Gear

Category: Women's Speed; Category ranking: No. 5; Average score: 3.59; Balance of skills: 3.40; Best for: Someone who wants a cruise-control option; Not for: Ice storms; the Burnin lacks bite.

Category: Women's Speed; Category ranking: No. 2 (tie); Average score: 3.78; Balance of skills: 3.54; Best for: East Coasters: unsurpassed edge-grip; Not for: A laid-back ride

Category: Women's Freeride; Category ranking: No. 3; Average score: 3.76; Balance of skills: 3.90; Best for: An everyday ski for a range of abilities; Not for: Short turns are not its forte

Category: Women's Powder Wide Category ranking: No. 1; Average score: 3.85; Balance of skills: 3.78; Best for: Hard-snow versatility; Not for: Holly-go-lightlies

Category: Women's Powder Wide; Category ranking: No. 5; Average score: 3.31; Balance of skills: 3.38; Best for: Smaller women who want responsiveness; Not for: Serious crud, where it’s too nimble

Category ranking: No. 4 Average score: 3.62 Balance of skills: 3.70 Best for: The less skilled: It’s a great teacher. Not for: Slalom turns

Category: Women's Powder Wide; Category ranking: No. 6; Average score: 3.14; Balance of skills: 3.16; Best for: Powerful experts; Not for: Anyone not wearing a helmet

Category: Women's Powder Wide; Category ranking: No. 2; Average score: 3.80; Balance of skills: 3.92; Best for: A quick and spirited ride; Not for: Bottomless pow, where liveliness is muffled

Category: Women's Intermediate; Category ranking: No. 5; Average score: 3.52; Balance of skills: 3.43; Best for: Whipping skilled athletes into shape; Not for: Beginners who want a friendly hand to hold

Category: Women's Intermediate; Category ranking: No. 2; Average score: 3.93; Balance of skills: 4.09; Best for: Venturing off-piste: No. 1 in flotation; Not for: Newbies: It has too much energy.

Category: Women's Intermediate; Category ranking: No. 4; Average score: 3.56; Balance of skills: 3.58; Best for: Beginners; Not for: Biting though blue ice

Category: Women's Intermediate; Category ranking: No. 6; Average score: 3.19; Balance of skills: 2.96; Best for: Having fun at your current ability level; Not for: High speeds

Category: Women's Intermediate; Category ranking: No. 3; Average score: 3.65; Balance of skills: 3.71; Best for: Growing with you as you improve; Not for: Novices, for whom it’s too quick and spunky

Category: Women's Freeride; Category ranking: No. 6 (tie); Average score 3.29; Balance of skills: 3.35; Best for: Precise, aggressive skiers; Not for: The cavalier

Category: Women's Freeride; Category ranking: No. 4 (tie); Average score: 3.31; Balance of skills: 3.3; Best for: Powder; Not for: Those who prize power over ease

Category: Women's Freeride; Category ranking: No. 1; Average score: 3.61; Balance of skills: 3.6; Best for: Eastern freeriders; Not for: Deep powder, where its attributes are wasted

Category: Women's Intermediate; Category ranking: No. 1; Average score: 4.03; Balance of skills: 3.81; Best for: Athletic learners who want room to grow; Not for: The contented. This ski will make you better.

Category: Women's Freeride; Category ranking: No. 3; Average score: 3.32; Balance of skills: 3.48; Best for: A wide range of abilities; Not for: East Coast or Midwest boilerplate

Category: Women's Freeride; Category ranking: No. 2; Average score: 3.38; Balance of skills: 3.35; Best for: Tahoe crud; Not for: Mary Jane: It’s too stiff to zipper down bumps.

Category: Women's Freeride; Category ranking: No. 6 (tie); Average score: 3.29; Balance of skills: 3.37; Best for: Maching through soft snow; Not for: Lighter, less aggressive skiers

Intermediate

Intermediate

Category: Women's Freeride; Category ranking: No. 4 (tie); Average score: 3.31; Balance of skills: 3.23; Best for: Athletic skiers: It reacts quickly to pressure. Not for: Sunday drivers: This ski demands attention.

Intermediate

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Cruiser

Cruiser

Category: Women's Cruiser; Category ranking: No. 4; Average score: 3.51; Balance of skills: 3.69; Best for: Amazing grip on the groomed; Not for: Bumps. The Tierra isn’t the quickest stick.

Cruiser

Cruiser

Freeride

Category: Women's Cruiser; Category ranking: No. 3; Average score: 3.53; Balance of skills: 3.54; Best for: Baring its teeth on ice; Not for: Deep powder; it has a heavy, grippy feel.

