2027 Elan Playmaker 111

The 2027 Elan Playmaker 111 is a carryover model for this year, bringing with it the same playful shape and great graphics as last season. The 2027 Elan Playmaker 111 continues its reign as Elan’s widest ski, and that’s great news for fun-loving fans of pure freeride skiing. Creative skiers who spend a lot of time in the woods and the deeper backcountry will find a ton of success and happiness here. By building off the character of the narrower Playmaker models, the 111 brings with it an added width and greater reach. While the overall style of the 111 is very similar to that of the narrower models, the overall footprint is increased for better flotation. This gives Playmaker fans the option of reaching for the wider ski when the snow gets deep or a narrower one if it’s lower tide. If you love the mobility and playfulness of the 91 or 101, the 111 will carry that torch into the deeper days of winter and provide surfy and smooth powder performance all day long. There aren’t many skis of this width that are this light and playful, putting the Playmaker 111 in a rare category.

The use of lighter wood and carbon makes all the difference when you’re dealing with a lighter weight ski. The construction of these skis is the same as the narrower Playmakers, making it a light and agile ski for fresh and deep snow. Starting with their tubelite wood core, the Playmaker 111 uses a blend of poplar and paulownia to power the ski. On the sides, running about half the length of the ski, Elan uses their carbon rod technology to give the ski more energy and zest. The skis also get Elan’s 360-degree sidewall to provide power to the edges, even though that’s not a huge priority for this wide-bodied twin. Amazingly, in the 180 cm length, this ski hits the scale at 1790 grams, which is pretty darn light for a powder ski. Tester Josh Phelps noted that the “Skis felt great on our pow day and floated in pow effortlessly, very surfy..! They will hold an edge and like big high-speed turns too! Catching air was fun very light as well.” Josh notes that the surfiness of the ski was a highlight, and we always like to point out that a big part of the profile is what Elan refers to as “Surf Rocker,” so it totally makes sense. It’s no secret that a lot of their inspiration was drawn from surf technology, since floating through snow and staying on top of water waves are very parallel activities.

These skis certainly have the look of a playful and surfy platform. That filters into the profile and shape discussion, where these twin tip skis hold up their end of the bargain when it comes to freestyle creativity. While most other Elan skis feature an Amphibio rocker profile that’s asymmetric in nature, the Playmakers do not—this is more of a straight shooter, but the flex allows for easy contortion of the tips and tails to mimic the same response. Speaking of straight, the 111 gets a slightly longer turn shape as well, with the 180 registering a 19-meter arc and the 188 hitting 23.5-meters per turn. This is longer than Ripstick and fits in with the drifty nature of the ski. Tester Colin Wiedersheim calls it “flickable and lightweight, and as you might expect, playful. It’s best for powder, trees, or jumps of any kind. Very light and playful. Provides a lot of energy from the carbon. Stiffer than the narrower playmakers, which is nice. Let’s you be as weird as you want, but still won’t wash out on you. A wicked fun powder ski that’s surprisingly versatile.” Again, it’s tough to discount a surfy feel here in terms of shape, taper, and profile. Staying on top of the snow is a big deal, and if you can do it in bumps and trees as well as open zones, that’s a nice bonus.

While it’s more of a multi-directional ski, it’s still very easy to use and that should broaden the appeal for emerging freeride skiers. While it’s an accessible powder ski, it’s still quite wide, specific, and particular. It’s not like you’d get this ski by accident—it's more of a purposeful approach. That said, the weight and mobility make it perfectly acceptable for progressing intermediates and early advanced skiers who are looking for their first wide twin. In addition, experts who know what they are looking for in a ski when it comes to freestyle influence and lighter weight will find a ton to like about the Playmaker 111. If there’s any type of creative needs that your skiing desires, the Playmaker 111 is a very good option.