Oozing with all mountain versatility and maneuverability, the 2024 Salomon QST Lumen 98 returns with only slight changes to the graphics, maintaining the same build and shape that has proven its success throughout the previous year. For those of us who love smeary turns, impressive carving capabilities and maximum float, the continuation of this highly intuitive, one ski quiver is great news. Inspiring confidence and progression for intermediate to advanced lady skiers, Salomon took note of this crowd pleaser and only touched up the aesthetics, finding no other change necessary. As the middle of the road option in the women’s QST lineup, the Lumen 98 features a lightweight construction that offers notable energy and pop while also putting focus on double sidewall technology for stability and grip underfoot. The all-mountain shape combines deep rocker lines with early taper to deliver unreal float in the forebody, making them impressively good soft snow-oriented skis for a 98 mm waist. Skiers who look for lightweight maneuverability with powerful edge grip and overall versatility will love this ski.

The success of this ski cannot be attributed to just one thing, rather, a combination of construction, shape and profile. Starting with the foundation, the use of a full poplar wood core brings dampness and stability without tipping the scale too far. Though it is not the lightest, the shape and profile make up for it thanks to the deep rocker lines and moderate early taper. Adding to the wood core, Salomon uses their C/FX blend which consists of vertical stringers of carbon and flax. This specific blend is mixed into a layer of fiberglass, enhancing the level of stiffness and strength while also maximizing the dampness. This transfers over to performance in a big way, allowing skiers to turn up the speed dial and ski aggressively without experiencing any chatter or vibrations. To add to this, cork damplifier is used in the tips, which furthers the dampening qualities and makes for a smooth ride through variable conditions. The overall feel and character of this ski is impressive, blending agility with power and stability, to then round it all out with the double sidewall technology. This is an extremely noticeable feature, especially given the dramatic shape. By the looks of it, it would be easy to assume that edge grip and power underfoot are sacrificed for better float and surfy turns. However, despite the shorter effective edge, the use of double sidewall technology really enhances the edge grip and torsional stiffness.

As previously mentioned, the Lumen 98 gets quite the shape and profile, featuring camber underfoot but with dramatic rocker in the tips and tails. Salomon also incorporated moderate early taper, shortening the effective edge and also creating a shorter turn radius. In the 168 cm length we get a 15 m turn radius, which allows for short to medium sized turns as well as longer, smeary turns. One of the floatiest 98 mm waist width ski out there, it’s also highly capable of making power turns on groomers, speaking to its versatility that we love so much. Salomon really wanted to give this ski a personality and have it stand out amongst its competitors, and it’s safe to say they succeeded.

The most versatile all-mountain option in the QST lineup, the Lumen 98 truly blends the ideal qualities of a one ski quiver with some freeride flair. Why limit yourself when you can hop on this ski and feel confident about any terrain or conditions that you might face in a day. Between reliable edge grip and high-speed power to lightweight, drifty maneuverability, the Salomon Lumen 98 is sure to deliver.