The Stöckli Stormrider 85 is a classic cruising ski with bomber edge hold plus a damp, sturdy personality. “You can feel the entire length of the edges engage in the turn,” says one tester. “It feels strong from the metal topsheet to the base.” When pressed, however, the dampness took over. “The ski feels sluggish Read more ›
The Slight 83 W is not “less than,” but a light, zippy frontside model that behaves like a spritely slalom ski. It favors frontside over all-mountain, though one tester asked: “Is this a touring ski that behaves like a friendly slalom ski or a frontside ski with skin attachments?” Either way, testers gave the 83-mm-waisted Read more ›
The K2 Alluvit 88 Ti is a ski for the masses: creamy on groomers, maneuverable in soft or chopped up snow and easy to swing around in tight areas. “This ski is smooth—creamy smooth like Jiff,” says one tester. Ski testers gave the 88-mm-waisted ski its highest marks for Carving Pleasure, followed by Stability, with Read more ›
A zippy, slalom-oriented ski, the Fischer My Pro MT 86 received its highest scores for Carving Pleasure and lower scores for Turn Shape Variability and Flotation. “This ski is for the fair weather, all-mountain frontside skier, particularly the short turn lover and quick cruiser,” says one tester. Testers lauded the easy turn initiation and responsiveness Read more ›
The Dynastar Legend W 88 is a ski to cruise on, thanks to a freeride-oriented 5-point sidecut and an all-mountain, flat tail. “A solid contender that anyone can enjoy” says one tester about this 88-mm-waisted ski. “It’s a smooth, damp, comfortable easy ride with a big sweet spot.” Overall, testers gave the ski high marks Read more ›
Made from a combo of carbon and bamboo, the Uschi 87 Alchemist is a playful, lightweight ski with reliable edge grip and a penchant for long radius turns. “This is a different feel for a DPS ski,” says one tester. “It’s playful and yet holds a good edge on the groomers.” Testers rated the Uschi Read more ›
A cruiser favoring medium to long turns, the Nordica Santa Ana 93 suits an aggressive skier seeking a strong all-mountain ski. “Once you get it on edge, this ski provides good edge grip and stability underfoot,” says one tester. The Santa Ana 93 received its highest tester scores for Carving Pleasure, Edge-hold and Stability and Read more ›
The Blizzard Black Pearl 88 is versatile ski ideal for a wide range of skiers thanks to a balance of construction and shape, which creates a forgiving ski that can also be pushed at high speed. Overall, testers gave the 88-mm-waisted ski high marks for all categories, with highest scores in Edge-hold and Carving pleasure, Read more ›
The Head Wild Joy is a versatile Frontside ski, both nimble for its girth and stable for its lightweight construction. By now, Graphene (a material with a high strength-to-weight ratio) has become synonymous with Head. What started out as a material designed to make women-specific models light yet strong has filtered into unisex skis as Read more ›
The Kästle LX 85 is a resort-cruiser’s ski, ideal for skiers most comfortable arcing up the groomers, but occasionally skiing in soft or cut up snow. “This ski performs best with muscle,” says one tester. “It’s ready to carve and push obstacles out of the way.” Testers scored the 85-mm-waisted ski high scores for Stability, Read more ›
Shoulder Room The MSR Papa Hubba NX 4-Person was the clear loser in this criterion; the lowest ceiling height of the test combined with the smallest interior area rendered it a tight fit for four campers compared to the other tents in this test. The tent could pack four full sized adults in, but we Read more ›
Shoulder Room A quick perusal of the Copper Spur HV UL4 gives away it’s spacious internal environment: 67 square feet of floor area, 2 x 14 square foot vestibules and 50-inch head height. The floor dimensions are 86 x 96 inches. These factors, combined with the nearly vertical walls, gave this tent far and away Read more ›