There are about 1,000 different skis coming at you in 2011 from more than 25 manufacturers. What skis should I buy? What skis are the best for me? How much will I spend?
Demo-ing is your best bet, but you won't necessarily find your dream ski in just a handful of days in which to test a particular product.
OnTheSnow has made your research a whole lot easier with our annual Ski Reviews Guide. You'll be able to narrow the field to find the optimum ski for you by reading our reviews, statistics on the skis, and using our simple-to-use ski selector. Learn more about our ski testing.
We assembled a top level team of PSIA ski professionals to head to Snowbasin Resort in Utah for the Western Winter Sales Reps Association Dealer Demo. This is where every retailer in the Intermountain West gets a chance to see what's coming on line for the upcoming ski season.
Important: OnTheSnow testing was
not paid for by the manufacturers, so there was no commercial bias on the part of our testers.
Our team objectively judged high-performance unisex and women's skis in three categories - all-mountain, carving, and freeride (or "fat skis"). The judging was based on a number of factors. You can read our online blogs from each of those testing days to vicariously join us in that experience.
Each tester demo-ed up to a dozen high-performance skis per day, scoring them on their handling in the conditions for which each ski was designed. They ranked the various qualities of the skis on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the highest possible score.
Stability, ease of turning, edge grip, versatility, forgiveness and looks were all judged. We subsequently divided the skis into the following categories and judged them among their peers as skis are made to address a variety of skier types: Carvers, Women's, All-Mountain and Freeride (with waists above 100mm).
It's important to note that the all-mountain category has significantly expanded to include skis with up to 100mm waists for 2011. What keeps them from being a "Freeride" ski is their turn radius.
Anything in the mid to low teens can be an "all-mountain" ski regardless of the waist width. So pay attention to the turn radius figure when researching skis. If it has a turn radius in the upper teens or higher, consider that a freeride or fat ski.
We sought to determine who would enjoy what ski with each run we took. The scores were tallied and averaged after the testing to reveal our ratings for the alpine skis of 2011.
Our OnTheSnow Ski Reviews Guide will help you narrow the field and get you started in your search for this season's ultimate ski.
The 2011 OnTheSnow Ski Testing Program was coordinated by Jill Adler. She is an associate editor of OnTheSnow.com and a Level III PSIA-certified ski instructor.
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A Note From Jill: We send a great big thanks to Snowbasin for hosting our team of testers and to several non-ski companies that helped outfit our team. Nobis Willow and Relish hats kept our heads looking totally steezy. Habervision provided our goggles and glasses. Swany gloves are an instructor's favorite piece of gear. Pick a pair depending on your personality and WPF (warmth protection factor).
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