Best Backcountry Skis for 2025 To Conquer Hills Away From Resorts

Backcountry skiing offers a quieter ski experience, away from the lift lines and commercialization of resorts. It’s also captured the imaginations of more skiers than ever thanks to a pandemic surge and improvements in the equipment and advances in safety gear that make it more accessible.

Newcomers to the backcountry quickly realize their resort gear won’t cut it while ski touring. When you swap chairlifts for uphill climbs, weight becomes critical, especially when it comes to the skis you have to drag up the mountain.

Backcountry skis are always a compromise between weight savings, cost, and performance. More weight usually means a damper, more stable ski but heavier planks limit how fast and how far you can travel uphill. Shaving grams forces manufacturers into specialized designs and materials that drive up the cost of a pair of sticks, so while you might save on lift tickets in the backcountry, budget a bit more than you’re used to spending on resort-oriented skis.

How light you go will depend on where you fall on the aerobic-to-aprés spectrum. Heavier backcountry skis will be an easier transition for folks used to stable, heavy resorts skis. Ultralight options will let you fly uphill, but require practice to ski well down, especially in the mixed conditions often encountered in the backcountry. The good news is that almost every ski manufacturer makes backcountry-oriented skis these days so there are more options than ever, though we’re still waiting for someone to make a budget backcountry ski.

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To help you find a pair that’s right for your backcountry style, experience level, and budget, we tested the latest and greatest and shared our favorites for every breed of backcountry skier. Our favorite and best overall backcountry skis are Atomic Backland 109s. They hit the sweet spot: Light enough to ease your ascents but stiff and damp enough to feel familiar and trustworthy. If you have more ski gear to upgrade this winter, take a look at our other round ups, which include best bindings and best helmets.

Best Backcountry Skis at a Glance

• Best Backcountry Skis Overall: Atomic Backland 109

• Best Lightweight Backcountry Skis: Head Crux 99 Touring Skis

• Best 50/50 Backcountry Skis: Elan Ripstick 102 Black Edition

• Best Backcountry Skis for Powder: Atomic Bent Chetler 12

• Best All Around Backcountry Skis: K2 Wayback 106

• Best Recreational Backcountry Skis: Dynafit Ridge 95

• Best Handmade Backcountry Skis: DPS Carbon Pagoda Tour CFL 112

Related: The Best Ski Huts to Book for a Backcountry Getaway

Best Backcountry Skis of 2025

Best Backcountry Skis Overall: Atomic Backland 109

I’ve turned a number of Atomic skis into touring setups despite them not being backcountry-specific skis, so it’s not surprising that their flagship touring skis, the Backland 109s shine as a dedicated ski touring setup. These mid-fat all-rounders hit the sweet spot in weight: light enough to ease your ascents but stiff and damp enough to feel familiar and trustworthy.

Yes, they’re sub-1,600 grams but there are other tweaks that make them ideal for backcountry touring. The rocker-camber-rocker profile is less pronounced which keeps more surface area on the snow when climbing and makes each stride more efficient, preserving your energy for the fun part. The HRZN Tech tip and tail keep the weight near the center of the ski so they’re faster to pivot and there’s carbon stringers for lightweight stability and traditional fiberglass to dampen chatter.

All that adds up to a lightweight touring ski that feels as much like a freeride resort ski as is possible at this low of a weight, making it a great choice as a good first backcountry ski. The width and shape helps you maximize the powder days that have you calling in sick, but it’s stiff and stable when you have to deal with lesser conditions. If you’re dealing mostly with hard snow, there are similarly constructed Backlands in 102, 95, and 88 with ultralight skimo-oriented versions as narrow as 65mm.

