Not Your Average Buyer's Guide

Some say skis are cool — but boots rule

Boots are so much the most important element of equipment that all other components—including skis—are virtually accessories by comparison. Assuming less than unlimited funds, we recommend an equipment budget with 50% of the total given to boots, fitting and alignment.

If the boot is right, a reasonably skilled skier can manage almost any ski; if the boot is not, no ski made will perform at its potential. The N^o 1 technical barrier to expert skiing is the wedge and ill-designed, poorly-fit or non-aligned boots all but guarantee wedge turn-entry, no matter how many hours of lessons and practice. Good boot choice, fit and alignment will produce better results faster than any amount of private coaching.

The trouble with socks

Another really good way, beside the wrong shell size, to guarantee bad boot fit (and cold feet) is to wear thick socks, or, even worse, several pairs of "cushy" socks. Thick socks allow the foot to move around in the shell, compromising precise control. Thick socks also reduce snow-to-foot-feedback and—this may be surprising to some—they "fill in" veins on the top and sides of foot and ankle, inhibiting circulation and creating cold feet.

We recommend thin wool or blended socks, like the Eurosock Euro Ski Elite. Yes, they are relatively expensive, but cost less than any lift ticket in North America and can prevent wasting lift money on a never ending string of cold feet and "bad boot" days!

Footbeds, not "foot-bonds"

Poorly designed or badly made footbeds ("orthotics") degrade comfort, balance and performance more than many skiers realize. Chief culprits, we believe, are rigid footbeds, like the Superfeet Kork^® or Surefoot custom orthotics. These kinds of footbeds lock the foot in a high-arch position, preventing the foot and ankle from making subtle muscle and ligament adjustments the human body has evolved over millennia to maintain upright balance. Few would argue that skiing is not a balance-intensive sport. It makes little sense to compromise basic balance capabilities of the feet.

 

Ironically, custom footbeds typically cost more than $100 and, in our experience, often provide less benefit than $30 off-the-shelf, self-molding products like Downunders^® and Superfeet's Trim to Fit^® models.

Shape is more important than brand (more about shapes here)

We have noted a disturbing trend that seems to be accelerating. For whatever reasons, the ski industry seems bent on selling ever-wider skis to ever more skiers, no matter the brand. Worse, shop employees, ski instructors and self-described "experts" in various forums seem to promote favorite models more than they attempt to discover an individual's skiing style and goals in order to suggest the right shape.

Fischer Watea 101

There is nothing inherently wrong with wide skis (by which we mean anything with a waist wider than 88mm). Wide rides, especially rockers, are unequaled in deep snow and many of them have side cuts and the "beef" to perform well on hard snow, in chop and crud, or even, in some cases, in bumps.

But, and this is the key point, wide skis and rockers are first and foremost for deep snow. Anyone who skis more than half the time on the groomed, or who is working on developing technical skills, won't gain much benefit by using these skis as primary tools. Wide skis are slower than narrow skis to come up on edge, less nimble in the fall line and reduce margin of error in bumps.

Blizzard Magnum 76

We are not "down" on fat skis, but do caution anyone pursuing technical skiing as a primary interest to consider something with a bit less girth. The truth is that a 78mm ski can handle virtually any off-piste condition, up to and including bottomless powder. Narrow skis are simply the best tools available for anyone interested in becoming a better skier. And, we can flatly state that level 6, 7 or 8 skiers trying to develop modern carving skills will be frustrated on any wide, twin-tip-or-otherwise model. To put it another way, those skiers working on technical development would be wise not to sacrifice efficiency for, dare we say, fashion.

Length is as important as shape

Two lengths of the same model from the same brand will ski more differently that the same length of similar models from different brands, even if one is a foam core and the other wood. Period. End of story.

Of 4 1/2 basic shapes, two make sense for most improving skiers

The following groups are constructed around primary use. Most modern skis handle everything better than old-style specialized skis handled specific conditions—and there are a number of legitimate "1-ski-quiver" tools —but for our review structure this year we arrange skis according to optimum match between ski and principal use.

