2026 Elan Wildcat 83 Black Edition

All 2026 Elan Wildcat skis get refreshes in both build and shape. At the top of the list sits the Wildcat 83 Black Edition. This is a prime ski for on-trail carving and emerging off-trail adventures. Since it sits in the low/mid-80’s in terms of width, there’s some versatility here with the shape but the overall essence of the ski is more aligned with front side performance and smooth carving turns. By blending carbon and metal in this ski, Elan is combining the reaction and precision of carbon with the damping properties of metal in the best way possible.

Built with Elan’s Tubelite wood core, the Wildcat Black Edition uses carbon rods milled and placed into the sides of the ski along the sidewalls. These carbon rods have been an enormously successful application of the material in skis ever since Ripstick started using them half a dozen years ago. Since then, this 360-degree use of carbon has been known to be energetic, predictable, and insanely fun when it comes to light weight performance. In addition, the skis use a single titanal strip along the inside portion of the downhill skis. Since the Wildcat is built and shaped asymmetrically, Elan can take more creative engineering liberties in terms of where material is placed for each left or right ski. In addition, the uni-directional carbon strips that are found below the core are different lengths to accentuate asymmetry. Alli Ruschp states that it’s the “perfect carving frontside ski. Easy to turn, super stable, and nimble to turn. Not too heavy with the titanal in the construction, making it easy to turn but still holds an edge on the ice.” The flex isn’t overly demanding, making it easier for skiers to fully engage in the stated carve of the ski.

At 83 mm underfoot, the Wildcat has enough width to have a stable platform to stand on while remaining narrow enough for quickness and torsional stiffness. While most skiers will spend the vast majority of their time on groomers, there is enough width and flex here to make this ski operate well in crud, chop, bumps, and packed trees. The skis use a 130/82/110 mm sidecut to generate a 13-meter turn radius in the 160 cm length. This is short, bordering on slalom-like, and with the lack of taper in the shovel, it’s really fun to engage and find that shorter arc. We see more asymmetry here with the rocker profile as the Wildcat has more rocker on the outer portion of the shovel and more camber on the inside, per foot, to accentuate the ski’s downhill edge dominance. Tester Jana Ross notes that “it felt so fun and snappy. Easy to turn and playful. You can hold the turns or smear out of it if you prefer.” This is a good conceptualization of the use of carving ski tip shape and Ripstick tail shape, making the skier choose what type of turn they’re creating without being locked in.

Most skiers in the advanced and expert range will love this ski. While it’s fairly flexible and has a short radius, those looking for ultimate speed carving may be a bit disappointed. All others will likely love the use of smoothness of metal and energy of carbon to create a totally unique feel on snow. The 2026 Elan Wildcat 83 Black Edition is a prime groomer ski with excellent quality and a high-end skiing application.