• Width: 107mm

• Available lengths: 175, 182, 189cm

• Weight: 1,550 grams for 182cm

Best Lightweight Backcountry Skis: Head Crux 99 Touring Skis

“Lightweight” is a very relative term in ski touring. For skimo racers, that might mean 700-gram potato chip skis. For short-distance pow-chasers, that might be an 1,800-gram fat ski. In the realm of recreational backcountry skiers that go out for fun turns and adventure, anything below 1,600 grams or so will feel incredibly light. Head’s first entry into the backcountry ski category gets below 1,400 grams and skis remarkably well for the specs.

With almost all major ski companies making backcountry skis now, Head took their time getting into the space, but it’s clear they took the time needed to make a splash and avoid another boring “me too” touring plank. Like any ski, Head touts a lot of materials and tech such as a “Full Triaxial Carbon Jacket” and a graphene layer that’s “the strongest material on the planet”.

It’s impossible to suss out how much each inclusion contributes to the ski’s performance, but I’ve skied a lot of skis in this weight class and the Head Crux 99 Pros have to be the least disappointing to-date. If that sounds like a weak compliment, it’s because these skis are usually packed with carbon, expensive, and brittle-feeling. I skied the Crux 99 Pros over 15 days last season and while they performed admirably in a range of conditions, I was most impressed by their float in soft snow and dampness in mixed hard snow. If you want a lighter ski to go faster and further, it would be hard to do better than this debut from Head.

• Width: 99mm

• Available lengths: 163, 172, 177, 184cm

• Weight: 1,384 grams for 184cm

Best 50/50 Backcountry Skis: Elan Ripstick 102 Black Edition

On paper, a hybrid ski setup that you ski both in-bounds and backcountry makes sense. Avoid spending thousands extra on a completely separate ski/boot/binding combo you only use a few times a winter. Despite the “50/50” naming often used, hybrid setups are best for new or infrequent backcountry skiers who want the ability to tour a few times a season. Folks who actually ski 50 percent of their days touring will want dedicated touring equipment to avoid the inevitable compromises.

Still, if compromise you must, the Elan Ripstick 102 Black Edition is a lightweight all-mountain board you can pair with a hybrid binding such as Salomon Shifts or Marker Kingpins for a backcountry-capable combo that’s light enough for shorter tours. The Ripstick Black Editions have a higher-end construction with carbon stringers and sheets to stiffen them without weighing them down and they ski remarkably well in both hardpack and soft snow for a ski this light.

• Width: 102mm

• Available lengths: 163, 172, 177, 184cm

• Weight: 1,384 grams for 184cm

Related: These 17 Après-Ski Essentials Are the Perfect Way to End a Ski Day

Best Backcountry Skis for Powder: Atomic Bent Chetler 120

Atomic’s Bent Chetlers are easy to ski, lightweight, and help your skiing be as creative as the wild graphics on the bases and topsheets that make the Bent series visually unmistakable. The extra-wide Bent 120s were never built for touring and may seem like an unlikely candidate, but at 1800 grams (184 cm), they’re shockingly light for their size and performance.

“Playful” gets thrown around a lot describing skis, but it’s on-point here. The Bent 120s are a softer pow ski that can plane well at speed thanks to aggressive tip rocker and their width, but they really shine meandering around the terrain. The very centered -3 mount point reduces the amount of tip to swing around, so they’re highly agile in tighter terrain and make it easy to vary turn shapes as frequently as you like. The width and the aggressive tip and tail rocker mean these aren’t optimized for the uphill of course, but on deep days, they maximize the fun on the descent.

• Width: 102mm

• Available lengths: 163, 172, 177, 184cm

• Weight: 1,384 grams for 184cm

Best All Around Backcountry Skis: K2 Wayback 106

Similar to our top overall pick, K2’s freeride backcountry touring skis hit the sweet spot of weight that balances light for the uphill with downhill performance. Most backcountry skiers not in full Lycra are heading out to score quality turns and aren’t willing cut weight in their skis at the expense of the descent. The Waybacks are a tried-and-tested backcountry all-rounder that’s been in production for well over a decade but has evolved enough over the years to continue to keep up with the flood of innovation in backcountry skis and continue to attract a wide range of backcountry skiers.

