2014-2015 Blister ‘Best Of’ Awards

[Note: To see the 15/16 edition of the Blister ‘Best Of’ Awards, download our 15/16 Winter Buyer’s Guide.]

If you’re familiar with how we operate at Blister, you’ll probably understand why awards like these make us nervous.

“Best” can be a very arbitrary term. Some piece of gear might be great, but it typically isn’t the best at everything, and it may not be the best option for you.

That’s exactly why our regular reviews aren’t short. The devil is in the details, and the sum of those details is what determines whether a product will be terrible for you, okay for you, or perfect for you. Without specific, accurate details, reviews are pretty useless.

Still, we do like to acknowledge great work. And the Blister ‘Best Of’ Awards point to those products that have really stood out.

We’ll also then direct you to our full reviews, where you can do further research to decide if these selections are the best fit for you, or whether you should spend more time in our Ski Review Index, or our One-Ski Quiver, Two-Ski Quiver, or Three-Ski Quiver Selections, etc.

Four Rules:

1) We are not assigning 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place rankings within a particular category.

If a product is listed here, it means that we believe it ranks among the very top of its class.

2) We’ve only considered products that we’ve spent real time with.

This should, of course, be obvious, but the review world is a funny place. Some review outlets give awards to stuff that they’ve hardly tested (or haven’t at all). We don’t. If you want to brush up on how we do things, check out the Blister Manifesto.

3) Selections must be of current products.

However, products that have undergone minor tweaks and are currently available are fair game.

4) No company has paid to get their product on this list.

Blister is different. We don’t accept any money from any of the manufacturers we review. We don’t allow them to buy advertising on our site. We’ve created a truly level playing field so that you can be certain that our selections are based on merit, not marketing budgets.

Ok, enough rules and caveats. On to the Blister ‘Best Of’ Awards:

Best Goggles

• Anon M2

There are a number of good goggles on the market, but there is nothing this good. In fact, the Anon M2 goggle might be the best product in the entire snow sports industry.

• Anon WM1

The WM1 has the same interchangeable lens technology as the Anon M1 and M2, but has a smaller frame designed for narrower, female faces. The WM1 is the simplest and fastest google for women when it comes to changing lenses, and has great optics and a stylish, clean look.

Best Ski Jackets

• Arc’teryx Caden

The Caden is an excellent, fully-featured hard shell that can guarantee you’ll stay dry in sustained rain or snowfall.

• Fly Low Lab Coat 2.0

The FlyLow Lab Coat 2.0 has our favorite freeride fit, is also fully featured, and while it wouldn’t be our first choice for sustained, severe weather (see the Caden above) it breathes better than the Caden, while still offering very good weather protection.

• Westcomb Apoc

While both the Arc’teryx Caden and the Lab Coat 2.0 can be used for resort riding and backcountry touring, the Westcomb Apoc gets our award for Best “50/50” jacket, and Best Touring Jacket. It doesn’t have all of the pockets of the Caden or Lab Coat 2.0, but it is also quite a bit lighter and more packable than them. If you spend equal or more time touring than skiing between the ropes, this is our top pick. (Full review coming soon.)

Best Midlayers

• Patagonia Nano Air

Super breathable, super comfortable, and super versatile for a broad range of activities.

• The North Face Radium

The Radium isn’t a standard fleece jacket; it’s made from Polartec Thermal Pro High Loft, a very low density, relatively thick fleece fabric with a great warmth-to-weight ratio. It doesn’t block wind well as an outer layer, but the Radium is our benchmark for warm, highly breathable midlayers.

• Women’s Arc’teryx Cerium LT

The Arc’teryx Cerium LT provides a whole lot of warmth in a relatively light package.

Next: Ski Boots

Best Alpine Ski Boots

• Tecnica R9.8 130

The R9.8 is precise, with a powerful and progressive flex that is dialed.

• Salomon X Pro 120

The customizable, heat moldable shell of the Salomon X-Pro 120 allows for a very snug, comfortable fit. Our pair has held up very well over 100+ days, and it has an excellent combination of power and forgiveness.

• Lange RS 120 S.C.

The Lange RS 120 S.C. is a very solid alpine boot with a shorter cuff that strong, aggressive skiers, and particularly former racers, will really like. The slightly wider last (97mm) also makes it a more comfortable option for those who want a high-performance boot to ski hard inbounds, but would rather not squeeze into a plug race boot.

