2023 Atomic Maven 86 C

An all-mountain, front-side weapon in disguise, the Atomic Maven 86 C is a nimble, highly versatile ski for intermediate skiers looking to enhance their performance. Infamous for being light and playful, exploring the entire mountain from trees to steep bumps has never felt more intuitive. Built with a similar approach to the men’s Maverick 86 C, this Maven model has a poplar wood core, lightweight fiberglass, and carbon stringers through the tips and tails. As we know from this construction, agile performance is optimized without sacrificing balance or stability. With the added metal laminate underfoot, maximum edge control is achievable yet with the quickness and playfulness desired for shorter turns. Landing in the mid-80s range in width waist, it’s an ideal place to be for all-mountain performance in a range of conditions. Though you may think fresh powder is not a place for the Maven 86 Cs, thanks to the HRZN Tech Tip, 10% more surface area is available in the tips for exceptional flotation without widening the overall ski shape. The all-mountain rocker profile leaves you with a primarily directional ski with plentiful camber and slight rocker in the tip and tail. For the skier looking for a confident yet playful ski to improve and explore on, the Maven 86 is an excellent choice.

On the 169, Alli Ruschp found it to be true to size and an ideal length for her. While her scores varied across all categories, she gave 5’s for maneuverability and forgiveness, speaking to the ski’s strength in quickness and weight. Though she felt they lacked in flotation, stability, and torsional stiffness, her overall impression was “Lightweight, forgiving front side ski. I prefer the 93C version for myself, its a little more stable at speeds with the extra width dampening the ski. Normally I would ski a shorter option but since this ski is so lightweight, the 169 felt like the right length. Geared towards a more intermediate or someone looking for a lighter option. The carbon construction has a different energy than skis with metal, hard to explain the feel but it's less damp and a little more reactive to the conditions.” She makes a good point in highlighting how a ski built with carbon has a unique energy and responsiveness to it. While it may not perform best in less forgiving conditions, it sure sounds like a fun and lively ski for the right days.

Carly Monahan also took the 169s out and felt that they skied true to size, though she would also be happy on the next size down. We saw a lot of similarities in Alli and Carly’s scores, with 4’s and 5’s for the majority of the categories, highlighting its playfulness, versatility and forgiveness the most. With a 3 for flotation, we found that both of our testers felt that they did not perform best in softer snow and were more at home in conditions that suited its maneuverability. Carly noted “Lovely and lively; these were a pleasure to ski. They��re light, but stable and in softer snow, their graceful qualities really came out. In icy, chundery conditions, these skis did get deflected a bit, but are so responsive that it was easy to stay on course - or alter your course very quickly and seamlessly! Would recommend for skiers who want to make smooth, controlled turns, but who don’t want or need the pop or stability of a stiffer ski with a ton of metal.”

The Atomic Maven 86 C appeals to a wide range of skiers looking for a nimble, approachable ski with the power to carve dynamic, short turns across the whole mountain. Rounding out the entire Atomic line, this model is sure to meet the needs of skiers looking to enhance their skills and achieve all-mountain performance.