PerformanceThe Skier Within: Ski Instructors Change Techniques When ski instruction went from formal technique to pop psychology.
![Anything with a z at the end of its name is automatically cooler (case in point: the 1991 John Singleton movie, Boyz in the Hood). That includes Sick Stickz’s Ant Eaters—high-quality aluminum poles made in Austria, then wrapped with funky graphics in Denver by a couple of college kids. They started the brand three years ago on the premise that the ski-pole industry lacked creative design. Which it did. [$70; sickstickz.com] —M.M.](https://www.skimag.com/.image/ar_16:9%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cg_faces:center%2Cq_80%2Cw_620/MTQzNTg0MTg4OTIyMDEzMDcy/sick-stickz-ant-eater-poles.jpg)
