2023 Fischer RC One 82 GT W

For fantastic confidence in a carved turn, the Fischer RC One 82 GT W is an awesome choice. Built with a wood core and two sheets of metal, this thing has some serious oomph to it. The titanal laminates are .5mm thick, so you’re getting a bit of a reduction versus the 86 GT, but that’s likely a better overall option for skiers in the intermediate through expert range who want a bit more user-friendliness in their front side carving skis. In the tips and tails, Fischer removes some metal and replaces it with bafatex fibers. These stringers are stiff and responsive, and they give the ski easy initiation and a direct connection to the snow. While reducing swing weight, this turn zone that Fischer creates does not affect the top-end of performance that these skis generate. In the 159 cm length, the RC One 82 GT W produces a 14-meter turn radius, so if you’re in the mood to make a bunch of strong carved turns on the front side, this is the ski for you.

Brooke Mars skied the 166, noting that while it skied a bit short, it felt perfect for her. She gave the ski top scores of 5 out of 5 for stability, quickness, and maneuverability. Overall impression, versatility, torsional stiffness, edge hold, playfulness, and even flotation got 4’s, so we’re seeing a pretty high-span of scores from Brooke here. Those scores are fantastic precursors to her comments: “This absolutely crushed all the conditions I put them through. They blow through bumps, hold an edge on the harder surfaces, and are quick to respond. Conditions are less than ideal today but you’d never know it on this setup!” Having a ski that makes you forget about poor conditions is a very good thing for sure. Allison Kozar was also on the 166, and found it to be just fine. She gave 4’s out of 5 for overall impression, torsional stiffness, edge hold, quickness, maneuverability, stability, and playfulness. A lowly 2 for versatility highlights the front-sided nature of the 82 GT W. Allison states that “Although it was heavy it was easy to swing around. Great on the firm part of gondolier but not so much in the mashed potatoes. Grippy.”

Susan Dorn notes that the 82 GT W is best for an “Advanced skier. Forward pressure to initiate. Stable at speed easy edge to edge feels narrower than 82.” She found her 166 to ski a bit long, scoring it 4’s out of 5 for torsional stiffness, edge grip, and stability. All other scores on Susan’s card were 3’s. Also on the 166, Diane Ashworth found that it skied true to size, and called it a “Great carver that also handles variable snow well. Very playful and grippy in carved turns but also still fun in slower speed steered turns. They feel very stable even at high speeds. Would be great for an advanced or smaller framed expert, or for someone trying to get to the next level in their skiing as it is forgiving of mistakes but can handle high speed carving.” She gave the ski top marks of 5 out of 5 for overall impression, torsional stiffness, edge hold, and stability.

We got some really positive feedback from these skis, making it easy to tell that skiers from intermediate all the way through expert levels found something to like about the Fischer RC One 82 GT W. Stability is consistently a high point for our testers, and torsional stiffness and edge hold cannot be ignored either. If you spend a lot of time on groomed and smooth terrain, you should, certainly have this ski on the list.