2023 Season Eqpt. Pass Review

With just three sizes and plain topsheets, the all-new Season Pass keeps it simple by focusing on a smooth, surfy ride in all conditions. Started by pro skier Eric Pollard, Line’s former marketing director Josh Malczyk, and designer Andy Hyjtan, Season Equipment has been quietly producing playful freeride skis with a stealthy look and an emphasis on durability and simplicity since 2020. The Pass is their new touring-specific ski, a beefy 115mm powder board that’s ideal for skiers painting stylish lines down the slope while slashing and jibbing natural features. It’s a wider and lighter cousin to Season’s versatile in-bounds Nexus ski, and testers found it to be just as anticipated—playful and full of fun.

Built with a light caruba core and twin tips, there’s no shortage of energy in this ski, begging you to boost off side hits and drop cliffs on the deepest storm days. Every tester who tried it described this ski as “balanced” thanks to carbon reinforcements and camber underfoot with subtle rocker on the tips and tails. The short 16.5-meter turn radius makes it easy to pivot on a dime, marrying float with stability and pop in a variety of conditions.

Related: Learn the basics of backcountry and ski touring gear

The Pass didn’t, however, score high marks in Versatility, and don’t expect it to lay down a strong edge on firm snow. One tester described it as a “one trick pony,” since it excels in steep and deep pow, but feels sluggish and unstable in crud..

“The ski shines while getting playful in softer snow, but struggles to find itself in crud,” said one Colorado tester who would recommend the Pass primarily for chasing deep days in Japan. “Wide-open bowls, or meadow skipping if you’re touring, would be ideal terrain for this ski.” While it didn’t wow testers in variable chunk, everyone who hopped on this ski agreed it would be an incredibly fun inbounds ski on a powder day, which is how Season describes it.

At 1,800 grams per ski, the Season Pass is still a bit heavy for anything longer than short tours, which is why powder hounds will love this most when they are more focused on fun turns than aggressive skiing and big lines. “A great crossover option for intermediate skiers who want one ski for in- and out-of-bounds and aren’t the most interested in technical terrain or big vert totals,” said Colorado-based tester Jon Sexauer.

If you’re looking for surfy, goofy fun, the Season Pass guarantees big smiles on a pow day. You might not crush your friends on the uphill, but you’ll definitely have the most fun on the way back down.

Compare the Season Pass to the other best backcountry skis of 2023

Lily Krass is a freelance ski journalist based in Jackson, Wyoming with work featured in SKI Magazine, Powder Magazine, Freeskier, Teton Gravity Research, and Ascent Backcountry Snow Journal. She spends winters backcountry skiing in Grand Teton National Park and riding lifts at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, with the occasional trip to the Alps (for the food, obviously). While she’s been in ski boots since she learned to walk, Lily has been professionally writing about skiing, gear, and all things outdoors for the past seven years. In addition to an all-consuming addiction to powder skiing mixed with heavy doses of Type II fun, Lily takes snacking seriously, and when she’s not writing or sliding on snow, she’s likely deep into a baking project in her tiny kitchen. She is the co-author of Beyond Skid: A Cookbook For Ski Bums, a collection of dirtbag-friendly recipes inspired by life in a mountain town.