We skiers, we fear change. We fear the change to our ski hills, to our ski passes, to our gear. There’s too much change in our world already. Let skiing have a bit of consistency! But, dear skier, some good things must change. Salomon, the mature, experienced ski company they are, knows this. As such, they’re bringing to life a whole new set of QST skis for us. QST fans everywhere might wonder why change a good thing? But, trust the process. These skis are riding better than ever, and have dialed in performance for every terrain that they could encounter. In our Salomon QST 94 review, we focus on the narrower sibiling of the new line. Just how versatile is it? Who’s it for? And can you do a nose butter on them?
Salomon QST 94 Review: Field Notes
The new QST family is designed to take the best features of the Salomon QST series, with some refinements for each ski’s respective terrain. The most noticeable change across the line is the identical tip shapes and construction, but different tail shapes. We’ll focus on the QST 94 here. It has a notable squared-off tail with more minimal taper compared to the new QST 100. On a hand flex, the tail also carries extra rigidity compared to the tip, so we can put this pretty squarely in the directional category. There’s a healthy amount of rocker back there to keep things maneuverable when you need them to be.
On the inside, there’s also a few updates from the old QST 92. Salomon adds a basalt “mat” underfoot. Interestingly, they pull this mat to full tension before putting it in the press. Salomon says this adds torsional rigidity and extra dampening underfoot, which we felt on snow. They’ve also updated the cork dampener in the tip. The new design involves injecting the cork into a rubber insert, which adds additional quieting. There’s also a full Poplar wood core. They took out the dual sidewalls and C/FX features.
Salomon is going with full unisex size runs, in two color options for the new QST 94. Here’s the full specs list:
Sizes: 156, 164, 172, 180, 188
Weight: 1,810 grams/ski (180 cm)
Radius: 16.5 (180 cm)
Dimensions: 134-94-120
At 5’8″ and 135lbs, the 172cm is perfect for me as an advanced/expert skier. I would have loved the 164cm as an intermediate. This is a ski you can follow conventional sizing recommendations for.
Groomers
The old QST 92 was always fun on groomed terrain, albeit a little loose. That maneuverability helped a lot when you needed to take quick turns or were a more entry-level skier working on getting skis around. The new QST 94 feels like a pretty different ski on groomed terrain. That new directional tail gives it much stronger edge hold. It holds on to turns better, and feels much more willing to give you steeper edge angles. That turn radius is fairly tight at 16.5 meters. On snow, it feels remarkably snappy and quick to turn. It’s a ski that you get on and say “that ski likes to turn“.
That said, it’s in a unique position in that it’s not that charge-y. It’s not heavy, it’s not loaded with metal, and it doesn’t feel particularly hard to engage. The fact that it’s significantly more directional does make it less easy to skid or slash turns, but the shovels are easy to get into. Not to mention, this ski is packed with energy, with lots of rebound coming out of every turn.
This puts the ski in a real sweet spot. It delivers feel of something that loves to carve, without making it prohibitively difficult to get into. It also has the energy of something much more playful. Just don’t expect it to rail firrm snow conditions like more metal loaded and less rocked skis like the Nordica Enforcer 94 or Volkl M7 Mantra. But it will give you more predictability than something more centered and playful like an Elan Playmaker or Black Crows Captis.
Bumps and Trees
The Salomon QST 94 is an absolute riot in the bumps. It’s quick and responsive, and feels relatively easy to get the tails to come around when you need them to. For that reason, it makes it equally fun for someone who likes to zipper line bumps in a traditional way and for someone who skis with a bit more playful flair. If you like to pop off bumps and side hits for transfers, this will be a mega fun option.
At the same time, you have a slightly more directional shape to hold a solid turns when the bumps are more wide spread. Especially compared to something more progressive and centered, the QST 94 adds quite a bit more versatility. That makes it perfect for someone who isn’t focusing on freestyle, but likes to ski with a playful flair.
Like with the QST 106, I’ve always found that ski to require a bit of pressure up front to really come alive. I think the QST 94 is quite similar. The mount point and directional shape ask you to have some input up front in order to get the skis to come around. So this isn’t something that feels really pivot-y or wants to slash all the time, like an Armada ARV 94 or Faction Prodigy 2. But, compared to those hard carvers we compared to above, the QST 94 is easier, and much more playful to ski.
Going into trees with some more variable snow (think refrozen crusts in the spring), the suspension is pretty impressive. Riding on the QST 94 this spring, I was impressed with how composed it stays even when dealing with firm snow conditions in the morning.
Mixed Snow and Powder
Considering the array of options available to you in the QST line from the QST 106, QST S/Lab Blank, and QST X, there are better skis for this terrain and snow conditions than the 94 in the QST family. If hunting for powder and exploring the whole mountain is a priority for you, then I’d recommend something else. But, if you’re looking for an all-mountain ski that can handle soft snow that comes to town, this is worth considering.
All QSTs pack a punch in powder thanks to the tapered tips and relatively deep tip rocker. It helps you get on top of the snow, despite being a smaller platform (for deep snow conditions). So for a 94mm underfoot ski, this does pretty well in pow. The added energy and rebound in the ski helps you ski dynamically through powder and feel like you’re bouncing in and out of turns. So, it gets the job done (probably better than many other skis in this category), but this isn’t a dedicated pow ski.
While I prefer a wider ski in mixed and variable snow, the QST 94 has solid suspension through choppy snow. For a ski that isn’t that heavy, it stays pretty composed. The cork damplifer does work to keep the tips from bouncing all over the place. It doesn’t cut through variable snow at speed like something with lots of metal in it, and will be happier taking a more dynamic approach to lines by taking more turns at slower speeds.
Again, for a ski that feels this playful and fun to ski, I was pretty happy with how smooth it felt. Just don’t expect to be bashing through refrozen snow at Mach 20 with a super stable platform.
Downsides?
The Salomon QST 94 tries to strike a balance between fun and playful, with versatility. With that balance comes some trade-offs. Despite a more directional shape, the flex pattern isn’t stiff enough to fully charge through heavy chop or crud, or feel bombproof on refrozen snow. Look for some stiffer alternatives, like the Salomon Stance series. The tapered and rockered tips also lend themselves to some chatter at really high speeds.
The QST 94 also isn’t quite as precise as some other skis in this category. The updated Head Kore series for 2026 has impressed us with how precise it rides without feeling like very much work. Both skis feel like they have similar swing weights, but the Kore locks on to firm so with a bit more strength. That said, it certainly doesn’t have the flair or the fun of the QST 94, so again, some trade-offs.
Salomon QST 94 Review: The Bottom Line
Overall, the Salomon QST 94 hits a sweet spot that lots of skiers will get along with. It packs the fun and freeride flavor of the bigger QSTs that have become staples in our gear closets, in a much more versatile package. The directional tail gives you enough extra bite to have more fun on groomed terrain, while the front of the ski feels intutive and light on the feet.
I think what’s so attractive about this ski is how fun and versatile it is. It reminds me a lot of a Line Pandora 92, for being better than expected when the snow conditions go south, but just as much fun as you could want everywhere else. It’s not a pure freestyle ski, and it’s not a super serious hard charger. But for someone who is stoked about sacrificing a little top end performance for something that gets around the mountain in a fun way and can tackle whatever conditions you throw at it, this should be on the list. We think it works for intermediates all the way up to experts, depending on your style and where you’re skiing.
