The 2023 Atomic Redster Q7 is a great choice for advanced skiers who are spending most of their time on-trail and in carved turns. They have a wider-bodied format to their front side personality, and that’s great news for skiers who are looking for something that’s both conditions and terrain-appropriate. The Q7, at 84.5-mm wide in the waist produces a 14.4-meter turn radius in the 173, and that’s pretty short for such a “wide” ski. Paired with a fully-cambered profile, this thing gets up on edge and rips around pretty quickly. They use their Power wood core with a titanal laminate in order to get the high-performance ceiling and high-end feel to the ski. Revoshock uses plates that float in a polymer material to dampen the vibrations and keep the ski on its intended line. It’s all about stability and power with these skis, and the construction makes it so. Since most skiers spend a lot of time on groomers, it makes sense to have a ski like this in your quiver, and the fact that it comes in a wider width than a lot of other dedicated front side skis puts the Q7 in somewhat rare territory.
ROCKER PROFILE
Camber
CORE MATERIALS
Dura Cap Sidewall
PREFERRED TERRAIN
Groomers, All Mountain
David Wolfgang found the 173 cm length that he tested to feel short, scoring it 4’s out of 5 for quickness, maneuverability, torsional stiffness, and edge hold. He gave 3’s for overall impression, versatility, flotation, stability, playfulness, and forgiveness. David notes that it’s “A quick turning ski in the Redster family. A little wider at 84mm underfoot, but very fast edge to edge. I found that you needed to fully engage the ski and hold the edge pressure to fully get the best out of it. An all-mountain carver for the advanced skier.” That blend of all-mountain and front side is certainly highlighted by this Redster Q7. It has the pedigree of the more race-like Atomics, but in that wider-bodied format for better balance and versatility.
Zach Mooney brings his extensive race background to the Q7. He notes that the 173 is true to size, but my guess is that he’d size up personally in order to get to the longer turn radius. He scored the Q7 5’s out of 5 for overall impression, torsional stiffness, edge hold, forgiveness, quickness, maneuverability, playfulness, and stability. Versatility got a 4 while flotation was the low mark with a 3. Zach states that “The 14.4 m radius with an 84 mm waist makes this one of the most forgiving front side carver skis. It handles speed really well and doesn’t want to snap around like a skinnier ski. It still rips slalom turns but the stability at higher speeds is where this ski shines.” Zach’s an impressive skier, and it’s hard for a lot of people to imagine going so fast on a 14.4-meter turn radius ski.
If you spend a lot of time on smooth and groomed trails, the Atomic Redster Q7 is a great blend of all-mountain width and frontside construction. There’s a lot of room for skis like this out there, allowing skiers the ability to rip carved turns on the corduroy while leaving room for adventure and exploration all over the mountain. There’s tons of fun to be had on the Redster Q7, mainly for intermediate through advanced skiers who love the feel of a sharp and crisply carved turn.
