2024 Elan Playmaker 101 Skis Review

The Lowdown

All new for the 2023/2024 winter season, the Elan Playmaker 101 Skis are a lightweight one-ski-quiver that performs excellently all over the mountain. Featuring a Tubulite woodcore which has two carbon rods inserted underfoot, Playmaker 101 delivers a buttery yet stable platform to boost side hits, get your carve on, eat pillows, and stomp jumps and rails. This ski will be the quarterback of your quiver regardless of conditions, featuring what Elan calls the “surf-rocker” profile; This nimble ski can take you from the park to the backcountry, and everywhere in between. The Playmaker 101 gives you the responsive feel that made the Ripstick famous, without the Amphibio Design and with an added tail. Trapezoid topsheet bevelling cuts down on weight and minimizes cosmetic damage, so you can effortlessly spin your tricks, slash your turns or lay some trenches in style. This softer flexing, more playful ski excels at lower to mid speeds, and is a guaranteed way to put a smile on your face whilst you go out and play!

Ride Impressions

Park:
In the park this ski is absolutely at home. Whether you’re taking it to the bottom on some jumps or dialing in your lip blind 2s the Playmaker 101 does it all. The swing weight on these is insanely low, it feels like there's nothing on your feet. When I rocked up to the top of Blackpark on these, I honestly felt bad that I was going to bash them on rails, but I did what I had to do. The stoke was insane, vibes were high and the crew was popping off. They butter incredibly well and are loaded with lots of pop (I’m talking Micheal Jordan levels of pop). I love playful skis, and these handled any tranny or press I could find with ease and left me with a smile on my face every time. After getting my rail fix in, I did a few laps on the big jumps, tossed a couple Rodeo 5s and some OG 3s and 5 Mutes. I was worried that they would be too soft to handle high speed airs, but even after some nose-heavy switch landings I couldn’t make them slip out from under me. If you ride in the park; you know how easily skis get chipped up. The trapezoid bevelled top-sheet and 360 sidewall means there is minimal damage to the skis and sidewalls. Honestly it’s one of the most durable top-sheets I have ever seen on a park ski, and it serves to save weight! If I had to pick out a negative, I'd say the 2.2mm edges are the thinner side compared to other skis in its category (2.5mm edges) and are more susceptible to edge cracks, but this saving in weight is a benefit in all other aspects outside of the park.

Pow:
It took a few weeks, but a fresh 35cm pow day was the perfect amount to test this ski out in the deep stuff. The Playmaker stomped every drop, cliff and pillow I could throw at it without hesitation. I have these mounted pretty close to centre (-2.5cm) so sometimes it felt like i was going to go over the handle bars, but this is more due to my park oriented mounting point and maybe my aggressive forward style. A positive to being so forward on the ski means riding switch in the powder is so much fun, until you inevitably tomahawk and lose all your gear; but they ride super well both forwards and switch. These skis with pink accents and a gloss white finish can easily get lost in deep snow though, so wear a leash or try not to fall! Their lightweight body and chilled out flex pattern means these planks can float at any depth and give off that fun surfy vibe which makes turning so easy. Even at a modest 101mm waist, she floats, slashes and surfs like she belongs in knee-deep snow. Nice rocker lines meant I rarely caught my tips or tails and could easily tell them where i wanted to go without any hesitation.

Groomers:
The carbon rods underfoot provide a torsionally stiff performance similar to the Ripstick, that allows for good edge hold when turning and loading up the ski. The surf rocker in the tip and tail means the ski pivots much more and doesn't quite have the same amount of grip or bite as a fully cambered ski, but this doesn’t make them any less fun. Mid speed turns are incredibly easy and forgiving because you don't have that initial bite as you initiate your turn, allowing you to transition from hardpack to ungroomed gnar without ever feeling out of place. The Playmaker 101 has an immense amount of potential energy once put under load, and springs you out of your turn and into the next which is just an awesome feeling. Riding switch on these is a treat since they turn just about as well forwards as they do backwards. I will mention due to the rocker profile the effective edge is significantly reduced, which I only really noticed when I was properly pushing them to the limit, they had a tendency to get a little loose under me. If a high speed groomer ripper is what you’re after, I’d probably go with the stiffer Ripsticks, but if riding both ways is your style, or you simply want something a bit more forgiving, Playmaker all the way!

Crud:
They’re soft and jibby skis, so they tend to get deflected off rough snow instead of charging through it, but the Playmaker’s shape and profile make it a useful tool for the days where you don’t know what kind of snow you will find. I never found the tip or tail to be catchy, and they perform really well in mid to lower speeds. These skis do have a speed limit however, as they got a bit loose on me when I put the pedal to the metal, but is overall a great off-piste ski thanks to its lightweight and energetic feel. The width of the extremities of the ski are perfect for finding that balance between agility and robustness. The Playmaker 101 is definitely a fun ski in crappy skied out snow, but given its lack of stiffness in the tip and tail, it means you probably shouldn’t straight line through a mogul field. A ski of this construction and profile means that it leans more towards the fun surfy skier than the hardcore ski racer, but both will have fun nonetheless.

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆

Who Is It For?

The Elan Playmaker 101 is for the intermediate to advanced skier who is looking to ride a bit of everything and enjoys a lightweight and snappy ski. This ski is suitable for a number of different riders because of how forgiving it is, so whether its rails and jumps or groomers and bumps, Playmaker 101 is capable and willing. A Swiss-Army knife in its own right, this ski can do it all. It could even have some backcountry applications, as a ski in this weight class would be ideal for a freetouring mission too. This ski caters to just about everybody, from the park rat to the backcountry specialist, everyone can appreciate a fun lightweight pair of skis.