• Dalbello KR 2 Kryzma I.D.

The Dalbello KR 2 Kryzma I.D. is a high-performance alpine boot that has exceptional lateral stability and responsiveness. It is a fantastic option for aggressive female skiers who may have smaller, narrow feet.

Best A/T Boots

• Tecnica Cochise 130 Pro

The Cochise 130 Pro is our top choice for an alpine boot with a walk / hike mode.

• Black Diamond Shiva Mx

The Shiva Mx is a great “one boot quiver” option that places a bit more emphasis on downhill performance. If the Shiva Mx fits your foot well, then it is a solid, comfortable AT boot for those who spend some time touring, but also want to be able to ski aggressively inbounds.

Best Touring Boots

• La Sportiva Spectre

The Spectre is light for ascents, still quite capable on the way down, and cheaper than the competition. There may not be a better deal in ski touring boots.

• Scarpa Maestrale RS

Especially, if you are a fan of three-piece Cabrio-style boots, the Maestrale RS deserves a serious look. It’s nice and responsive laterally, has a beautifully progressive flex pattern, a very well executed walk mode, and, to top it off, comes in at a very attractive weight.

NEXT: Gloves, Socks, Ski Poles

Best Gloves

• POC Wrist Freeride

The POC Wrist Freeride has proven to be a great every-single-day glove. We’ve gotten away with wearing it on days that should have been either too hot or too cold, but managed to stay pretty comfortable, just the same.

• Hestra Fall Line 3-Finger

The Fall Line are some of our favorite 3-Finger gloves. They’re very warm while remaining comfortable in a wide range of temperatures, are very durable, and break in nicely, offering good dexterity.

• Black Diamond Guide Lobster Mitt

Black Diamond’s Lobster Mitt is nice for especially cold days (with temps below ~ 15° F), or if you don’t want to worry about maintaining a pair of gloves made from 100% cowhide (like the Fall Line, above).

Best Ski Socks

• Darn Tough Over-the-Calf Ultra Light

The Darn Tough Over-the-Calf Ultra Light has been one of our go-to socks over the last few years. They are thin, don’t have padding, and are extremely durable. Even though they are not the thinnest socks available, they are comfortable and truly built to last.

• Smartwool PhD Ski Ultra Light

Speaking of really thin socks, the Smartwool PhD Ski Ultra Light is still our go to, and an excellent choice for those who have a very tight shell fit.

Best Aluminum Ski Pole

• SCOTT Team Issue

The SCOTT Team Issue is an icon, and it’s proven over the years to be the most durable aluminum pole that any of us at Blister have ever used. While lighter weight, carbon poles certainly have their place, for hard, everyday skiing, the Team Issue gets our highest recommendation.

Next: Skis

Best Men’s All-Mountain Skis – Firm Conditions

These skis are carvers that are also highly capable in firm, off-piste conditions.

• Salomon X-Drive 8.8 FS, 184cm

The X-Drive .8.8 FS is an extremely capable ski with a big sweet spot. Advanced and expert skiers will love it, and strong intermediates that are looking for stability, predictability, and power ought to demo it. For any terrain or any snow condition other than 10 or more inches of pow (e.g., ice, slush, soft chop, firm crud, refrozen death cookies, etc.) this ski is outstanding.

• Rossignol Experience 100, 182cm

If you like high edge angles and speed, value precision in steep, technical terrain, but also want a ski that will still plane and float on deeper days, you ought to check out the Experience 100.

Best Women’s All-Mountain Skis – Firm Conditions

These are carvers that are also highly capable in firm, off-piste conditions.

• Blizzard Samba, 173cm

The Blizzard Samba is a fairly damp, directional ski that does a great job at cutting through any sort of firm conditions. It feels solid, stable at speed, and is a great carver.

• Volkl Aura, 170cm

The Volkl Aura feels a littler more nimble than the Samba, but still has impressive hardpack performance and can be skied hard and fast through firmer conditions.

Best Playful All-Mountain Skis

For those who like the looser, more forgiving feel of a tail rockered ski, or who want a light and playful ski to trick around the mountain.

• Line Sir Francis Bacon, 184cm

Cliff notes version of Jason Hutchins’ reviews of the 184cm and 190cm Bacon: Of all the skis I’ve ridden, I’d call the Bacon the most versatile one-ski quiver option currently available for the playfully-minded, all-mountain skier.