The 106mm waist width may sound like a soft-snow specialist to some, but it holds up well enough in hard and mixed conditions. Compared to other skis in this ~1,500-gram weight class which aim to be stiff and light, the Waybacks stick to a paulownia wood core reinforced with a centered titanal plate and carbon stringers to create a fairly damp ride for the weight, likely thanks to the metal. This dampness makes them a more familiar transition from resort gear and while they’re aimed at advanced skiers, they make a great first backcountry ski.

A shallow 22mm sidecut helps them float like a wider ski and, along with a moderate rocker, helps them stay up in deep snow and float you above variable snows. For skiers that chase soft snow (and get it fairly often), the Wayback 106 is a one-ski quiver candidate. If you don’t ski a lot of deep pow, consider one of the narrower Wayback models such as the 98, 92, or 84cm which share similar construction but are lighter and more optimized for the uptrack.

• Width: 106mm

• Available lengths: 165, 172, 179, 186cm

• Weight: 1,475 grams for 179cm

Best Recreational Backcountry Skis: Dynafit Ridge 95

Dynafit are the creators of the now-standard pin binding system found in most lightweight touring setups and are synonymous with the European preference for fast and light backcountry gear. Despite the pedigree, Dynafit’s recent Radical and Tigard skis went heavier and fatter chasing the “freeride” backcountry skiers in North America. The new Ridge 95 ski once again plays to Dynafit’s strengths and prioritizes speed on the uphill with adequate downhill performance at a compromise weight around 1,400 grams.

This is a ski that won’t attract the ultralight skimo set, but for recreational tourers, provides a tool for going faster as fitness improves and pushing further into the backcountry for longer, more ambitious adventures without handicapping yourself for the descent. There’s modest rocker in tip and tail but the bulk of the ski is relatively flat which maximizes contact with the snow on the uphill for a more efficient climb.

• Width: 95mm

• Available lengths: 160, 168, 176, 184cm

• Weight: 1,330 grams for 179cm

Best Handmade Backcountry Skis: DPS Carbon Pagoda Tour CFL 112

These carbon-heavy soft-snow specialists are for skiers who want a fatter touring ski or dedicated powder touring option that’s stiff and stable for high speeds without going too heavy. DPS is known for high-carbon skis that stay light and stiff and the Carbon Pagoda Tour CFL 112s are no exception. The stiff, light, and fat combination work best, not surprisingly, in deep and light powder where their weight helps them stay afloat better than heavier skis.

The biggest drawback of these skis is the cost which gets inflated by the large amounts of carbon fiber and sourcing of materials from U.S.-based suppliers to build these skis by hand in Utah. At about $1,700, you could buy two pair of most of the other skis featured here for the same cost. It’s a lot of money to spend on what will be a dedicated powder-touring ski for most, but the lifetime warranty, build quality, and longer effective lifespan of carbon provides value in the long term.

• Width: 95mm

• Available lengths: 158, 168, 178, 184, 189cm

• Weight: 1,590 grams for 184cm

Related: Best Ski and Snowboard Helmets for 2025, Tested and Reviewed

What to Look For When Buying Backcountry Skis

I’ve already mentioned the trade-offs between weight and performance in backcountry skis and while you’ll certainly want to compare the weights of different skis you’re considering, there are plenty of other factors. Unlike bindings, there’s nothing absolute in terms of operation that differentiates a backcountry ski from a resort ski and technically any ski can be a backcountry ski if you put touring bindings on it. How you choose your pair will come down to weighing where they land on the following aspects.

Weight

While weight isn’t everything, especially if you stick to shorter tours, I don’t recommend trying to use heavy resort boards for touring just because you like how they ski. The boundary has blurred between the two categories as more brands try to make hybrid options, but the range of weights for backcountry options is much wider than resort skis and these weights give you important clues to what type of ski it is.