Technical Skis - for frontside skiers who engage primarily in technical carving on hard or groomed snow and for skiers who are developing or honing basic technical skills. Includes all racing and race carving skis and recreational carvers. Typical waist measurement is 66 to 72 mm. Turn radii are generally less than 16m for non-race skis.

Example: Kästle RX 12

Example: Head Worldcup i.SL

Tactical Skis - for skiers for whom the relationship of ski to snow is of paramount importance. These skiers roam the entire mountain, or, at the other end of the spectrum, simply cruise around the groomed. We call these 1-ski-quivers "All Mountain Carvers". Waists are in the 75 to 85mm range, turn radii vary from the mid to high teens. Superb on the groomed.

Example: Dynastar Active

Example: Atomic Smoke

This group also includes Big Mountain Carvers, which are 1-ski-quiver skis that are at home anywhere on any mountain, including steep and deep as well as hard snow and ice. The most versatile skis ever made.

Example: Fischer Watea 98

Example: Dynastar Legend 85

Freeride Skis - this is the one current label that seems to work for everyone, although we do not include park and pipe skis in this group per se; they are in the specialty freestyle group. Rockers are increasingly popular, as are early rise designs. 

Example: Kästle BMX 128

Example: Stöckli Rotor TT 110

Example: Salomon Rocker 2

Example: Rossignol s7

 

Binding placement and design are critical

Bottom line on this is fore/aft placement and the combination of boot ramp angle (the difference in height between heel and ball of foot) and binding delta angle (difference in height between brake pad and afd) have more effect on stance and overall performance than most would imagine. We have tested this extensively—details here.

 

Poles affect stance, balance, timing and technical competence

Leki

Good poles of the correct length will not necessarily improve technique (one still must learn to use them), but bad poles, or poles that are either too short or two long will degrade technique in subtle ways.

Weight should be as light as possible. If the pole is heavy, it makes timing difficult and tires the skier. We recommend poles from Leki.

They are, in our opinion, the best ski poles available, a sentiment shared by a majority of World Cup athletes and coaches.

Bode Miller with Leki Poles

Of particular interest are the releasable-grip "Trigger" models, for which a special glove or harness is clipped to the pole in lieu of traditional straps. Some skiers, we should point out, find this annoying at first in that it is all but impossible to loosen buckles with poles attached, but the truth is that most chair operators demand that poles be removed anytime one rides and skiers whose boots are so tight that they release them while just standing around may find the clip-on feature a hassle, but will likely love the performance.

That aside, the poles are light, flexible enough to absorb shock and vibration yet stiff enough to provide needed support on demand. Our favorite model, the Vision Venom Vario (shown above), uses an adjustable shaft to allow precise length adjustment.

Length is likewise crucial. Too long and the skier will either sit back perpetually or, maybe even worse, reach too far down the hill on steeps and in bumps. Either effect is disastrous for balance. Moreover, a pole that is too long will make an efficient arm-swing and pole-touch impossible to achieve.

Vision is the most important sense, the brain the most important muscle

Like binding placement, the value of vision to enhance performance is not widely understood. Human brains devote the greatest percentage of their brains to managing vision and to using sight to control balance and movement. And, it also pays to protect that brain.

Enter the new OSBE helmet.

flip open | snap closed

Key benefits

The OSBE offers greater peripheral vision than any goggle, even a POC Lobes, which we also use. The visor is molded, not heat-shaped after pouring, resulting in exceptional clarity of vision. We found no distortion, although it is possible to scratch the visor; keep it in the included bag.

Convenience is superb. The visor opens with simple snap, is equally easy to close and always closes in exactly the right place relative to the helmet, no need to fumble with pesky goggle straps.

The visor is available in 4 different colors—clear, mirror, orange, smoke— for varying light conditions and it can be removed (without tools) for use with standard high performance goggles.

No goggle means no "nose-pinch," we found it easier to breath when using the OSBE. This is no small thing . . .

Protection from the elements is among the best, maybe the best. While the visor does not contact the face or nose, it employs a foam air dam that reduces, but does not totally eliminate, slight wind curl. This is not a bad thing. The mild curl does not affect the eyes, even in cold weather, but it does help keep the inside of the visor fog-free.