• Blizzard Peacemaker, 186cm

Quite versatile in it’s own right, the Peacemaker is a bit stiffer than the Sir Francis Bacon, which makes it a bit better suited for skiing in firm, variable conditions.

• Salomon Rocker2 108, 190cm

While the Peacemaker leans more toward firm conditions than the SFB, the Rocker2 108 is more soft-snow oriented.

• Nordica Soul Rider, 185cm

The Soul Rider is the most legit park ski of these four selections (its used by many of Nordica’s park team riders), but it is also a whole lot of fun around the rest of the mountain. It is forgiving and intuitive for intermediates, fun and energetic for advanced and expert skiers.

Best Versatile Pow Skis

These skis are fun in pow, but they don’t need pow to be fun.

• Moment Blister Pro

Our all-time favorite “playful charger” is back.

• Blizzard Bodacious, 186cm

We are eager to put more time on this ski, but the Bodacious blew us away down in New Zealand. So much fun.

• Kingswood SMB, 187cm

The SMB is the fattest of our selections, but it also has the most traditional shape, which lets it continue to shine when those pow stashes vanish.

Best Women’s Versatile Pow Skis

• 2014-2015 Line Pandora, 172cm

The Pandora is a versatile, every day ski for softer snow conditions. For a 110mm underfoot ski, the Pandora still carves nicely on piste, but is an absolute blast in fresh snow, soft chop, and more playful, open terrain.

• Rossignol Savory 7, 178cm

The Rossignol Savory 7 is a light, fun ski that does best in consistent snow and softer variable snow. It is quick and easy to turn, but can still handle a little more aggressive skiing in more consistent conditions.

Best “50/50” Skis (Resort + Backcountry Touring)

• Volkl V-Werks Katana, 184cm

The V-Werks Katana offers the best combination of dampening + light weight of anything we’ve skied. So it can handle hard skiing in rough resort conditions, while not being a chore to drag uphill.

• Rossignol Soul 7, 188cm

For those who approach the mountain with a more playful, lighter touch, the Rossignol Soul 7 is a great choice for going up and getting down.

• Rossignol Savory 7, 178cm

Paired with light tech bindings, the Rossignol Savory 7 would be a great backcountry ski: it’s surfy, playful, and fun. This ski performs best in soft and consistent snow, but can handle variable snow just fine at slightly slower speeds.

Best Skis for Beginners (which is not the same as saying, Best “Beginner’s Skis”)

We ski because it’s fun. And anyone new to the sport ought to get on skis that will allow them to really enjoy their first time on the mountain.

That’s why crappy rental skis with flat tails make us cringe. We go into a lot more detail about this in our Skiing 101 article on the topic, but for now, we’ll just say that the best skis for beginners are also skis that work exceptionally well for some advanced and expert skiers, too. They are easy to turn, relatively light weight, and have a huge sweet spot that makes them very forgiving.

• Rossignol Soul 7

• Rossignol Savory 7

The fact is, Rossignol’s “7 Series” skis are dead easy, intuitive skis that are ideal for beginners, and are loved by a lot of advanced and expert skiers, too.

We haven’t yet skied the Rossi Sin 7 and Saffron 7, but the Rossignol S3 was our all time favorite “Ski for Beginners,” and none of the modifications of the S3 that now appear in the Sin and Saffron 7 have us seriously questioning that they will be less good than the S3. If we’re wrong, we’ll let you know, and we will be getting on the Sin 7 soon.

• DPS Wailer 99 & DPS Nina 99 Hybrid

Another easy choice here. The Wailer 99 Hybrid and the Nina 99 Hybrid (the women’s version of the Wailer 99) are quick, work very well at slower and moderate speeds, have a large sweet spot, and a wider, stable platform. They are light and fun.

• DPS Wailer 112RP & DPS Yvette 112RP, Pure or Hybrid

Same reasons, wider package. We have friends who are expert skiers who use the 112RPs as their everyday skis, in all terrain and all conditions. And we wouldn’t hesitate to put a newer skier on these, especially if they were interested in getting into some softer, deeper snow.

Next: Pow, Crud, and Park Skis

Best Dedicated Powder Skis

• DPS Spoon, 190cm

If you’re looking to surf and drift deep powder, the Spoon wins.

• DPS Lotus 138, 192cm

If you’re looking to surf deep powder, but want something that is surprisingly composed when you encounter firm conditions or have to ski a groomer back to the lift, then the Lotus 138 wins.

