Elan SLX World Cup - 2021/22 season - in test

After my tests of Rossignol and Dynastar a few days earlier, I was driven to the Parsenn in Davos today to test the racing skis from Elan. But spring was already noticeable in Davos, too, with a warm 6 degrees Celsius waiting for the skiers at the valley station.

In particular, I had never skied a World Cup ski. I was gladly warned by third parties how demanding it was and that you run the risk of injuring your knees here. Well-intentioned advice, but in this case it turned out to be superfluous.

Not for pleasure riders, but for athletes
I readily admit that I approached the testing of the Elan World Cup ski with a certain amount of caution, as I had no desire to injure myself and get stupidly stuck in the soft snow. But this quickly turned out to be a mistake. At the top of the Parsenn it was 2 degrees Celsius and the slope was still hard enough. And lo and behold, nothing of demanding, the turns went easily and quickly, but you can not talk about comfort in comparison with "normal" racing skis. There are many smaller and larger ice bumps on the slope, the slope is choppy and you feel that immediately with the SLX World Cup. There is even a slight fluttering or banging. Why? I suspect that there are no large damping elements built into the ski. You can compare it to a race car. A racing car is never comfortable, but has very hard suspension so that you have maximum ground control and can feel and react immediately to changes. It's not about comfort or enjoyment, it's about speed and control, and a pleasure skier can find that annoying. The edge grip was then also not strong over all masses and the effort required was absolutely within reasonable limits. You don't need gigantic thighs to control the ski, but you do need the right skiing technique, whether it's carving or shifting weight.

The ski is perfect for those who are really ambitious to race successfully. Racers, then, ski on a smooth and hard to icy slope prepared for racers, without bulbs on the slope. As I hear from Philippe Egli, the responsible manager at Catrade AG and importer of Elan, dealers in German-speaking Switzerland prefer to sell the World Cup skis despite the lack of comfort compared to normal racing skis. Here the image of the World Cup has a stronger effect than the benefit for the skier. Also, the skier will see more racing ability in the World Cup model, but such a thing will rarely be able to live out on a normal slope.

Conclusion
The Elan SLX Word Cup is a beautiful slalom racing ski, which by design is clearly aimed at racers who already are or want to become. For pleasure skiers there are more suitable models.