2023 Elan Wildcat 82 CX

As the narrower of the Wildcat CX skis, the 82 is a stronger carver with better edge grip, and while skiers may lose a bit of versatility with the narrower shape, they’re certainly gaining the turning ability of the ski. Built with Elan’s Tubelite wood core, the 2023 Elan Wildcat 82 CX has two carbon rods that run the length of the ski along the sides, much like the Ripstick series of skis. Since they’re asymmetrically constructed, the Wildcat 82 CX has a right/left-specific ski, so their TruLine technology allows the engineers to add more material to the inside edges while leaving the outer portions of the ski rockered and easier to get into and out of turns. It’s a pretty seamless transition between turns, allowing progressing carvers the confidence and ability to get from one to the next, carving subsequent turns that makes for a whole lot of fun out there on the hill. In the 164, the 82 CX produces a 13.1-meter turn radius, so these things prefer the shorter arc for sure. You can still let them run, but they’re happier in more of a slalom-turn format. While the 82 mm waist puts it pretty squarely into the front side category, it’s not unfathomable to use these off-trail, in the bumps, in the woods, or even some mild powder. Not that long ago, an 82 mm underfoot ski would be a mid-fat.

Alix Klein found the 164 cm length to be “okay.” and scored it 4’s out of 5 for overall impression, versatility, forgiveness, playfulness, quickness, and maneuverability. She gave it 3’s for torsional stiffness, edge hold, and stability, so we’re seeing a pretty consistent spread of scores from Alix, who notes that “This ski was great in short radius turns and was fun in GS turns. Easy to turn. The tip holds a turn beautifully once it has gotten on edge. This ski is playful and versatile for an intermediate groomer all-mountain ski. This is left and right specific and it was noticeable in a good way.” The smoothness of the turning certainly stands out with this ski, and it’s nice to see that Alix is picking up on that.

Brooke Mars found her 164 to be a bit on the long side, with 3’s given for playfulness, torsional stiffness, and edge hold. She skied it on day 3 of the test, which was arguably the most challenging from a conditions and visibility perspective. “These felt super squirrelly which may have been due to it being slightly longer than I’m used to. It felt very stiff and hard to get under control. These gave me a really hard time in the sugary bumped up snow. They started to respond and do what I wanted and then seemed to take off out from under me.” Allarie Sullivan found the shorter 158 to be just right, scoring it a top mark of 5 out of 5 for stability, and 4’s just behind for quickness, maneuverability, torsional stiffness, edge hold, and overall impression. The carving-oriented nature of the ski led to a 2 for versatility. She notes that it was a “Bit of a long ski for me to make the quick turns that I like on something so thin but still super fun. Wide turns engage quickly and hold on. Wants to push you into the next gracefully.”

With a narrower waist and a front-side personality, the Elan Wildcat 82 CX likes to be on groomed snow and in a carved turn. While there’s not a ton of versatility to this ski, and our testers found it to be on the stiff side, it’s still got some softer-snow capabilities, but does better on-piste and in a shorter carve, and that’s okay—there's a lot of room for skis like that out there in the big world.