2023 Fischer RC One 86 GT

The Fischer RC One 86 GT returns structurally similar to years past, providing the same exemplary stability and power on groomed surfaces. If you want to take this thing off-trail, by all means be our guest, but it does have a little weight to it that makes it on the difficult side to throw around. We like seeing versatility in the mid-80's underfoot range, and this ski can do it, but it certainly takes some effort and a relatively skilled pilot to pull it off. Mainly, this thing has the construction, shape, and profile to be ideally-suited to ripping high-speed GS turns on the groomers with complete and total confidence. For most advanced and expert skiers looking to lay down some clean and round arcs, these are an absolute pleasure to ski. Built with a wood core and two sheets of .8mm titanal, the RC One 86 GT is strong and burly. To make it a bit more accessible, they use bafatex material in the tips and tails, creating a turn zone that lightens the swing weight without taking away any of the stiffness. These fibers are stiff and responsive, and they do a great job of taking up some of the slack that’s left when the metal is removed on the sides of the ends of the ski. In the 175 cm length, the ski generates a 17-meter turn radius, and loves to stick to about that.

Marcus Shakun skied the 182, and noted it was true to length. He scored it top marks of 5 out of 5 for stability, quickness, maneuverability, torsional stiffness, and edge hold. Overall impression and forgiveness got 4’s while versatility and playfulness were 3’s. A lowly 2 for flotation isn’t that surprising given the more tank-like nature of the ski. Marcus notes that the RC One 86 GT is a “Great early morning warm up! Loves to bite into the fresh groomers, but able to loosen up the turn if not always wanting to be engaged. Fast and stable at speeds. Like the frontside groomers, but can find yourself off the main trail. Good for advanced skiers that like carving turns and finds themselves on varying terrain. Softer shovel gives it some versatility, but stiffer mid body and back allows for great stability.” It’s also interesting to see that he gave higher scores for maneuverability and quickness—two things we don’t normally see in this range, but they do use that turn zone and bafatex, so there might be something to that for sure.

Nate Gardner was also on the 182, stating that it was the right length for him. Nate scored it 5’s out of 5 for stability, torsional stiffness, and edge hold with 4’s for overall impression, versatility, forgiveness, playfulness, quickness, and maneuverability. These are some high scores in a consistent manner that brings to life the well-roundedness of the ski. “It’s ripping, but you better be on it or you’re going for a ride.” The weight and the stiffness certainly have a lot to do with that. Chris McClelland found the 182 to be the right size, but it did feel a bit on the burly side. He scored it top marks of 5 out of 5 for quickness and maneuverability, with a 4 close behind for stability. Forgiveness, quickness, maneuverability, and flotation all got 2’s while playfulness got a 1. Chris states that “The 86 GT felt sluggish and slow on the flats and at slower speeds. This was really a ski that wanted to be skied fast and hard but only on edge. Smearing or pivoting your turns was out of the question and it took a pretty significant amount of skier input to get the ski to smear a turn. On edge they felt a lot better and were smooth in transition, but you really need the right conditions for this ski. This is a groomer hardpack ski through and through and really only for advanced and expert skiers.”

While it’s certainly more of an on-trail perfectionist, the 2023 Fischer RC One 86 GT does have enough power to plow through and over crud and chop. Other than that, it’s way more at home ripping GS turns on the corduroy than it is dancing through the trees or floating on the fresh. In its element, there aren’t many skis out there that perform better or stronger in a recreational carved turn.