Freeride

Freeride

Category: Women's Cruiser; Category ranking: No. 5; Average score 3.34; Balance of skills: 3.36; Best for: A Westerner’s one-ski quiver; Not for: East Coast technicians: It’s too forgiving.

Freeride

Freeride

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Speed

Intermediate

Category: Women's Cruiser; Category ranking No. 6; Average score 3.27; Balance of skills: 3.39; Best for: Enjoying the scenery; Not for: Someone who wants a damp, burly ski

Cruiser

Cruiser

Cruiser

Category: Women's Cruiser; Category ranking No. 1; Average score 3.96; Balance of skills: 3.83; Best for: Cranking tight turns on hardpack; Not for: The lethargic or unathletic: It’s got energy.

Cruiser

Cruiser

Category: Women's Cruiser; Category ranking: No. 2; Average score: 3.55; Balance of skills: 3.83; Best for: Holding an edge at speed; Not for: The sidelines. This ski likes action.

Freeride

Freeride

Category: Men's Cruiser; Category ranking: No. 7; Average score: 3.11; Balance of skills: 2.65; Best For: High-speed carving on soft groomers; Not For: Slalom-ready quickness

Freeride

Freeride

Freeride

Freeride

Category: Men's Cruiser; Category ranking: No. 3 (tie); Average score: 3.31; Balance of skills: 3.37; Best for: All-terrain versatility, emphasis on groomers; Not for: Highly technical short-turn carving

What the Numbers Mean

Category: Men's Cruiser; Category ranking: No. 1; Average score: 3.51; Balance of skills: 3.59; Best For: All-day comfort with exacting performance; Not For: Frozen corduroy or blue East Coast ice

Freeride

Freeride

Freeride

Category: Men's Cruiser; Category ranking: No. 5 (tie); Average score: 3.12; Balance of skills: 3.03; Best for: Combination of fluidity and quickness; Not for: Crud, where it gets nervous

Freeride

Freeride

Category: Men's Cruiser; Category ranking: No. 2; Average score: 3.32; Balance of skills: 3.38; Best for: Snow-condition versatility; Not for: The hardest of Eastern ice

Speed

Speed

Speed

Category: Men's Cruiser; Category ranking: No. 5 (tie); Average score: 3.12; Balance of skills: 3.08; Best for: Tip, rip, repeat: a carving machine; Not for: Skidded turns or bumps

Speed

Category: Men's Cruiser; Category ranking: No. 3 (tie); Average score: 3.31; Balance of skills: 3.26; Best for: Long, fast arcs on the groomed; Not for: Crud, where it’s a little too edgy and energetic

Category: Men's Powder Super Wide; Category ranking: No. 1; Average score: 3.56; Balance of skills: 3.48; Best For: Smearing, surfy style in deep snow; Not For: Hard-snow carving or tight-spot quickness

Category: Men's Powder Super Wide; Category ranking: No. 4; Average score: 3.51; Balance of skills: 3.48; Best for: Skimming deep stuff at speed; Not for: Skied-off chutes or hardpack

Category: Men's Powder Super Wide; Category ranking: No. 2 (tie); Average score: 3.55; Balance of skills: 3.15; Best for: A relaxed, surfy approach in deep snow; Not for: Versatility in non-powder situations

Category ranking: No. 5 Average score: 3.50 Balance of skills: 3.48 Best For: GS-ing big-mountain powder fields at speed Not For: Quick-footed, finesseful technique

Category: Men's Powder Super Wide; Category ranking: No. 7; Average score: 3.33; Balance of skills: 3.5; Best for: Bottomless fluff; Not for: Smooth riding in stiff or wind-affected powder

Category: Men's Powder Super Wide; Category ranking: No. 9; Average score: 3.13; Balance of skills: 3.1; Best for: Power-carving through deep chop; Not for: A laid-back or lazy attack

Category ranking: No. 8 Average score: 3.15 Balance of skills: 2.97 Best for: Huge rooster tails; 1,000 vert in 10 turns Not for: Quickness in bumps or Eastern trees

Category ranking: No. 2 (tie) Average score: 3.55 Balance of skills: 3.54 Best for; Getting more than your share of powder Not for; Tight trees and/or Eastern versatility

Category: Men's Powder Super Wide; Category ranking: No. 6; Average score: 3.39; Balance of skills: 3.37; Best for: Attacking technical lines in deep snow; Not for: New-school, surfy-smeary powder technique