Our Best / Worst Ski Ideas for 20/21
We’ve created the most cutting-edge lineup of skis for the coming season, so here are our best (or worst) designs to meet the current moment.
Topic of the Week
Saving Weight in Your Backcountry Ski Setup
Next up in our ‘Saving Weight in Your Backcountry Ski Setup’ series, reviewer Paul Forward discusses where he chooses to cut weight in his backcountry gear, and where he opts to keep a bit of weight for better downhill performance.
Which Ski for Which Superhero?
What would Captain America, the Incredible Hulk, and other superheroes ski on? In honor of the life and imagination of Stan Lee, we’ve selected just the right ski for a whole slew of superheroes.
Timely Words from Conrad Anker
Yesterday afternoon, the great alpinist, Conrad Anker, posted what he called, “a short essay on being positive.” And they are words worth far more than the time it takes to read them. Check out the full essay here.
What’s The Most Painful Sport?
Yesterday, a bunch of runners completed the Tahoe 200, a 205-mile race that a couple participants finished in under 50 hours. Which is insane. So that got us wondering: What’s the most painful sport to be the best at? We came up with a few contenders, and we want to hear yours.
Best and Worst Product Names
In honor of Outdoor Retailer kicking off today — where we’ll be checking out a ton of new products with both very good, and very bad names — we figured it’d be a good time to go over some of the best, and worst product names we’ve ever seen. Check out what we’ve put together, then let us know your own nominations for Best or Worst. (And by the way, consider this post at least PG-13. Also, that pictured Kayak is called the Cocaine, FWIW.)
Bikes vs. Skis, Part 1 (Ep.21)
Which ski company is most like which bike company? Who is the Moment Skis of the bike world? And which ski brand shares the most family resemblance with Yeti or Transition? Jonathan Ellsworth has been having this discussion for years with Blister’s bike editor, Noah Bodman, and we’re now taking it public. So give it a listen, then let us know where you agree, where you disagree, and where you’ve got the better analogies.
Alternative Outdoor Snacks
Granola bars are great, but sometimes you either run out or you feel like switching it up. So we asked our reviewers to give us some of their alternative outdoor snack suggestions, and we’d love to get some of your suggestions, too.
Bullying in Outdoor Sports: Reactions & Responsibilities (Ep.71)
Last week, professional climber, Sascha Digulian, announced that she has been bullied for years by a fellow pro climber. A firestorm of responses ensued, and sponsorships were terminated. So we discuss why this is more than just some isolated issue in the climbing world; whether the brand sponsors did the right thing; and what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate responses — by each of us — to situations like this.
5 Reasons Why Spring Skiing is the Best Skiing
We’ve been doing a whole lot of spring skiing this year, and yesterday, one of our editors was arguing that spring skiing is the absolute best type of skiing. We heard him out, now you can. And we invite you to tell him why he’s wrong, or what reasons he left out. Check it out
Ski Terms (What We Talk about When We Talk about Skiing)
Talking about skiing and snowboarding can sometimes feel like a foreign language. So in this new piece, we’ve clarified a few terms, and we want to know what terms, concepts, or expressions you might be wondering about?
What new gear are you most excited about?
We’ve been talking a lot about the new 18/19 gear, and now we want to know which products have you most intrigued…
DIN Settings, Age, & Related Questions
How do you decide when to run your DIN settings higher or lower than the chart recommends? And how much of a factor should age really be?
What does it mean to talk about the “top end” of a ski?
What do we mean when we talk about the “top end” of a ski? Let’s clarify…
East-Coast vs West-Coast Skis?
In our latest Topic of the Week, we dive into the question of how important “location” is for selecting the right ski.
Blacked-Out Topsheets & Objective Ski Testing
Would blacking out topsheets make ski tests more objective? Here’s our take, and we want to know what you think.
Down vs. Synthetic: Ethical & Environmental Issues
Is down insulation a “green” material? How do synthetics compare? We discuss the environmental and ethical impacts of insulation in our Topic of the Week.
Big vs. Small Ski Companies — Who’s Building Better Skis?
When it comes to building the best skis, do the big brands have the edge, or is there an advantage to being the little guy?
Construction Changes in Longer (and Shorter) Skis?
We put this question to a number of ski designers and asked them to weigh in. See what the designers from ON3P, Renoun, K2, and Moment had to say.
On Pinkbike’s eFailure
Pinkbike announced this week that they’ll be ramping up coverage of eMTBs. Here’s why we think that’s very problematic.