Articles
How to Fit a Ski Boot
Fit for Skiing: How to select and fit a ski boot What You Should Be Thinking Let your bootfitter worry about dialing in the right fit; you should focus on the performance aspects of the boots you're trying on. Your bootfitter can assist you in this arena as well, but...
Archived Symbols and Definitions
Archived Symbols and Definitions Camber Profiles elite-level carvers traditional camber, including twin tips, no pronounced tip or tail rise (other than normal twin tips) early rise tip only, including long rocker - no tail rocker, usually cambered underfoot - by far...
Alignment—What is it Good For?
Absolutely everything! The late iconic super-coach Warren Witherell was first to quip that the average skier can improve more by having boots aligned than through an entire season of private lessons. Warren doesn't malign lessons—quite the contrary—but his wry...
About Women’s Skis
The relationship between the male-dominated universe of ski manufacturing and the women’s skis it has spawned over the years has been a one-sided affair. To say the attitude of the ski industry towards women-specific models was condescending would be admitting that...
Where Did My Camber Go?
Adventures Below the Zero Line Now that we are firmly planted in the Age of Rocker, a lot of marketing focus has been trained on the ski’s camber line, or, in the absence of camber, its baseline. For the purposes of this essay, let’s consider a completely flat ski—one...
Best Ski for Master Racers?
Which Ski: Full Race or Prosumer Race? Head World Cup Rebels i.GS M/W - FIS approved for World Cup... and mostly unobtainable Head World Cup Rebels i.GS RD- FIS approved for Masters Head World Cup Rebels i.GS - 18m radius, identical construction to RD models Head...
Ski Tuning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-HkPtILe4k
How to Ski in One Hour
Nothing maximizes the fun factor like a perfect fit. The best hour you can devote to improving your skiing this year doesn't involve taking a lesson, doing yoga exercises, watching an instructional video or even (stifled gasp) reading a riveting web site. You don't...
Unsubstantiated Speculation
Why 98mm-Waisted Skis Rule the All-Mountain Category Ours is an era of unrivaled specialization in the ski department. On top of the already dizzying profusion of race models (that the public rarely sees) are fully populated genres that pop up every time the ski waist...
When to be Actual and When to be Aspirational?
The Savvy Shopper Series A great many new equipment buyers face a common conundrum: should they buy for the skier they are today, or step up in performance (and price) and acquire gear they can grow into? If they opt to step up, is there such a thing as a step too...
A Peak Behind the Velvet Rope
New Product Review As realskiers subscribers, it’s only fitting you be granted special access to what lies ahead in the pantheon of skis. I had a good look at the near future over a 3-day span at the recent Mammoth Mountain trade fair. The official industry-only...
A Peak Over the Horizon
It’s too soon to reveal particulars about the 2015 ski model universe, but the overall shape of next year’s market is already clear. There’s no sea change afoot, no sudden shift in the paradigm. Instead, change will be evolutionary, following a cycle of renewal...