Skis
We know how this sounds, but testing skis is challenging. It requires a racer’s technical skills to differentiate between models, plus a writer’s verbal skills to articulate those differences clearly—not to mention a shop kid’s knowledge of the equipment. (Does a ski that slings you across the fall line get its power from a stiff tail? A sharp tune? A sheet of titanium?) Also required: quads of steel. We tested a total of 136 skis over six days, averaging somewhere around 22,000 vert per day. Thirty inches of airy Wasatch powder did, however, slightly ease our pain.
Test models › Each winter, we discuss our categories with product managers from each major manufacturer, who then decide which models they think will compete well in each category. (We also run a separate ski test with smaller brands. Look for those results in a later issue.) We test only high-performing models that you readers, as avid skiers, would be most interested in buying. If you’re an intermediate or beginner, don’t feel excluded: In most cases, each expert ski represents an entire line with lower-performance and lower-price models beneath it that share performance characteristics. Read the reviews, pick one with a personality that suits you and opt for a step or two down. Each manufacturer is allowed a certain number of entries—some get as many as 11, some as few as six— which they can allocate in any categories they choose. (Many enter two in Mixed Snow, where they feel most readers are looking.) Our formula takes into account the manufacturer’s market share (we want to evaluate skis that consumers can actually find) and its performance in the previous year’s test (we don’t want to waste time testing skis we don’t think will medal). We never make companies pay to play, nor do we give any sway to advertisers, big or small.
Test team › We handpick a cadre of ripping, experienced testers: ex-racers, shop kids, retail managers, instructors—all of them natural gear analysts. For objectivity’s sake, we avoid sponsored athletes. Any cards that demonstrate company allegiances are thrown out before results are tallied.
Venue › We test each spring at Snowbird, Utah, because of its convenience, variety of terrain, quality and consistency of snow (as in 783 inches last season) and, well, because it’s Snowbird. Which is to say it’s awesome.
Test protocol › We set our test corral up at the bottom of the Gadzoom Express quad, where the product managers hang out with diamond stones for between-run tuneups. We lap the lift for six days straight, testing the category that best suits the conditions. Testers take each ski into every type of terrain, then fill out a card on the chairlift. They score each in nine criteria, then write descriptive comments about the ski’s behavior on the back. The skis are then ranked according to their average score across all criteria
Results › We medal a total of 82 skis, a little more than half of what we test, which, in turn, is only the top 10 percent of what’s on the market. We do not review skis that didn’t make the cut.
Special thanks: Snowbird Resort, Columbia Sportswear, Swix poles, Scott goggles, Deuter backpacks, Klipsch headphones, Fit socks, Chaos hats, Buff headwear, Kleen Kanteen, Beyond Coastal sunscreen, GU energy products
