2017 Salomon X-Drive 8.3

If you’re in a quandary over which X-Drive to chose, the 8.3 or 8.0 FS (reviewed above), relax. It’s a simple matter of structure and shape. The 8.3 is wider in the waist, but it’s wider still at tip and tail, so despite having more surface area, it actually scribes a shorter radius arc than the X-Drive 8.0. This doesn’t change its off-trail competence as much as it snugs up its natural turn radius, controlling speed by issuing more arcs.