2011 Ski Reviews

Many magazines have hit the mailboxes with all the new 2011 Ski Reviews. Remember when using these magazines as guides that sometimes these reviews go the way the magazines want them to go. How can a ski get “Ski of the Year” one year and the very next year it is in the lower end of the category. Yes times change but if the skis do not change then what caused a ski to get rave reviews one year and poor the next. Advertising has a large part to do with it, typically companies that sponsor a review or take out large advertisements in magazines typically score better on their skis. Companies who do not advertise many times will have down graded scores. The other thing to watch out for is if the ski was tested in the correct category or not. If you have an all-mountain ski that is being tested in the big mountain powder section it will most likely get a poor score as that is not what that ski was designed as. Some skis are hybrid so they fit in multiple categories and when you try and pigeon hole it into one category it is not going to score nearly as well then if it were tested in multiple situations as it was designed. Be sure to email and call shops who have actually skied on the skis themselves and ask their honest opinion. Most shops if they liked or disliked a ski will tell you up front what they thought of it and why, just because they don’t like it does not mean that it will not be a good ski for you. With different skiing styles comes different skis and skiers. Just like cars not everyone likes the same thing, but good shops are going to be able to tell you why you would like a ski or why you would not like the ski once you tell them more about your skiing style, ability and where you tend to ski on the hill.