Review: Coalition Rafiki Powder Ski

Coalition’s Rafiki is a maneuverable, stable ski that offers a playful ride.

• Length Skied: 172 cm
• Stated Weight: 2041 g
• Stated Dimensions: 137-115-132
• Stated Sidecut: 20 m
• Recommended Mount Point: -5.5 cm

The Coalition Rafiki powder ski is available now.

Intro

Coalition is a company that is completely operated and owned by women. In an industry that can feel pretty male-dominated, I love using products from all-female brands and was stoked to give the Rafiki powder ski a try this season.

The Rafiki is Coalition’s only powder-oriented ski and I was curious how it would hold up in Utah’s world class powder. While the ski is on the heavier side, I’ve been really impressed by how it’s performed throughout this season in all types of conditions.

Length and Mountpoint

I skied the Rafiki in a 172. This is on the longer side for me and at 115 underfoot, this was quite a bit more ski than I was used to. It’s also a relatively heavy ski, so when I first clicked into them I was worried about how I would steer so much bulk. But thanks to deeper rocker lines in the tip and tail, the Rafiki is highly maneuverable and quite playful while maintaining its stability and keeping you pretty grounded.

The Rafiki has a recommended mount point of -5.5 cm from center. This is a pretty forward mount point, particularly compared to more directional powder skis. It felt pretty easy to ski the Rafiki with a relaxed stance and upright posture and I didn’t have to apply tons of forward pressure to get the ski to pivot around a turn.

Where does the Rafiki shine?

Though I was skeptical of its weight, I came away from riding the Rafiki impressed by its maneuverability. It’s really easy to turn this ski and it really shines in tight trees, moguls, and narrow chutes. It doesn’t require a ton of power to get it to pivot and this makes it a fun ski for varied terrain.

The Rafiki does an excellent job of keeping you afloat in deeper snow. Whether you’re skiing dense, heavy powder or light, fluffy snow, the Rafiki will help keep you on top. Furthermore, I found the Rafiki to continue to be highly maneuverable from a relaxed, upright stance even in deeper snow making it feel fun and surfy in all types of powder.

I’ve spent a lot of time on the Rafiki at Alta in Utah’s Little Cottonwood Canyon and find that it does a phenomenal job navigating through tracked and choppier powder. It can be hard to get fresh tracks at Utah resorts these days and I often find that I’m skiing soft chop and more tracked powder, which can be challenging on skis that are prone to throwing you around. The Rafiki hold their own really nicely in these conditions and are able to keep you on top of the snow surface without throwing you around too much. Given that they’re on the heavier side, the Rafiki can also bust through denser snow while still feeling pretty playful.

Where does the Rafiki make some compromises?

The Rafiki is a heavier ski. While it maintains a high level of maneuverability thanks to its rockered tips and tails, it struggles with hop turns. I found it pretty tiring to pivot the ski around in tighter, more consequential terrain that required calculated hop turns.

The more forward recommended mount point also can take some getting used to depending on what skis you’ve used in the past. The Rafiki rewards a relaxed, upright stance and doesn’t feel as stable or fun if you try to drive forward. This isn’t a bad thing at all, you just have to be prepared to respond to how this ski wants to be skied.

The Rafiki doesn’t bring the same playful maneuverability it shows in powder to harder-packed terrain and groomers. It will hold its own, but it definitely doesn’t shine on these surfaces making it a great option for places that get lots of powder but maybe not the best choice for an all mountain, one quiver ski.

What would a perfect day in the Rafiki look like?

You roll up to Alta early in the morning after a multi-day storm. The sky is blue and the mountain is blanketed in a deep layer of fresh, floaty powder. You click into your skis as the lifts start spinning. You’re on the hunt for fresh tracks and, armed with the Rafiki, you head straight toward a steep glade with abundant powder stashes for the taking.