• Praxis Protest, 187cm

The Praxis Protest is an outstanding pow ski that also excels in deep, chopped up snow. It’s still very much a pow ski, so we’re not recommending that you break it out when there is little fresh snow around (for that, see our “Versatile Powder Skis”). But the more variable your “pow” days tend to be, the more inclined we’d be to reach for the Protest. This ski hasn’t changed much, and there is absolutely no reason why it should.

Best Playful Pow Skis

• Atomic Bent Chetler, 192cm

Directional skiers who like to ski hard and fast and drive the shovels of their skis will like the Bent Chetler. And skiers looking to trick all over the mountain will like the Bent Chetler. It doesn’t really add up, and that’s exactly why it made our ‘Best Of’ list.

• Line Magnum Opus, 188cm

From Will Brown’s review: “If you’re looking for a powder ski to take out on deep days to search for natural features to spin, flip, and drag, I can’t think of a better ski for the job than the Line Magnum Opus.”

Best Crud Skis

• 4FRNT Devastator, 194cm

Reviewer Paul Forward, whose everyday ski in Alaska has been the 193cm Blizzard Cochise, still calls the Devastator the most stable ski he’s ever been on—more stable than the 193 Cochise, the 188 Rossignol RC112, and the 195cm LINE Mothership. Ok, then.

• DPS Wailer 105 Hybrid T2, 185cm

DPS places the Wailer 105 Hybrid T2 in their “All Mountain / Mixed Snow” lineup, and “Mixed Snow” is the perfect description for where the 105 Hybrid shines. It’s not our first choice for frozen coral reef (see below), but for skiing at very, very high speeds through a mix of some soft chop, smooth ice, and / or some nasty chunky frozen terribleness, this ski is very capable.

It’s not the easiest ski out there, and Thank God for that. There are plenty of easy skis on the market, and DPS is already making some very good ones that shine at moderate speeds in consistent conditions. Now they’re also building skis with big top ends that shine in mixed conditions. Kudos, DPS.

• Blizzard Cochise, 185cm

We were very nervous to hear that Blizzard was tweaking the Cochise. This ski has been a favorite of ours, and we’re relieved to say that it is still a favorite of ours. This is the easiest of the three skis in this category, and it retains the title that we gave it a few seasons ago: Forgiving Charger. It is not a demanding ski, yet it smoothes out firm and refrozen off-piste conditions in a very impressive way.

Best Competition-Oriented Park Skis

• Fischer Nightstick, 181cm

The Nightstick is the most stable and predictable ski on big jumps that we’ve reviewed.

Best Jib-Oriented Park Skis

• Armada Al Dente, 178cm

The Al Dente’s soft flex profile makes butters and presses effortless, and its width and tip rocker gives it a very surfy feel for park riding.

Next: Snowboards and Boots

Best Board for Firm Conditions  

• Burton Custom X, 164cm

The Burton Custom X is a cambered, stiff board made for pointing it out of technical terrain, and it can be driven hard through chunder. The camber helps to eliminate any chatter on hardpack, and the board has great edge hold.

• Venture Zelix, 158cm

The Venture Zelix is a solid, durable board that is stable at high speeds in firm, variable conditions. The Zelix is flat underfoot, which makes it quite versatile in a wide range of conditions, yet it still has good edge hold.

Best Board for Pow

• Gentemstick Zephyr, 160.5cm

If you’ve been to Japan, you will know a Gentemstick by the turns it leaves on the mountain. These boards are designed specifically for the deepest pow days, and offer a super surfy feel. The Gentemstick Zephyr provides that loose feel in the tail for deep powder, great float in the nose, and flexibility to handle changes in the terrain.

Best Splitboard

• Lib Tech Travis Rice Split HP

The Lib Tech Travis Rice Split charges lines with the same power and speed of the un-split Travis Rice board, while still maintaining the freestyle qualities that make it so fun around the entire mountain. The board’s C2 BTX camber/rocker design helps the Travis Rice Split float in pow, yet it can still be ridden aggressively when the snow gets firmer. Karakoram clips make it quick to take apart and put together.

Best Boots

• Burton Ion

The Burton Ion has been a staple in Burton’s line up for about ten years, and while there have been some minor changes to it over the years, the latest Ion is one of the best boots available. The Ion is light, durable, and uses Burton’s Shrinkage Footprint Reduction Technology, which makes the boot’s footprint one size smaller to alleviate heel and toe drag.