2025 Elan Playmaker 87

For 2025, we get two new Playmaker widths, the 111 and this 87. They bookend the 91 and 101 nicely, sharing a lot of similar properties with vastly different applications. This new 87 fits more into the tweener and all-mountain crew of skiers as it is offered in shorter sizes and with a more economical build. Skiers looking to get into the park and those that want a light, fun, and energetic all-mountain ski will easily get along with this 87. While the top end of skiers won’t quite be able to fully enjoy this ski’s mid-range capabilities, there are a ton of skiers in this zone who are park-curious and all-mountain oriented. Either way, the new Elan Playmaker 87 is a proper tool for the right skier from a twin tip perspective.

Built with Elan’s laminated wood core, the skis are poppy and zesty to start. They don’t get the same carbon rods, tubes, and strips as the other Elan skis, and that’s okay. Since they’re offered in a variety of sizes, kids and junior skiers don’t really need or want that type of technology. We still get fiberglass layers here with sidewalls, so it’s still a real ski. That said, they are pretty darn light, hitting 1356 grams per ski n the 166 cm length. We only see one longer option in the 176, so this lack of length may preclude larger skiers from getting a foot in the door to the Playmaker 87. On the other side, the 136 is the shortest length, ushering in a whole new generation of Elan and Playmaker skiers. Appealing to the youth is a smart way of approaching this sport.

The tips and waist of the ski are close to those of the Playmaker 91, while the tail is considerably narrower. This move to the directional side of the spectrum makes sense from an all-mountain perspective, but more dedicated park skiers and freestyle enthusiasts will likely still want to gravitate to the 91 for those types of attributes. The 166 also produces a 15-meter turn radius, so these skis will turn on a dime. There’s some tip and tail rocker to talk about here, but not a whole lot—these skis will suit the needs of those looking for a mid-range twin tip quite nicely. Eli Moskowitz states about this situation: “I think that it could be a good all mountain weapon for the right person. The ski wanted to jump around and play in all sorts of terrain.” It is going to take the right skier to fully enjoy this ski—an accomplished skier like Eli can max out the 87 pretty easily.

Skiers looking to mix it up between park and all-mountain will find the most success here. It’s a pretty simple build with a wide variety of length options, so it’s going to be a popular model. While it’s more of a mid-range ski for progressing skiers, that’s a big portion of the ski population. Elan has a good bookend to the wider and more refined Playmakers here, making this 87 a great option for growing skiers looking for fun and adventure.