Gear

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

Category: Men's Freeride; Category ranking: No. 4; Average score: 3.25; Balance of skills: 3.30; Best for: Supreme hard-snow/soft-snow versatility; Not for: Short-turn specialists

Category: Men's Freeride; Category ranking: No. 2; Average score: 3.45; Balance of skills: 3.42; Best for: Hard-snow/soft-snow versatility; Not for: Skidded turns—a total waste of its talents

Category ranking: No. 3 Average score: 3.32 Balance of skills: 3.19 Best for: Smoothing out soft chop at GS speeds Not for: Bumps, or any kind of technical hard-snow line

An insider’s guide to how we test

You can get skis made just for you. Tailor the dimensions, graphics, and construction for what best suits you. One company—Colorado's Folsom Custom—shows you how.

You need poles. Here are seven good options.

HIGH-DEF VIDEO FOR YOUR HEAD… from a Video Camera Small Enough to Fit on Your Goggles

You may not get new skis every year, but you probably have some old junkers clogging up the garage. Check out the best ways to recycle all your old gear, including boots, poles, and everything else that’s probably too scary to ski on now.

Loveland is offering discount lift tickets for the remainder of the season to anyone that presents a 2008-2009 season pass from another ski area.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Company also announced that helmets will be required for all children’s group ski and ride lessons and as part of their rental packages

Skis and boots will only get you so far in the backcountry. Don’t forget all the other stuff you’ll need to get you in and out safely.

Join the students around the country and head to the nearest hill. There are deals to score and events to see all over the country in March, but you have to check here to see them.

Although Kennett is at least ten years older than his competitors, he still managed to claim his fourth title.

New AT tools blend alpine power with touring mobility.

Resort Backcountry Education Program to Host Multiple Women’s Specific Camps and Clinics

The official rules of the slopes are more than 40 years old. Life has changed.

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Win two free pairs of 7eye sunglasses!

Check out The Editors's author page.

The ideal ski camera works in any kind of weather or lighting. All of these—two point-and-shoots, two digital SLRs, and four camcorders—are as close to perfect as we could find.

Anyone up for frostbite, starvation, and boredom? No? Pick up these items to mitigate the misery of car camping.

Check out these sweet products that guarantee to keep you dry.

Three people from around North America won a pair of skis, a Dakine Roller bag, and a ski jacket. See who they are.

As it gets more expensive to fly, resorts are increasing their size and quality of rental fleets. Here's why you should check it out.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

From the He-and-She Stick to the gondola, lift technology has shaped romance on the way uphill.

What to wear when you're heading out of bounds.

At Cranmore, the Hannes Schneider Meister Cup celebrates the Austrian roots of American skiing—and the man who taught the country how to ski.

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Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out some great features of the HOT Gear Bags and see four other tips to stay warm this winter

Rising fuel prices are altering the economics of the great American ski vacation, as skiers and resorts cope with the increased costs of flying and driving.

Things we use and swear by.

Things we use and swear by.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out these sweet product that guarantee to keep you dry.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Award-winning helmet camera fuels international adventure sports community; 75% of camera owners sharing video from 57 countries

Families can receive up to $30 a day in dining vouchers per child for a three-day/night Colorado and Lake Tahoe ski vacation

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Hardgoods: Including Solomon, Nordica, and more...

For racking up inbounds vertical, you need duds that look good, carry all your toys, and keep you warm and dry. These jackets and pants provide.

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Atomic is launching a new ski technology, the D2 DoubleDeck, in the U.S. market on Oct. 24

Get Grant Gunderson's "Star Trail" poster from the photographer directly.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Check out The Editors's author page.

Catch up with tele phenom Nick Devore and learn about the Down Patrol Jacket.