2027 Stockli Montero AW

The 2027 Stockli Montero AW is a carryover ski for this year featuring the same shape, construction, profile, and graphics as last year. At 80 mm underfoot, it’s a great front side ski with all-mountain potential. Still more directional and traditional, skiers should be aware that it is more carving-oriented while those with a good skill set and a willingness to put more work in can find some off-trail capacity here, but most skiers will likely be using these in a groomer-heavy format. Our testers loved the smoothness and power in this ski without it being overly demanding.

Stockli's construction stands out in terms of quality and precision. Built with Stockli’s All-Mountain core consisting of lighter poplar and beech, the ski is fairly mobile to start. They lean more to the poplar than the beech to create an agile feel. The AW uses two sheets of metal, fiberglass laminates, and rubber dust infused into the adhesive layers. This increases the dampness and silence of the ski and delivers that pure Stockli feel. It makes for a totally quiet and confident character, and that’s really what costs so much—it’s not like these out-perform other skis; they just do it a lot quieter. They also have excellent moderate-speed compliance due to the Tip and Tail Flex technology. Stockli carves two slits in the upper metal layer in both tips and tails to allow for increased articulation. It basically reduces torsional stiffness in the tips and tails so that the ski can stick to the snow for longer. Tester Vanessa Przybylo notes that "My first impression of the Stockli Montero was that it felt incredibly smooth and confident on edge. It was very damp and made medium and longer turns on groomers feel powerful yet controlled, without any nervous chatter."

The footprint of these skis is generally on the sharper and more angular side of the spectrum. At 80 mm underfoot, this ski can be used 100% on-trail if you wish, but it also has a bit of tip and tail rocker for bumps, lower snow days, and crud. At the end of the ski day, the groomers tend to get lumpy and choppy. Having a ski at this width makes a lot of sense because it allows for progression throughout the day. The AW uses measurements of 122/80/106 to create a 14.2-meter turn radius in the 158, which is on the short side increasing carving performance. Megan Papineau says: "I knew I’d love this ski and it did not disappoint; it’s made for the most reliable aggressive carving turns, it loves to get up on edge. While this ski does lack versatility, it SO much fun to carve on its a standout for me."

The Montero AW works great on the feet of accomplished skiers, but it's still on the accessible side. Stockli’s level of quality and precision are quite high. While that comes along with an according price tag, it’s also very different, and when you ski on them, it feels like you’re on a quality product. Ideally suited for advanced and expert skiers, the Stockli Montero AW is a sweet front side ski with a bit extra for adventure. There’s a whole lot to like here, and it mainly comes down to smoothness and silence. If you add short turn precision to the mix, you're going to make a lot of technically proficient skiers quite happy.