OGASAKA ET-8.5
By PTO Ski & Snowboard, Based on OGASAKA official specs and catalog, three Japanese retailer staff on-snow test reports (all on the 166 cm) and two independent ride reports on the superseded build · Spec analysis plus the Japanese on-snow reports on this ski
The take
“The narrowest E-TURN: 851 g/m, 12.3 m at its shortest, and no aluminum in the build.”
The on-snow record for the ET-8.5 is thin, and it is entirely Japanese. Three staff testers at one retailer, all of them on the 166 cm, and no English-language review exists anywhere. Two of the three said independently that it handles narrower than 85 mm suggests: one credited it with the composure to ski a groomed run properly, the other found it easier to move than he expected, with quick changes of edge. Two of the three named stability, one of them in spring corn.
Float is where precision matters. Exactly one of the three skied it in fresh snow and reported real buoyancy. A second wrote plainly that he never got fresh snow on it, and the third does not raise float at all. Float, on this ski, rests on a single ride.
The sharpest caution comes from one of the three. He called the ski right for a day divided roughly evenly between groomed and soft snow, then warned that a ratio tipping hard either way could leave it feeling half-committed. That is his read and not OGASAKA's brief — OGASAKA's own numbers are 8 for the slopes and 3 for powder, under a label that says the ski is for use on the slopes. Do not read an even split into a ski its maker scored that way.
Two independent riders have written it up as well, and neither settles anything about the ski PTO sells. Both rode the superseded, heavier, graphite-base generation, and they contradict each other on edge grip: one found it soft and wanted more drive out of the ski, the other found the edge bit well on firm snow. OGASAKA says it revised the ski for bad snow and for speed, and the paper trail shows the revision really happened. Nobody has published a test of the claim.
The decision that matters is the ET-9.8, and OGASAKA takes money out of it: both are $1,085. What changes is terrain. The ET-9.8 is drawn 133-98-121 against this ski's 126-85-108, it weighs 933 g/m against 851, and OGASAKA's scale shifts one point each way, to Powder 4 and Ski slope 7. All three rides on the current build were on the 166, so the 158, the 174 and the 182 carry no on-snow report at all.
Bindings we'd pair with it
Mount point: Flat ski. The binding is a separate purchase and needs mounting, and its brake must clear an 85 mm waist. Our pick: Marker Griffon 13 ID.
Marker Griffon 13 IDIntermediate to advanced skiersMarker publishes a DIN/ISO range of 4-13 and lists it for alpine and GripWalk soles.
Marker Squire 11 IDLighter or intermediate skiersMarker publishes a DIN/ISO range of 3-11 and lists it for alpine and GripWalk soles.
Salomon Strive 12 GripWalkIntermediate skiersSalomon publishes a DIN scale of 4-12 and lists alpine and GripWalk soles.
OGASAKA offers no factory binding or plate package for any E-TURN model — the UNITY skis get one, this line does not — so the bindings above are in-store options rather than a factory pairing. Brakes are bought in fixed widths, and the brake must clear the 85 mm waist. The DIN number is an indicator setting read off a table, not a measurement of how a binding will let go; a technician sets it from your weight, height, age, boot sole length and skier type, and checks the release on a test device. Boot-sole standard is confirmed at fitting and never assumed — a GripWalk sole is not compatible with every alpine binding. We mount it and help you settle on length and brake width.
Common Questions
- OGASAKA ET-8.5 or ET-9.8?
- They cost the same, $1,085, so terrain decides rather than budget. OGASAKA scores the ET-8.5 Powder 3 and Ski slope 8, under a label that says it is for use on the slopes; the ET-9.8 is Powder 4 and Ski slope 7, and OGASAKA files it for backcountry, touring and on-piste use. The construction is otherwise identical. A groomer-first season points to the 8.5.
- Does the OGASAKA ET-8.5 have metal in it?
- No. OGASAKA's materials line for this ski reads an ultra-lightweight NF wood core and special F.R.P. There is no A7178 aluminum sheet in it, and it carries neither the Power Platform Function mark nor the Front Float System mark — Front Lead Function is the one it wears. A skier who wants an aluminum laminate should be looking at the U-PE, which carries A7178 and weighs 958 g/m. Note also what OGASAKA withholds: it never states which fiber its special F.R.P is made from, so nobody can honestly tell you.
- What length OGASAKA ET-8.5 should I get?
- It is built in 158, 166, 174 and 182 cm, and the radius climbs with length — 12.3 m at the shortest, 17.3 m at the longest — so length sets the shape of the turn. One caveat worth knowing: all three published rides on the current ski were on the 166 cm, which leaves the 158, the 174 and the 182 unreported. Tell us how you ski and we will help you settle it.
- Is the ET-8.5 new for 2026-27?
- No. It carries over from 25-26 unchanged, and OGASAKA has not published a new page for it. The revision OGASAKA's copy describes — new balance, materials, boot-center position and core length — is real, but it landed in an earlier generation: the previous ski was heavier and ran a graphite base, where this one runs UHMW-PE Natural.
- What binding does the OGASAKA ET-8.5 take?
- OGASAKA sells no factory package for the E-TURN line, so the binding is chosen and mounted separately. Brake width is settled against the 85 mm waist, and the boot-sole standard is confirmed at fitting rather than assumed. We do both in the shop.