Resort skis usually fall somewhere between 1900 and 2500 grams per ski. 2000 grams should be considered the upper limit for even “heavy metal” touring but ultralight skimo skis can be as light as 700 grams. If you’re shopping for your first backcountry setup, you won’t want to go too light as the skis will be too abrupt a change from resort skis performance. You can aim for between 1500 and 1800 grams for an “average” construction that won’t be so heavy it breaks you on the uphill, but is stable enough to retain enough of the alpine ski feel you’re used to.

Width

As with alpine skis, the width dictates the conditions you’ll enjoy them in most. Wider boards are rightly associated with powder-chasing, but they can also be a better choice to try and stay on top of nasty off-piste conditions such as breakable crust. Ultralight setups are usually below 100 mm to help keep the weight down and keep you nimble on the uptrack.

Most recreational ski tourers only have one backcountry setup and opt for a compromise width in that broad “all-mountain” range between 95 and 110 millimeters. If you’re touring primarily to chase virgin pow, you’ll land on the fatter end. If you’re out there for the aerobic workout, you’ll want to go skinnier to shave grams. Some folks stick to touring at ski areas (usually during off-hours) rather than the true backcountry to minimize their avalanche risk and may want narrower skis for the groomed runs there.

You can also go extra-fat even if they’re your only touring skis and there are plenty of great powder-focused touring skis available between 110 and 120. Skis in this range won’t be as comfortable on the uphill as you need to keep your legs further apart than is natural, but they’re a specialty tool for powder which is one of the main reasons people get into the backcountry. Fat skis won’t be fun in hard, mixed conditions, but you could argue no ski really is and many folks just won’t go out if the snow isn’t fresh.

Length

The appropriate length ski for touring usually isn’t much different for backcountry skis than resort skis and you’ll want to stay within a few centimeters of your ideal resort ski length to ensure your size and power is matched to the ski.

You can aim for the shorter end of your range to save weight or to be more nimble if you ski in tighter trees often. If you’re buying wider all-mountain or powder-oriented touring skis, don’t skimp on length as you can sink even fat skis if they’re not long enough for your height and weight.

Materials and Construction

The weight can often tell you a lot about who and what a backcountry ski is meant for and the ski’s construction can do the same. The descriptions ski companies write about their skis burn a lot of ink touting their proprietary builds and features and you can safely ignore most of it. Unless you’ve spent years learning about ski construction most of the acronyms and jargon won’t mean much and it’s very difficult to tell if and exactly how it will improve your ski experience anyway.

Materials can provide hints about how a ski should perform however. For example, metal stringers or sheets can provide stability and energy to a ski but add weight and are uncommon in backcountry skis. Wood cores are still de rigueur in both resort and backcountry ski construction, but ski manufacturers will intersperse other materials such as plastic, fiberglass, carbon fiber, and foams to save weight or tweak certain characteristics of the ski.

Many backcountry skis employ carbon fiber in lieu of fiberglass because it has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than the fiberglass commonly used in downhill-only skis. It’s also more expensive and can help explain the exorbitant price tags on many backcountry skis. Powder boards that go heavy on carbon can be lightweight and stiff and a ton of fun in soft snow, but this same type of build might feel chattery and unforgiving in less ideal snow. Carbon saves weight for your uphills, but it doesn’t guarantee a great ski, so keep this limitation in mind if you’re getting ready to spend the big bucks on a high-carbon ski.

Why You Should Trust Me

I’m a lifelong skier raised on icy upstate New York hills currently based in Breckenridge, Colorado, where I ski over 100 days a year, split fairly evenly between backcountry and resort. I spend those days testing all manner of gear from skis to jackets to apps to avalanche beacons for Men’s Journal, Powder, Tripsavvy, Gear Junkie, and I serve as editor of the backcountry ski site WildSnow. I’ve skied on four continents and aim to hit all seven eventually, but some of my favorite runs are in my backyard.

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