2023 Atomic Redster Q9.8

There’s been somewhat of a resurgence in skiing in the past few years. Turns out, skiing groomers is a ton of fun. Who would’ve thought? Okay, we’re exaggerating a little, but cruising groomers isn’t what you typically see in your favorite ski movie, magazing covers, etc. It’s just not as sexy as big air and face shots. It is, however, incredibly rewarding, and something that just about every skier will do throughout the season, so why not make it as fun as possible? Manufacturers like Atomic are rethinking the category and we have some excellent skis on the market right now that bridge the gap between carving ski and all-mountain ski. This new Redster Q9.8 is a perfect example. 85 mm underfoot in the longest length and with a shape that’s derived from a frontside carving ski. We also get technology like Revoshock and Titanal laminates, things typically found in Atomic’s race skis. As Atomic puts it, they are “race-inspired,” but “exploration-minded.”

We had a lot of great feedback for the Redster Q9.8, but there was something special about Connor Gorham’s letter to Atomic after his testing on the 181 cm length. “Dear Atomic, I’ve never given you a shot. Not intentionally, just never had the opportunity to shred the right condition with a proper ski. Great weight, perfect waist to bounce my way from side to side. Power to win a downhill race and playfulness to do it with grace. You’ve earned my trust to charge top to bottom and turn around to say “let’s do it up again!” First 2-run ski of the day! Yours humbly, CG.” We love that feedback and Connor’s description of how Atomic blends power and playfulness. 5 out of 5 scores from Connor for quickness/maneuverability, torsional stiffness/edge grip, and overall impression. No criteria received anything lower than 4 out of 5. Dana Allen also opted for the 181 cm length, which he did note skied just a little shorter than he expected. We saw a bigger range in scores from Dana, with stability, quickness/maneuverability, and torsional stiffness/edge grip all earning 5 out of 5 scores, but flotation, playfulness, and versatility dropping to 2 out of 5. We are a little surprised by the low versatility score, but that’s okay. Remember, ski performance can be very subjective. We did see a range in scores among our testers for certain criteria. “Definitely a front side carving scheme. Will make both short and long radius turns really, really well. Quick edge to edge. Super stable at speed. Also, definitely wants to go really fast. Decidedly directional, and definitely not playful. But, this key is designed to carve in hard conditions. For what it’s designed for, it’s pretty well perfect. No chatter whatsoever. Super fun to ski.”

Greg Petrics also went for the 181 cm length, which he thought was a good length for his size and skiing style. Lots of 4 out of 5 marks from Greg. Torsional stiffness/edge grip rose to 5 out of 5; impressive. Flotation and stability fell to 3 out of 5. “The Atomic Redster Q9.8 appears to be a ski that can trace its lineage back to the Redster X9 (a slalom/GS race-inspired carver) through the Redster X9 WB (a wide-bodied version of the Redster X9), and which seeks to provide yet more width to improve versatility and playfulness. Atomic appears to have succeeded--mostly. Without a doubt the versatility is greatly expanded; this ski will absolutely chomp up a 6-8" powder day at the resort, as well as chopped up snow, and some missions off-piste and into the woods. Furthermore, this ski will also eat up the packed powder groomers on the days after the storm as well (so long as you didn't hit too many rocks in the woods). The width will probably start to become too much though for you race-inspired carving fans however, and when you get down to that World Cup boilerplate this ski isn't going to offer the same grip and stability of the X9 and X9WB. It's all good though. That's just what this ski is about. This ski would be best for an intermediate or advanced skier who wants to carve on the sunny groomer days, but also wants to have something they can rely on for those fresh snow and chopped up snow days as well. Intermediate skiers might find the length plus width overwhelming, so should consider stepping down a size (or perhaps to the Redster Q9 which has just a bit less width). Advanced skiers should hop right on the 181 and learn all the secrets this ski has to offer all over the mountain...except that boilerplate ice. Stick to your X9s for that stuff.”

Atomic has taken the performance and success of existing Redster models and repackaged it into wider shapes that feel less like race skis and more like all-mountain skis. We’re quite pleased with the result, and the Redster Q9.8 became a topic of conversation both during our Ski Test and throughout other testing earlier in the season. While it might not feel quite at home in a race course (Jeff Neagle tried that), it’s a pleasure to ski as an all-mountain carver and we think a lot of skiers will agree.