2023 Elan Wingman 86 CTI

As one of the more interesting wider-bodied mid-80's front side skis on the market today, the Elan Wingman 86 CTi loves to be on edge and in a carved turn, but there’s a lot of hidden talent here from an all-mountain perspective. Mostly, this is due to the innovative amphibio rocker technology which places more camber on the inside edge and more rocker on the outside. As asymmetric skis, there is a left and a right, so the engineers at Elan have a lot more freedom to beef up one side of the ski while leaving the other side a bit more user-friendly. Mainly, this leads to a smooth and seamless feel in the skis, allowing advanced and expert skiers the ability to make a variety of turn shapes and styles in any conditions or terrain. At 86 mm underfoot, these skis are wide enough to handle softer snow, while the construction leaves them very well-suited for firmer snow and higher speeds. They get the carbon rods that we find in the Ripstick line, a full metal sheet, but they also add additional material over the inside half of the ski in order to boost that edge grip and stability. It works quite well, allowing skiers to rip turns in any style in which they choose. In the 178, the skis generate a 16.5-meter turn radius, which is great for groomers and firm snow, but allows skiers to have more input at the same time.

Nate Gardner has a pretty hot take on the way in which the ski is intended to be used. He skied the 178 and noted that it felt a bit short and he’d go longer if he could. He scored the ski all 4’s and 3’s, with the 4’s going for flotation, quickness, maneuverability, playfulness, forgiveness, and versatility. Regarding the Amphibio tech, Nate notes that with “Camber on one edge, rocker on the other…but if you like to drive the ski it’s not meant for that. Skis comes in a left and right, but I found it actually skied great with the feet switched. So don’t necessarily follow the marketing advice, if you get this ski find out how it works for you.” While we mainly trust the engineers more than the marketing for most of these skis, it’s interesting to hear Nate’s point of view on this ski for sure.

One of our resident fall-line experts, Ryan Daniel, found the 178 to be on the short side, but that didn’t diminish his findings that this is a ripping ski. His top scores were 5’s out of 5 for versatility and forgiveness, with 4’s given for overall impression, torsional stiffness, edge hold, quickness, and maneuverability. With a strong racing background, Ryan will tend to see this more as a front side carver, and that’s good enough for us. He notes about the ski that it’s a “Great do it all ski for anyone. Had no problem pushing around the corn.” Our feeling is that he’d like to get it on some firmer snow to really feel the ski come around, but a lot of the time we’re stuck dealing with the conditions that we have, and in that case, Ryan still notes that it’s a great ski in the spring time snow. Also on the shorter 178, Reuben Jalbert noted as well that it felt on the short side. His top marks were 4’s out of 5 for quickness, maneuverability, torsional stiffness, edge grip, playfulness, and versatility. All other scores were 3’s and like Ryan, this shows a versatile and well-rounded nature to this more carving-oriented ski. Reuben calls the Wingman 86 CTi “A lightweight, forgiving, frontside ski. It felt a bit wobbly and unstable when I tried to push it. But, they had good energy and pop with somewhat smaller turns, and the tails came around no problem. This ski would be best for advanced intermediates all the way up to experts who want something for mainly for carving that doesn't require too much effort.” The lighter weight of the ski certainly has a lot to do with that.

On-trail or off, the 2023 Elan Wingman 86 CTi has a lot to offer the modern advanced all-mountain skier. These things are fast, energetic, and a ton of fun. Thanks to the shape, construction, and interesting profile, skiers will get a high-performance ski that blurs the line between front side and all-mountain for a variety of skiing needs and wants.