“Nimble,” “reactive,” “snappy,” “agile,” and “maneuverable” are all words our testers used to describe the Anima, descriptors you don’t often see associated with a ski of this size. Black Crows uses midweight, responsive poplar wood in its core to bring a bit of play to this behemoth but evens out the ride with carbon-Kevlar strips. The combination of tip and tail rocker with traditional camber underfoot also aids in its well-roundedness. The result is a fatty that is competent shredding steep, unforgiving terrain; floating in deep snow; going airborne; or just arcing big turns on open groomers.

*Ski dimensions are for the 182.