Unicorns Are Real: Atomic Maven Skis Review

It’s a spring day at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort when I click into the Atomic Maven 94 CTI at the top of Bridger Gondola. The sun has barely kissed the slopes, and the corduroy is crisp and untouched. I drop over the edge of the flats onto the slope and carve my first snowy arc of the day.

I slice down the mountain as fast as I dare. The uniform corduroy sprays into a frozen wake as I alternate from ski edge to ski edge. The sun warms the snow, turning icy corduroy into corn.

I slip between softening bumps with control and ease. Then, I pick a line between the massive evergreens and follow it with agility and precision. The Mavens allow me to do all of this, setting the bar high for what we expect out of a women’s all-mountain ski.

In short: Atomic’s family of Maven skis, both the 103 CTI ($975) and the 94 CTI ($900), are confidence-inspiring women’s skis I was stoked to take anywhere on the mountain, and in conditions ranging from hardpack to powder. It’s a ski that beginners can grow into, ready to rock and roll for intermediate and advanced skiers. Redesigned in 2024 by Daron Rhalves, an Olympian and one of the most accomplished downhill racers of all time, according to the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, this ski grips confidently in all kinds of snow. It’s easy to maneuver, and it’s versatile. And, like Daron, it’s not a “slarver,” but a carver.

Compare the Atomic Maven CTI to the rest of our picks in the guide to the best all-mountain women’s skis.

Atomic Maven Review 

First Impressions

The 2024/25 Maven is a serious upgrade from the previous version of this ski. This all-conditions charger now uses less metal, fiberglass, and resin than its predecessor. It also uses a highly engineered blend of ash and poplar at its core. That makes the Maven stable and reduces its vibration at speed. In short, it turned the Maven from a good ski to a great ski.

Home in Vermont, I skied cruisy, smooth runs: Stowe Mountain Resort’s Sunrise, North Slope, and Nosedive. I soaked in the winter sunshine, got my skis on edge, trenched hardpacked groomers and soared down the mountain.

Construction

Materials

The Maven CTI construction blends carbon and Titanal metal. That makes this ski energetic on the slopes and in the woods without compromising its agility in tight trees. The carbon and Titanal are springy in the bumps. On crowded slopes, they make the ski responsive and predictable. And if you’re in the mood to cruise, not hammer, the ski performs just as well.

In contrast, the Black Pearl, one of the most popular women’s skis, is built to excel at moderate speeds and isn’t fun to ski off-piste. It felt stiff and narrow in deep snow, which makes sense since it’s 88 underfoot and designed for groomers.

The Maven 103 CTI held its own on groomers and shined when it was deep. The Maven 94 CTI was fast and agile on the groomers but stayed playful in soft snow. Both widths are also impressively stable and have no apparent speed limit.

Atomic says that the ski’s stability is rooted in its core, which is constructed from ash and poplar to be damp, solid, and stable. A high percentage of poplar in the core makes it light and lively to maneuver, balancing its versatility and ability to charge hard.

Like all Atomic skis, the materials in this ski were designed with sustainability in mind. They were chosen to have the lowest possible planetary impact.

HRZN Tip

One of our favorite features of the 2024/25 Maven is its HRZN tip, which Atomic uses on many skis. It’s a hollow, beveled, three-dimensional tip that increases the ski’s surface area so that the tip stays afloat in deep snow. And, when the grooming is less than perfect, and the slopes are littered with icy chunks, the HRZN tip deflects those imperfections without interrupting your flow. 

“Flex an old Maven 93 and flex the new 103 or 94, and you will see the edge is rounder, which means that on snow, the ski is more intuitive feeling, more predictable initiating a turn,” says Rehrl.

Maverick vs. Maven

If you compare the Maven to its brother, the Maverick, you’ll see that the Mavericks also use ash and poplar but in different ratios. The Maverick core is 70% ash, which is stiffer to accommodate heavier men, and it’s 50-80 g heavier across the range of ski sizes than the Maven, which is 70% poplar. Each ski offers different sizes, but the turn shape and radius are identical.

Many women’s skis top out at 170 cm. We appreciate that Atomic makes the 103 CTI in a 178, so advanced skiers and women who prefer a longer ski can find a good fit with the Maven.

Design

I spoke with Atomic about the inspiration behind the design. I learned that Maven 94 CTI and 103 CTI are designed for the North American market.

“Before we started the redesign of the Atomic Mavens, we talked a lot with consumers and retailers to understand what’s right and wrong with the current women’s Mavens and men’s Maverick, the Maven’s brother ski,” said Atomic Product Manager Markus Rehrl.

“This is a ski that’s geared to the North American market, not to the European market. We learned that the old Maven was approachable, but for good skiers, it wasn’t enough to ski. Off-piste was fun, easy, and playful, but if you hit a slope hard, there was a speed limit for the ski. It wasn’t a ski that leaned toward groomers or off-piste. It was in the middle.

“With the new Maven 94 CTI and 103 CTI, we gave the ski more personality in harder conditions. It’s still easy to ski but now, in soft snow, it feels wide and floaty, and when it hits the groomers, it carves well.”

In the Field

Of the dozens I’ve tested, the Atomic Maven 94 and 103 CTIs are two of my favorite all-mountain skis. They are intuitive, approachable, and stable.

Maven 94 CTI

The 2025/26 Maven 94 excelled in conditions from frozen groomers to corned-up bumps. At Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, they were my tool of choice when I knew the conditions and temps would swing from solidly frozen to spring smoosh. I felt confident pointing my tips down any slope and stable even when flying at maximum speeds. The skis were light enough to hop turn down a zipper line through the bumps without feeling beat up.

Maven 103 CTI

The Maven 103 CTI was superb in soft snow, giving me the downhill swooping ride that makes powder dreams come true. At Utah’s Powder Mountain, I skied the Maven in a storm cycle and took it everywhere on the slopes, from groomers to steep glades, with equal glee. I pointed my tips toward the lift-access side of the country and danced and floated down the mountain.

I drove this ski down Stowe Mountain Resort’s Front Four in Vermont’s firmer conditions. It was powerful enough to carve (not ricochet) down Liftline and National, slithering between bumps on Starr.

In the steep chute called Goat, the ski didn’t come around as fast as some others, so it took some effort to dodge the exposed rocks and wiggle through the couloir-like trail. But it was stable and fast when I opened it up on the groomers to the bottom.

Room for Improvement

While the Maven 103 CTI is a solid performer in all conditions, including icy ones, it’s not a pure frontside ski, one that’s under 90mm underfoot, and designed to be a one-trick pony that’s all about trenching turns on groomers and aggressive grip. Because it’s 103 underfoot, it’s also not the quickest-turning, most agile ski.

The opposite critique could be made of the Maven 94. In powder, the 94 won’t float like a wider ski. And not everyone likes the watercolor graphics that one tester called “inspired by grandma’s drapery.”  But the disdain was not universal. Unfortunately, Atomic capped sizing in the 94-width ski at 172. It did not make a 178-cm length as in the 103 CTI.

Conclusion

You’ll have fun on these skis regardless of your ski style. The Maven isn’t a ski you need to push to ski well, but it’s a ski that is there for you when you push it. Wherever you’re skiing with the Maven, you can lap the mountain all day anywhere, and you won’t feel like your legs are hamburger by the end.

I highly recommend Atomic’s Maven CTI to intermediate to advanced female skiers who want confident handling and a ski that won’t hold them back. I also recommend this ski for athletic beginners who want a ski that is fun now, but that will also grow with them on the road to meeting their goals.