Atomic Rival (2014)

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Rating: / 5
Price: $400.00
Year: 2014
Level: 2
Gender: Male
Waist Width: 102
Tip/Tail/Waist: 118-83-102
Lengths: 149, 157, 165, 173, 181

The new Rival adds an inexpensive, novice friendly option to the Vantage series (selling for about $350, flat, in many shops). It's the narrowest and most trail oriented (83-mm waist), with a tighter sidecut radius that promotes carving. It features a simpler, more economical construction; with lower and thus less edgy sidewalls underfoot for a more forgiving feel suitable to slower speeds and less aggressive input. Atomic's Vantage series includes five models ranging in waist widths from 103 mm down to 83. Where the Powder series includes wide rides for deep snow and the Nomad series offers narrow waists for on-trail performance, the Vantage skis split the difference in the name of all-terrain versatility. Not as loose and drifty as the Powder skis or as tight and carvy as the Nomad system skis, they're built to split the difference and meet the day-to-day needs of a soft-snow (most likely Western) resort skier with equal parts powder and hardpack performance. All are sold flat (no binding).