2023 Salomon S/Force FX.80

The 2023 Salomon S/Force FX.80 is designed for all-mountain carving purposes and is intended to be a more forgiving and more approachable version of stiffer, heavier skis like the S/Force Ti.80. It has an 80 mm waist width with a 16 m turn radius in the 170 cm length. The ski is mostly camber, designed to offer good edge grip and responsiveness for carving, but we get a little bit of tip rocker too. That’s something that’s become almost expected in all-mountain carving skis as it gives the ski a more natural feel when initiating carving turns. Simply tip it on edge and the subtle tip rocker helps pull you into a turn. Once in that turn, a flatter, squared off tail adds plenty of grip, although does so without feeling too demanding or completely locked into a turn. The FX.80 is about 100 g lighter than the Ti.80 and has a softer flex pattern that feels very natural thanks to the full poplar wood core. It’s not quite as powerful as the heavier skis in the S/Force line, rather tries to achieve a balance between grip, power, forgiveness, and ease of use. We still benefit from Salomon’s Edge Amplifier technology, essentially a better way of pairing the binding to the ski that maximizes power transfer. We also get the Crossover Tip, which utilizes TPU inserts and Salomon’s C/FX material in the tip of the ski to provide extra vibration damping and a smoother skiing experience.

Jeff Siegel tested the 177 cm length, which he thought skied true to size and was the right length for him. Jeff has a lot to say about the S/Force FX/80, but we’ll start by taking a look at his scores. His highest score, a 5 out of 5, was for forgiveness, which is a nice place to begin as the FX.80 is intended to be approachable for a wide range of skiers. Just behind at 4 out of 5 scores, however, were stability, torsional stiffness/edge grip, and overall impression. Those scores tell the tale of a ski that’s approachable, forgiving, stable, and responsive all at the same time. “I found this to be a very smooth carving ski. Ripping groomers, I felt glued to the snow. Everything about this ski inspires confidence. It initiates turns with ease, feels really stable through the turn and finishes with that same ease and stability. When you’re in the apex of a turn, the way it holds an edge and feels, you’d think it would be an uber powerful expert/race ski. But when you release the turn, it won’t kick you, it’s just smooth. It’s also an impressive level of forgiveness. One turn I bobbled on it and got waaay in the back seat, but the ski didn’t react, it just gave me a stable platform to recover. I would put a wide range of skiers on this ski. It definitely rewards good technique and smooth, round turns, but the ski is so forgiving and stable, while it works for aggressive skiers, you can back way off of it and still have a lot of fun.” We love that assessment from Jeff and we think Salomon nailed it with the S/Force FX.80. It’s commendable to make a ski that’s approachable for an intermediate, while still being rewarding for an advanced skier.

Dave Carter also skied the 177 cm length. His scores were almost full 4 out of 5 across the board, with only flotation dropping to 3 out of 5. We’re always impressed when a ski can achieve such consistent scores. It’s not uncommon for a ski to excel in one characteristic, only to struggle in another. For example, typically when a ski is very stable, it’s not very playful or forgiving, but the S/Force FX.80 strikes a nice balance across all of our criteria. “I really enjoyed the ski, does well on shorter turns and mixing it up with longer turns very stable and predictable throughout the turn.” Relatively short feedback from Dave, but it continues to tell the story of a ski that’s going to satisfy a huge range of skiers. Short turns, long turns, high speeds, low speeds… when it comes to groomed slopes, there’s not much the S/Force FX.80 can’t do.

With the 80 mm waist width and shape that’s designed mostly for carving, the 2023 Salomon S/Force FX.80 is the best choice for a skier who spends most of their time on groomed slopes. You can take it off trail, but its performance on smooth, firm conditions far surpasses its ability in softer snow and un-groomed terrain. As we learned with our testing, it’s a ski that can satisfy a lot of different ability levels, which we think makes it a great choice for a developing intermediate. It won’t beat you up at first, but you can grow with it to the point where you’re laying down some dynamic carves.