Photo: Atomic Skis
TGR Tested: Atomic Maverick 115 CTi
It seems that powder skis are a dime a dozen these days, so what really sets the best ones apart? I think there’s a simple answer: versatility. The best fat skis aren’t just one-trick ponies that only work well in bottomless untracked snow, they’re skis I’ll grab for most mid-winter days even if the last storm was a few days back. Atomic’s latest freeride powder ski is the Maverick 115 CTi, and it’s a welcome addition to the already stacked lineup of soft-snow tools Atomic has created over the years. In many ways, the new Maverick is the anti-Bentchetler, and I’m pretty stoked on that. Atomic and TGR athlete Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, and FWT athlete Craig Murray both had a heavy hand in developing this ski, and its design readily reflects their unique styles of skiing. Don’t get me wrong, I love the Bent 110 and 120, but this new Maverick fills the gap for those of us looking for a directional freeride charger that can mob the resort and backcountry equally well. It almost feels like Atomic’s version of the venerable Salomon QST Blank, and nothing like the older Maverick 100 or 95s. It’s stable and damp, it floats in pow, and it encourages channeling your inner FWT skier to hunt for big airs, high speeds, and not worry too much about the snow conditions.
The Tech:
It’s tempting to say that the new Maverick 115 CTi is just a fatter Maverick 100, but that’s really not the case. In reality, they seem to take some serious design cues from the Backland 117 and Bent 120, moving those into a more hybrid resort/backcountry-oriented shape and construction. The shape resembles a Bent up front and a Backland behind the binding. It’s a directional ski with dramatic tip rocker and taper lines, a surprisingly centered mount point on a 115mm waist with a short-ish 18-meter turning radius, and a low-profile rockered and very stiff tail.
Photo: Atomic Skis
Up front, the tip features a re-designed HRZN Tech tip, with the 3D shape extending further back along the tips, much closer to the taper point.
Inside, there’s Atomic’s CTi construction found across much of the Maverick line. That takes advantage of a sheet of Titanal and a little bit of carbon to stiffen the ski and add some damping properties. It does make the ski a bit heavier at 2150g for the 193cm. The core is made of ash and poplar wood, known for its dampening properties without giving up any pop.
On the stiffness spectrum, the shovels are fairly soft (6/10), with the ski getting progressively stiffer underfoot (8-9/10), and remaining that way through the powerful tail (7.5-8/10). The ski flexes very smoothly and roundly (a nice change from the existing Mavericks that feel “peaky”), but retains much of the very lively and poppy feeling found in the Bent line. The metal/carbon construction definitely adds a bit of heft to smooth out and dampen the ride when things get chopped up.
The Maverick 115CTi comes in 178cm, 184cm, and 193cm options. Photo: Max Ritter
Atomic’s entire lineup of skis switched over to a more eco-friendly construction last year, and the new Maverick 115 CTi follows suit. It doesn't change how the ski rides, but it’s now made with low-carbon raw materials, and less material overall, to reduce environmental impact of manufacturing and cut CO2 emissions by a claimed 24 percent compared to last year’s Maverick 100 Ti.
The new Maverick CTi floats and slashes. Photo: Max Ritter
The Ride:
Serendipitously, my test pair of Maverick 115 CTis showed up right as winter finally arrived in Jackson Hole this January. After weeks of high pressure, we were graced with the arrival of a 50+ inch storm over the course of a few days - the perfect testing grounds for a ski of this caliber.
It should come as no surprise that the Maverick 115 CTi excels at skiing fast in soft untracked snow, but what really surprised me after a few days of testing is how well it handles the kind of resort snow you’ll find a day or two after a storm. That means tracked up slopes covered in uneven, unpredictable snow. Crud, if you will. The Maverick absolutely eats that up, and makes it very easy to comfortably ski very fast in those conditions, with suspension that rivals a monster truck. The ski feels quite locked into turns, but the tail rocker gave me the ability to quickly release and smear the tails when I needed to dump speed and change direction in trees or bumps. It doesn’t feel quite as loose as the Bents do, but for resort skiing, I think that extra stability is a huge plus. As Cattabriga-Alosa puts it, “the ski has two personalities - it’s super solid when you’re pedal to the metal, but turns into a really playful ski at slower speeds.”
The Maverick CTi shows off it's agility in a tight space. Photo: Max Ritter
Of course, I took these skis out for a few laps in the JHMR sidecountry to hunt for some bottomless untracked powder and find some more technical big-mountain terrain to ride. Unsurprisingly, opening it up on classic runs on Cody Peak or navigating steep tree alleys on 4 Pines was a blast, and showcased the ski’s incredible balance of stability and responsiveness. While it likes to monster truck through terrain, quick pivot turns and sudden direction changes feel really easy in deep three-dimensional snow.
On hardpack, the ski prefers longer turns that belie its short 18m radius - it’s really fun to find wide-open groomers and lay down GS turns. The stiff tail feels very powerful and adds confidence at high speeds, especially in variable snow. Quick direction changes on harder snow are a little more work, but if you know how to drive a ski on hardpack, the Mavericks feel about as responsive as a 115 mm-underfoot ski could possibly be.
The Maverick 115 CTi shows off it's versatility and drives the hardpack. Photo: Max Ritter
The Bottom Line:
Atomic’s new Maverick 115 CTi might be one of the most versatile powder skis I’ve ever ridden. The ski’s intentions are clear - skiing big lines aggressively in deep snow - but it’s still incredibly fun in nearly all kinds of soft-snow scenarios. If you’ve enjoyed skis like Salomon’s QST Blank, Armada’s Declivity X, or the Nordica Enforcer Free 110, this builds on those options by adding a little more of a poppy and fun freestyle element. It really splits the difference between all-out big-mountain charger and poppy and playful freestyle powder ski. If you’re looking to add an everyday powder ski to the quiver, this is a great choice.
About The Author
stash member Max Ritter
I manage digital content here at TGR, run our gear testing program, and am stoked to be living the dream in the Tetons.