time. Since joining Armada over 17 years ago, Casabon has redefined park and street skiing with his unique, creative style. Just a few years ago, Phil and Armada worked hand in hand to create an edgeless version of the Bdog; this was a revolutionary development in the street skiing scene.

ARV / ARW: Rell Harwood

The ARV and ARW series are the staples of Armada’s freestyle lineup. Coming in at different widths from 84–116mm, these skis are ready to rip anything the mountain has to throw at you. Stiff enough for huge jumps, yet playful enough for smaller jibs, the ARV series can be great for any freestyle skier. US freeskier Rell Harwood can be found lapping the park on her ARW 96s.

Rell is a freestyle skier out of Park City that is constantly pushing the limits of the sport. She is a standout on the US freeski team as well as a Level 1 Superunknown finalist.

Whitewalker: Sammy Carlson

Designed with the help of Sammy Carlson, the Armada Whitewalker is a big-mountain weapon that is just as capable going uphill as it is going down. With a 116mm waist and very tapered tips, the Whitewalker is at home slashing through deep powder. This freeride tool is often used both in the resort and in the backcountry.

Sammy began his skiing career in the park, winning an X Games gold medal and landing the world’s first triple cork. He then turned his skiing style to a more backcountry-focused outlook. Sammy can be found surfing powder and dropping huge lines in many big mountain ski films.

Atomic

Bent Series: Chris Bentchetler, Kai Jones, and Arianna Tricomi

Atomic’s new Bent series consists of five freestyle skis coming in at widths from 85–120mm. The narrower models are best suited for the park, whereas the wider models are great from groomers to deep powder and backcountry. Chris Bentchetler and Kai Jones both ride Bentchetlers when filming for backcountry ski movies. Arianna Tricomi even competes in the Freeride World Tour on Bentchetlers!

Arianna began her skiing career as an alpine racer in Italy before transitioning to freeskiing at the age of 16. She spent some time competing in slopestyle before she had the opportunity to qualify for the Freeride World Tour. Now she is a three-time consecutive champion on the tour and is sponsored by some of the absolute biggest companies.

Faction

Dancer Series: Andrew Pollard

Faction’s Dancer series consists of four skis varying in widths from 86–116mm. They are aggressive, traditional freeride skis with two very thin sheets of metal for added stiffness and damping. Andrew Pollard can be found putting down huge big-mountain lines on the Dancer 4.

Andrew grew up skiing the slopes of Alta in Utah. He qualified for the Freeride World Tour in 2019 and ended up winning rookie of the year. When Andrew is not competing, he can be found filming for freeski movies including THE COLLECTIVE by Faction.

Prodigy Series: Alex Hall, Eileen Gu, and Others

The Faction Prodigy series consists of five men’s/unisex skis and four women’s-specific options. Prodigys are playful, freestyle-oriented skis that can be ridden in the park or on the rest of the mountain. Ranging in widths from 85–116mm, there is a Prodigy for any snow condition. Alex Hall, Mac Forehand, Eileen Gu, and Bella Bacon can all be found on podiums with a pair of Prodigys.

Alex Hall is currently one of the best freestyle skiers in the world. Winning numerous X Games medals in big air, slopestyle, and realski, Alex has continuously pushed the limits of competition freeskiing. When he is not competing or lapping Park City, Mr. Hall can be found filming huge lines in the backcountry.

Head

Kore Series: Hedvig Wessel

Head developed their Kore series with the intent to make powerful freeride skis that are lighter than their competitors. While being light enough to use in the backcountry, the Kores are also stiff and directional enough to charge the biggest lines. The men’s and women’s models are available in many widths for use in any terrain, from icy groomers to the deepest powder. Freeride World Tour champion, Hedvig Wessel, competes on her Kore 111s.

Hedvig began her professional skiing career competing in moguls; she was a two-time Olympian and a six-time Norwegian champion. Recently, she has shifted her focus to freeride skiing and has had great success on the tour. Wessel has earned second place overall on the Freeride World Tour in 2020, 2021, and 2022.

Oblivion Series: Jesper Tjader

Head’s Oblivion series is their freestyle alternative to the Kore series. They currently offer widths from 79–94mm, but will be releasing a 116mm option for the 2023/2024 season. The current Oblivions are mostly park oriented, but the new 116mm will be a playful powder ski. Jesper Tjader is the face of the Oblivion series and can be found sporting them in many freestyle events.

Jesper is one of the most creative freeskiers of all time. The stunts that he performed in his “Unrailistic” films seemed impossible. Jesper is a three-time Olympian and has won many X Games medals over his career.

Line

Tom Wallisch Pro: Tom Wallisch and Jackson Karsteter

The Line TW Pro is a lightweight park ski designed by Tom Wallisch himself. TWall’s signature twigs feature a 90mm waist and a fairly stiff flex to handle the biggest park features he can find. Rail skiing enthusiast Jackson Karsteter also rides the TW Pro as his ski of choice.

Jackson Karsteter is a young freestyle skier with a very bright future. Growing up in the Midwest, Jackson has developed extremely technical rail skills that help him dominate slopestyle and rail jam competitions.

Blend: Andy Parry

The Blend is the softest freestyle ski produced by Line. Featuring a 100mm waist, the Blends are just as happy jibbing the whole mountain as they are in the park. Blends are a favorite among Andy Parry and the rest of the Line Traveling Circus crew.

Andy Parry grew up in New York and began filming his freestyle stunts in high school. Andy and one of his close friends, Will Wesson, created Line Traveling Circus after graduating college. Recently, Andy started Tell a Friend Tour, where he travels around North America riding with aspiring freeskiers.

Volkl

Revolt Series: Andri Ragetti, Marcus Eder, and Others

The Volkl Revolt series features seven skis of widths ranging from 81–121mm. The 81, 84, 86, and 90mm widths are all park-specific skis with varying levels of stiffness. Moving to the wider options, the 95mm can be used for both park and all-mountain, while the 104mm and 121mm are designed for freeride skiing.

Andri Ragettli and Birk Ruud are often found on Slopestyle and Big Air podiums representing Volkl. On the Freeride World Tour, both Markus Eder and Ross Tester have won several events on the Revolt 121.

Markus Eder started his skiing career in the park before switching over to freeriding. In 2018, Markus took second place overall on the Freeride World Tour. The very next year, he won the overall championship on the tour. Eder is now featured in many ski films including “The Ultimate Run.”

Connect With a Real Expert

Each of the companies listed produce high-quality gear that can be trusted on the biggest hits and lines. If you are interested in riding a similar ski as your favorite athletes but aren’t sure which may be the best for you, reach out to a Curated Skiing Expert, like me. We offer free, customized advice and gear recommendations no matter your experience level, beginner or pro!