2023 Elan Ripstick 88

When I got on the Elan Ripstick 88 this past winter, I asked Elan’s marketing manager how it was possible to make a ski that had so much flex be so much fun and energetic. His response was that Glen Plake wanted the ski to be that way, so they had to make it so. Returning unchanged but for cosmetics for this year, the Elan Ripstick 88 remains that fun-loving and versatile all-mountain ski that we’ve loved for years now. Built with Elan’s tubelite wood core, there’s a lot of sophistication and technology involved here. Starting with a light wood core, Elan adds two carbon rods that run alongside the edges of each ski. These are inserted under pressure, so there’s a lot of latent energy in the ski already. When you bend the ski and energize these rods, the Ripstick 88 really comes to life. The flex comes mainly from the lighter vapor tips, which allow for easy turning and great flotation. While they do flap around a bit at higher speeds and on firmer terrain, most skiers, most of the time, will not experience any negative issues here. In the 180 cm length, the skis tip the scales at 1550 grams per ski and produce a 17-meter turn radius. These are pretty friendly numbers for the Ripstick 88, and while it’s not really competing with the Kendos or Brahmas of the world, it certainly has its own niche carved out for itself.

Dave Hatoff notes that his 172 felt a bit short, but still scored it 4’s out of 5 for stability, quickness, maneuverability, torsional stiffness, and edge hold. Overall impression, versatility, forgiveness, and playfulness all got 3’s, while flotation got a lowly 2. Dave calls it “A great hard snow ski, perfect every day ski for New England or areas that don't see a lot of natural snowfall. Great quick turner, very fun bump ski. Very good edge hold on firm snow, stable at speeds whether making short or medium radius turns. A top performer in the crowded 88-waisted category. Advanced and expert skiers.” The range of skier, turn shape, style, and application is quite impressive with this ski for sure. Connor Gorham’s 180 felt great for him, as he gave his top scores of 5 out of 5 for quickness and maneuverability. He gave 4’s for overall impression, versatility, forgiveness, playfulness, stability, and flotation. We see low scores of 2 for torsional stiffness and edge hold. In Connor’s mind, “They should have called those candy sticks with colored granulated sugar in ‘em, Ripsticks. These rippers desire a layer of sugar in the granulated or powdered form to whip around in. Edges didn’t like the hardball sugar found right under the first layer but I just used my confectionery skills to craft some very sweet laps that will have an everlasting gobstopper taste!”

Rick Randall found his 180 to be just about right—he was likely caught between the 180 and 188. Regardless, he scored it 5 out of 5 for playfulness, and 4 out of 5 for overall impression, versatility, torsional stiffness, edge hold, forgiveness, quickness, maneuverability, and flotation. We see a low score of 3 for stability, which is likely due not only to the shorter length, but also the lighter shovel. Rick notes that “The Ripstick 88 is a fun ski, it's playful and the rocker profile really works. I found the unique rocker profile does make it easier to tip that inside ski on edge and so turn initiation is pretty easy. Softer snow and bumps, this ski really shines and is very forgiving. At speed on firmer snow there is some slight tip chatter, but overall, for a ski with no metal I thought it was fun ski and was pretty versatile. That Intermediate level skier looking to improve, this ski will help them progress. Also good for that advanced level skier that wants something not as aggressive and more playful for those days when the snow is getting chopped up and softer.”

For a one ski quiver, that happens to be on the lighter and slightly narrower side, the Elan Ripstick 88 is a fantastic choice. These things have fun written all over them, and for any and all conditions and terrain, the Ripstick 88 is a top performer with a very friendly character.