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Review: Atomic Backland 109

By

Gavin Hess

A wide shovel and sufficient tip rocker make the Backland 109 a prime soft snow ski.

A wide shovel and sufficient tip rocker make the Backland 109 a prime choice for soft snow skiing.

Atomic needs no introduction—they are among the biggest brands in the ski touring world, and when considering the ski brands under the same Amer Sports umbrella (Salomon and Armada), they make up a significant chunk of the market. In relation to the other Amer brands, Atomic certainly has the most robust ski touring lineup, with…

Responses

  1. Beau Fredlund

    Intriguing ski. Particularly for the weight!

    Gavin, have you spent time on Atomic’s Maverick 105 or 115 also? Both quite compelling options as well.

    1. Gavin Hess

      Hey Beau!

      Hope you are doing well. I haven’t been on either of those – I know some folks have put touring bindings on the 115, but they are both pretty heavy for their size/specs. It could be viable but it doesn’t appear to be as natural a jump as the new Corvus seemed to be for you and others.

  2. SHJ

    Would the la machine mega be something in the middle between this and the hoji?

    1. Gavin Hess

      Not having skied the La Machine (Fingers crossed we’ll get our hands on a pair this season!), I can’t claim authority on the subject, but yes- it does seem to fall in between the Backland 109 and Hoji, particularly in camber quantity. Otherwise, all three seem to fit a similar niche of more progressive and loose powder touring skis.

  3. Whit

    Having skied these a handful of times I was blown away how light their swing weight is compared to lighter and narrower skis with similar mount points. (I first mounted them at recommended but like -1 better.) The HRZN tips are pretty much see through, they’ve really configured the core well. I’m amazed there’s no carbon in there and I like it! I was a little bummed there’s so much camber for being a powder ski but maybe that helps them be a good allrounder? Also love the low rise Raven-like tail rocker, doesn’t get in the way of kick turns.

  4. Mp

    Could we get an official Hoji write up from you? Would be great when contrasting other reviews where they get mentioned!

  5. Slim

    My wife and daughter share this ski, in a fairly short size (165, which is in the shorter side for them).
    It has worked well for them, both in deep, light midwinter powder, and recently, in a variety of conditions;
    Good powder, heavy, damp powder and groomers were all good to great.
    Chopped up soft piles on a resort powder day was also very good (with moderate speed and for a ski of his weight). Zipper crust was bad, but like Gavin noted, doable, thanks to the deep rocker and taper and both ends.

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