Gear

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

Category ranking: No. 2 Average score: 3.47 Balance of skills: 2.84 Best For: Medium- to long-radius arcs at top speeds Not For: Slalomy quickness

Category: Men's Speed; Category ranking: No. 6; Average score: 3.00; Balance of skills: 3.18; Best for: Relaxed high-speed cruising; Not for: Actually, you know, racing on the thing

Category: Men's Speed; Category ranking: No. 4; Average score: 3.28; Balance of Skills: 3.25 Best for: Making soft groomed your racecourse; Not for: Lazy skidding; it likes to be on edge

Category: Men's Speed; Category ranking: No. 5; Average score: 3.07; Balance of Skills: 2.98; Best For: Gaining new confidence at high speeds; Not For; Soft snow (even by this category’s standards)

Category: Men's Speed; Category ranking: No. 3; Average score: 3.28; Best for: Medium arcs with strong finishes; Not for: Fast speeds on a regular basis

Category ranking: No. 1 Average score: 3.60 Best for: NASTAR gold; looking good on ice Not for: Soft snow, where it trenches too deeply

Category ranking: No. 3 Average score: 3.77 Balance of skills: 3.62 Best For: Smoothing rough terrain; gaining confidence Not For: The quickest of turns in the tightest of spots

Category: Men's Powder Wide; Category ranking: No. 4 Average score: 3.65 Best for: A fluid, quick-footed attack Not for: Wide-open bowls at super G speeds

Category ranking: No. 1 (tie) Average score: 3.78 Best For: Versatility (a great Eastern powder ski) Not For: Smearing, surfing in deepest powder

Category: Men's Powder Wide; Category ranking: No. 8; Average score: 3.21; Balance of skills: 3.2; Best for: Light-touch technique, updating your image; Not for: Technical descents requiring quickness

Category: Men's Powder Wide; Category ranking: No. 9; Average score: 3.19; Balance of skills: 3.28; Best for: Long-turn, high-speed power surfing; Not for: The underweight or underaggressive

Category: Men's Powder Wide; Category ranking: No. 7; Average score: 3.26; Balance of skills: 3.4; Best for: Traditional in-the-fall-line attack; Not for: Hard snow, where its talents are wasted

Category: Men's Powder Wide; Category ranking: No. 6; Average score: 3.34; Balance of skills: 3.2; Best for: Looking good and feeling confident at speed; Not for: Cautious and/or lightweight skiers

Category ranking: No. 5 Average score: 3.35 Balance of skills: 3.38 Best for: Aggressively charging the fall line Not for: Weak or tentative technique

Category ranking: No. 1 (tie) Average score: 3.78 Balance of skills: 3.96 Best for: Athletic skiers who can handle the rebound Not for: Lightweights or the overly cautious

Category ranking: No. 3 (tie) Average score: 3.28 Balance of skills: 3.21 Best For: An improving carver looking for speed Not For: Improving your powder game

Speed

Category: Men's Intermediate; Category ranking: No. 6; Average score: 3.14; Balance of skills: 3.09; Best for: Everyday versatility; an intro to powder; Not for: Learning to trust edges on hard snow

Category: Men's Intermediate; Category ranking: No. 5; Average score: 3.27; Balance of skills: 3.27; Best For: Finally breaking through to carved turns; Not For: Careless, laid-back or inattentive technique

Category: Men's Intermediate; Category ranking: No. 2; Average score 3.32; Balance of skills: 3.29; Best for: Aggressive mornings, relaxed afternoons; Not for: Learning to carve on hard snow

Category ranking: No. 1 Average score: 3.83 Best for: Instilling confidence at higher speeds Not for: Continuing to skid—a waste of its talent

Category: Men's Intermediate; Category ranking: No. 3 (tie); Average score 3.28; Balance of skills: 3.26; Best for: Getting comfortable arcing at higher speeds; Not for: Learning to link quick turns on steeps

Category ranking: No. 1 Average score: 3.49 Balance of skills: 3.18 Best For: Taming crud, carving trenches on softpack Not For: Surfing and smearing in powder; tight bumps

Category: Men's Freeride; Category ranking: No. 6; Average score: 3.11; Balance of skills: 2.9; Best For: Energetic, quick turns in crud and powder; Not For: Versatility on hard snow, where it washes out

Category: Men's Freeride; Category ranking: No. 5; Average score: 3.20; Balance of skills: 3.08; Best for: Finesseful technique (“touch” skiers); Not for: GSing through junky snow