2025 Line Chronic 101

It’s no secret we’re big fans of ~100mm twin tips. The 2025 Line Chronic 101 is an awesome ski from the company that basically keeps fun and excitement at the forefront of their business philosophy. We’re all about that, and the 101 is an amazing extension of the outgoing Chronic 95, taking all-mountain freeride versatility to the next level. Line makes great twin tips, and this 101 is a perfect example of a ski done right. By taking the qualities that made the older Chronic so amazing and popular and moving the technology forward, the 101 takes modern freeride skiing into next year. With the addition of several ~101 mm twin tips coming out these past few years, the Chronic 101 was a standout model for sure. It’s always great when reps of Line and other brands can ask us what sticks out, and we can answer that the Chronic 101 is one of the smoothest and most playful skis of the bunch. It has surprising energy and pop for being so flexible in the tips and tails.

It’s all about underfoot power in the Chronic 101. The build of the ski is quite interesting, mainly because they use the materials in a blend of thick and thin manners. While the wood core is a simple aspen veneer core, the way they mill it and place it in the ski makes a lot of difference. It’s pretty darn thick underfoot but tapers thinner to the tips and tails. In the very ends of the ski, it disappears, leaving only the base material, the topsheet, and the bio resin that holds it together. By lightening the swing weight, they’ve made a more maneuverable and playful ski without taking anything away from the underfoot zone’s power and grip. They also use thicker edges for durability and hard snow performance, as this was one of the better carvers of its peers. Because of the thicker core and edges, the weight does creep up to 2030 grams in the 178, but we never felt like it was too cumbersome or bulky. Tester Bob St.Pierre states that “The flexibility of the very tips and tails takes a second to get used to, but once you get right past those, the rest of the ski is solid, dense, predictable, and fun. Playfulness is found at the ends, but the underfoot zone's thickness steps up the performance of this ski.

This freeride twin is at the top of its class due to the rocker profile and taper shape. At 101 mm underfoot, the ski has that nice blend of flotation and precision for today’s freeride and freestyle skier. While it’s a bit wide to be a dedicated park ski, it’s certainly got the ability to handle the park laps from time to time. It’s well-suited for all-mountain freestyle skiing, and in that realm, the shape makes a lot of sense. It’s got a short and playful 16.6-meter turn radius that serves up some mean and clean carved turns on the groomers, while the rather dramatic rocker profile allows for smeary and drifty turns when the snow gets deep and soft. They’re great for today’s style of straight/slash, straight/slash turns, mainly because of the thinner profile in the tips and tails, and because of the taper that creates smoothness that blends with the flex. Usually more of a carver, Greg Petrics notes that “This ski was immediately very fun to hop onto and offered a nice turn shape in some chopped up packed powder, and then had no trouble navigating some untouched powder in the trees.”

With a broad range of audience, this ski has a large appeal. Overall, we’ve loved every minute we’ve spent on the Line Chronic 101. This ski has it all when it comes to fun-loving applications on the mountain. For those that are in the advanced and expert range, the limits of this ski are within reach, while progressing intermediates looking for a wider-bodied ski that can be maneuverable, playful, and fun will also find a home here. With a surprising amount of grip and stability, the Chronic 101 passes a lot of tests and checks a lot of boxes.