Last year saw the introduction of two new Chronics the 101 & 94. Both skis have Line’s new Thin Tip 2.0 construction which bonds the topsheet in the tip and tail directly to the base, resulting in a stronger bond to reduce delams. The skis are virtually identical, different only in width specs. The Chronics are characterized by generous tip and tail rocker combined with tight sidecuts, making them ultra-responsive and playful.
Groomers & Resort Skiing:
The Chronic 94 is, by virtue of its narrower waist, both quicker edge to edge and bites more strongly than its wider sibling. The tradeoff is that it feels a bit less torsionally stiff. Otherwise, it behaves very similarly on groomed snow to the Chronic 101. It needs to be skied from a centered stance in order not to overpower the tips, but with that caveat, it rips on groomers. The short radius combined with a soft flex will bend into almost slalom radius turns and the ski has enough energy to bounce you from turn to turn in a very enjoyable manner. It’s a fun ski on groomers and the narrower version has the added bonus of handling fairly icy snow quite well. It’s a fun hardpack ski for resort skiing.
Powder & Mixed Conditions:
In powder, the Chronic 94 has a lot of the same shortcomings as the 101, just exacerbated by the narrower platform. These really aren’t the ski to pick if you’re planning to have to deal with more than very occasional powder and why would they be, they’re narrower than most skis out there these days. Yes, the rocker gives you some lift and the tail actually allows you to land switch pretty well, but once you need to turn, you'll wish you were on something bigger.
Park & Jibbing:
The Chronic 94 is pretty much the definition of a versatile park ski. The rocker gives it a loose feel when you land slightly off, while the narrower platform keeps the weight, and particularly the swingweight down. The ski feels very quick to set an edge on rails making multiple switchups a breeze and the ski is still buttery enough for messing around flexing the ski too. On jumps it’s a little less stable than the 101 version, due to being slightly softer torsionally (easier to wash out on landings when the skis twist a little) but it’s still an adept jump ski. If you want a park ski that is good for technical tricks, holds up on jumps and still feels playful and easy to ski these could be perfect.[/left]
Everything from swaps to spins felt right at home on the chronic 94. I enjoyed how the ski was fairly soft, but not so soft that you can’t pop out of ollies/butters. Carving on the chronic 94 was a great experience as well. From tight turns to big turns, you can experience it all. - Aaron Mann
The Chronic 94 is a beautiful park ski! One of my favorites ever! Nice on spins good in a bit of snow! I’d recommend this ski to anyone who wants to do their first 900! - Brock Marzolf
Who's it for?
The Chronic 94 could just as well be the East Coast/Midwest Chronic. It’s better on hard snow than the 101 and for resort skiing, just about does it all. We love both skis in the Chronic line and this one deserves its Best of Test billing because we think it's one of the most well-rounded park skis out there. There is not much in the park that these don’t work for, so if that’s your domain, these are well worth a look. And the bonus is they’re a lot of fun on groomers too.
Check out our Best Of Test | Park video for more on the Chronic 101:
Groomers & Resort Skiing:
The Chronic 94 is, by virtue of its narrower waist, both quicker edge to edge and bites more strongly than its wider sibling. The tradeoff is that it feels a bit less torsionally stiff. Otherwise, it behaves very similarly on groomed snow to the Chronic 101. It needs to be skied from a centered stance in order not to overpower the tips, but with that caveat, it rips on groomers. The short radius combined with a soft flex will bend into almost slalom radius turns and the ski has enough energy to bounce you from turn to turn in a very enjoyable manner. It’s a fun ski on groomers and the narrower version has the added bonus of handling fairly icy snow quite well. It’s a fun hardpack ski for resort skiing.
Skier: David Zorko. P: Carter Edwards
Powder & Mixed Conditions:
In powder, the Chronic 94 has a lot of the same shortcomings as the 101, just exacerbated by the narrower platform. These really aren’t the ski to pick if you’re planning to have to deal with more than very occasional powder and why would they be, they’re narrower than most skis out there these days. Yes, the rocker gives you some lift and the tail actually allows you to land switch pretty well, but once you need to turn, you'll wish you were on something bigger.
Skier: Ethan Harrison. P: Carter Edwards
Park & Jibbing:
The Chronic 94 is pretty much the definition of a versatile park ski. The rocker gives it a loose feel when you land slightly off, while the narrower platform keeps the weight, and particularly the swingweight down. The ski feels very quick to set an edge on rails making multiple switchups a breeze and the ski is still buttery enough for messing around flexing the ski too. On jumps it’s a little less stable than the 101 version, due to being slightly softer torsionally (easier to wash out on landings when the skis twist a little) but it’s still an adept jump ski. If you want a park ski that is good for technical tricks, holds up on jumps and still feels playful and easy to ski these could be perfect.[/left]
Everything from swaps to spins felt right at home on the chronic 94. I enjoyed how the ski was fairly soft, but not so soft that you can’t pop out of ollies/butters. Carving on the chronic 94 was a great experience as well. From tight turns to big turns, you can experience it all. - Aaron Mann
The Chronic 94 is a beautiful park ski! One of my favorites ever! Nice on spins good in a bit of snow! I’d recommend this ski to anyone who wants to do their first 900! - Brock Marzolf
Skier: Lukas Duckworth. P: Hanne Lundin Wallengren
Who's it for?
The Chronic 94 could just as well be the East Coast/Midwest Chronic. It’s better on hard snow than the 101 and for resort skiing, just about does it all. We love both skis in the Chronic line and this one deserves its Best of Test billing because we think it's one of the most well-rounded park skis out there. There is not much in the park that these don’t work for, so if that’s your domain, these are well worth a look. And the bonus is they’re a lot of fun on groomers too.
Check out our Best Of Test | Park video for more on the Chronic 101:
