2025 Fischer Nightstick 97

The 2025 Fischer Nightstick 97 is a fantastic option for both competitive and recreational park skiers who do not want to give up on all-mountain performance. This ski blurs the line between slopestyle and freeride quite effectively. We got a chance to preview this model last season and are stoked that it continues into 2025 with a graphic update. By taking a lot of the things we like about the Ranger series and adding in a more playful and freestyle-oriented shape, these skis are poised and ready to take over the mid-90's twin tip division with a lot of positives to lean on. With a blend of pop, stability, and twin-tip fun, these Nightstick 97’s love to be used in a variety of conditions and terrain, with an emphasis on park and freestyle use.

Built with a poplar wood core, these skis are light and energetic. They have a .5 mm titanal plate in the underfoot zone, and this does a lot of heavy lifting when it comes to stability and edge grip. Skiers who want their park ski to carve clean turns will find a lot to like here. Tester Bob St.Pierre notes that “For sure the park is where skiers will find the most benefits, but I think the all-mountain use of this ski is a surprising quality. It carves very smooth and round turns with minimal flinching, so it's fun on groomers, but it's also highly mobile, so bumps and trees are a total breeze.” That blend of carving smooth turns and off-piste mobility is what it’s all about with this 97. In the 177, the ski has some heft to it at 1950 grams per ski, so core thickness has a lot to do with it. We feel that this is a good mid-weight for a ski to be in terms of mixing park, slopestyle, and all-mountain skiing.

As a twin tip, we’re dealing with a lot of splay in both ends of the ski. The taper shape sticks out to us the most, though, as the ski can cut through softer snow smoothly and predictably. We’ve also been noting that this has been a trend in freestyle skis lately to accommodate buttering, smearing, and increased confidence in high-speed takeoffs and landings. The skis are very hook-free and amenable to correcting small mistakes. Jeff Neagle notes that “Honestly you can take it just about anywhere. Not the most grip but can handle groomers. Can wiggle around in the trees, decent float for deeper snow, and good in the park too.” Matt McAlary adds to that: “I guess the idea behind it is to perform well in a variety of conditions, so for an east coaster that likes to ski switch, ride some park or treat the mountain like a playground, a ski like this would make sense.” The all-around nature of this ski is what seems to stand out to our tester and the skiing population at large. We get a relatively short turn radius here at 17-meters in the 177, and you can feel the ski want to come around cleanly in a carved turn.

This ski has a big audience, although the one main caveat is that it’s on the heavy side. If you are looking for a lighter twin for increased agility and mobility, there are better options. If you like a bit of heft and power to your all-mountain twin tip, then this is a fantastic choice. Skiers can use this Nightstick 97 all over the place—it doesn’t just have to be in the park. At the same time, since it’s a twin tip, it comes along with that specific character that not everyone will enjoy—it's more of a specialty ski but still has a lot to offer the everyday all-mountain skier.