SKI Magazine has named its best women's all-mountain skis for 2027, and the Dynastar M-Pro W 98 takes the overall crown. The verdict came out of the annual SKI Test at Deer Valley, Utah, where eleven testers put 17 skis through nine scoring criteria, weighting versatility and crud performance above all else. Seven models made the winners list.
The M-Pro W 98 ($850) earned Best in Test for its unusual blend of power and float. Testers described it as a directional big-mountain ski with a high performance ceiling — metal-reinforced, sturdy underfoot, and happy whether it was making big turns through powder bowls, carving groomers, or bashing through crud. The trade-off is weight: it skis big for its length and has a strong tail that punishes anyone drifting into the backseat. It's a ski for confident, aggressive skiers, not beginners.
The other winners cover a range of styles and budgets. The Salomon QST 94 ($750) took Most Versatile, rewarding even sloppy input with smooth turns and shrugging off the rain, slush and refrozen mess testers faced at the test — though it prefers soft snow and won't out-grip beefier skis on bulletproof Eastern hardpack. That job goes to the Blizzard Black Pearl 94 ($800), named Best for the East for its hard-charging edge grip, with the caveat that it's stiff and experts-only.
Crud specialists should look at the Nordica Santa Ana 97 ($800), a heavy, traditional charger with a Titanal sheet that plows through chop and trenches on groomers, but wants strong skiers and dislikes bumps. Intermediates have two friendly options: the Head Kore 93 W Ti ($749), Most Forgiving thanks to a huge sweet spot and newly added metal for stability, and the fully redesigned Rossignol Soul W 92 ($700), the Quickest pick, which is nimble in trees and bumps but soft enough that experts can overpower it. Rounding out the list, the Atomic Maven 94 CTi ($800) won Most Playful for a forgiving, creative ride best suited to soft snow.
Why does this matter if you're booking a ski trip? All-mountain skis with roughly 90-100mm waists are the daily drivers most holiday skiers should rent or buy — the one pair that handles groomers, powder, bumps and everything in between. If you're demoing gear on a trip this winter, the practical shortcut is simple: aggressive skiers heading off-piste should try the Dynastar or Nordica, East Coast hardpack skiers the Blizzard, and everyone else — especially intermediates — the Salomon, Head or Rossignol. Prices run from $700 to $850, so it's worth matching the ski to your ability level and home snow rather than just buying the top pick.
