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Ski Magazine 2013 Ski Tests

Are Ski Magazine's Buyer's Guide Results Important?

  • Yes

    Votes: 9 47.4%
  • No

    Votes: 10 52.6%
  • Not Sure

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    19

skidmarks

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This is the time of year that I'm doing the behind the scenes legwork to get ready for the upcoming ski buying season. The season starts to kick off in mid August when Ski Magazine's Buyer's Guide comes out. We've already tested the skis back in Feb-March and made our buy. All the same I'm very interested in what Ski's Testers have to say. This year they are letting us know ahead of time what skis they're testing.
http://www.skinet.com/ski/article/2013-test-skis-field-set
How important are Ski's test results to you??
Sometimes Ski Magaine hits the nail on the head other times I wonder if we tested the same ski.
We test skis mainly at Stratton VT, Ski Magazine at Snowbird Utah. In the past Ski magazine used to also test at Sugarbush to put an Eastern Spin on the results. If you want "Hard Snow" we have that here in the East!!

More on Suburban's Testing
http://suburbanskiandbike.blogspot.com/2012/06/suburbanskiandbikes-ski-test-at.html

Rolf testing an Atomic Mixed Snow Twin Tip at Stratton
StrattonOnSnow2012_343AZ.JPG
 

snowmonster

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Thans for this, skidmarks! I know people around here pooh-pooh the Ski rankings. They are fun to read though and give me a quick idea of what's out there and how they stack up against each other. However, I usually enjoy the rankings in Skiing more. It's a more fun read and the ski selections tend towards the off-piste and flat skis.

Re: Rossi Squad 7 - This is on the monster hit list. I thought they would have it only in a 190. Looks like they have a 176 model too. Sweet.
 

HowieT2

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I have a hard time relating the reviews to how the ski would actually perform for me. there are so many variables, testers weight, height, style, mood and snow conditions that I prefer to just see the skis grouped in categories with their specifications so that I can demo the category I like.
 

marcski

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I kind of agree with Howie. While I read the buyer's guides yearly, I view them more as an advertisement as opposed to an actual "review" of the ski.

Also, As HowieT2 stated, there are too many variables to make them really worthwhile. I'll also add to his list:
Personal preference, skiing style and the relative vocabulary of the reviewer and the way in which the reader interprets those words all add too much uncertaintly IMHO to make magazines' ski reviews a solid reference manual.
 

snoseek

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Not too interested in the skis they are testing.
 

Edd

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This paragraph caught my interest:

"You’ll notice that some companies get more skis than others. It’s a controversial approach among the manufacturers who get fewer entries, but we do it for the reader. The number of skis allowed each brand is based on two factors: market share and performance in last year’s test. By factoring in market share, we reflect what’s actually out there in the shops. (No use giving a ski a Gold Medal if you can’t find it for sale anywhere.) By factoring in past-year’s performance, we reward companies, however small, for doing well in the test—because we want to focus on the good skis and waste less time on the dogs. In the end, doing well in the test is the quickest way for a brand to get more skis in next year’s test, which should in turn help them to sell more skis and gain larger market share. Makes sense to us."

I'm skeptical of the notion that they are presenting the amount of skis per brand based on market share purely due to the ability of the customer to locate a certain ski. If I want to find a ski, believe me, I'll find it.

It seems more likely that the brands with the larger market share are the larger advertisers in the magazine blah blah.... Probably an obvious observation.
 

skidmarks

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Cham 97

did you ski any of the new Dynastars?

I skied on the Cham 97 a couple times last year.

The first time was on firm snow at the Stratton Demo and I can report that they were skiable. They wouldn't be my first choice on Hard Snow but it wouldn't be a deal-breaker.

The second time the conditions were perfect for this ski, Deep Wet Snow. It was pure joy skiing in the bottomless mank with this ski. I can only imagine how much fun it's going to be in Powder.
You'll see this ski in our rack come August http://suburbanskiandbike.com/Dynastar-Cham-97-12-13-skis-DA2K201166/

 

Abubob

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As a skier who has asked for a specific ski based on Skiing Magazine's test and sold on another ski I can tell you - never - NEVER - will I allow another salesman to sell me down because I don't ski 100+ days. I know my abilities and the descriptions offered in the magazine are very good to what the ski can and can't do.
 

St. Bear

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That.

I don't understand buying skis without 'demoing' them yourself.

Francois

I recently did this. Found a cheap pair on sale, and couldn't pass up the price. I did get a solid recommendation from Puck It, so it's kind of like he demoed them for me.

I got to ski them my last 2 days of the season, soft spring conditions at Whiteface, and I loved em.
 

skidmarks

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As a skier who has asked for a specific ski based on Skiing Magazine's test and sold on another ski I can tell you - never - NEVER - will I allow another salesman to sell me down because I don't ski 100+ days. I know my abilities and the descriptions offered in the magazine are very good to what the ski can and can't do.

Sorry to hear you didn't get the right ski. What we do at Suburban would have helped out. If we suggest a ski for you and you don't like it (after couple days skiing and undamaged) you can return it for a credit towards another pair.

I think Ski Magazine does some great testing however I'm not a fan of their "Hard Snow" Category. Most of the skis are 80+ and they test the skis for attributes such as Floatation and Crud which distorts the end results.
 

fbrissette

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I recently did this. Found a cheap pair on sale, and couldn't pass up the price. I did get a solid recommendation from Puck It, so it's kind of like he demoed them for me.

I got to ski them my last 2 days of the season, soft spring conditions at Whiteface, and I loved em.

I'll admit I have been guilty of doing this often, especially when I was younger (and shorter on cash...). But this has been a 'hit and miss' proposition. I'll rephrase and say that I fail to understand why would anyone get skis at retail price and not demo them. You can always get skis cheaper on the net, but in my case, I would say that I usually end up paying 100-150$ more than ebay's best price for the privilege of trying unlimited ski pairs. Changed skis last year, and based on magazine reviews, the first pair of skis I demo'ed were Volkl Mantras. I hated them and would have been miserable since these were the ones I would have bought based on reviews. Demoing also gives you the chance to zero in on the right length. Wrong length is another way you can screw up your skiing experience, and choosing the right length is a lot trickier now that you have all sorts of camber/rocker profiles and that length measurement is not even standardized with respect to twin tips measurement.

Nobody would think of buying shoes without making sure they fit perfectly. I fail to see why this should be different for skis. I know that 95%+ of all skiers never demo skis, but until they do, they'll never realize what they might be missing. The first time I demoed, I tried 7 pairs of advanced all-mountains skis from 4 different makers (on paper, very similar skis). Some I hated immediately, a few I wasn't sure, and then, one pair just fitted perfect. It was very clear after just a few turns. It's been similar to that everytime I have demoed and bought since.

My tips for demoing are as follow:

-wait for the right conditions for the type of skis you want to get (no point in demoing powder/soft snow skis on icy groomers and vice-versa)
-go during the week (non busy weeks), so turnover is fast at the shop (they set your next pair while you are skiing)
-it is best to demo on a smaller hill. For many skis, you won't need 2000' vertical to know if it's good or bad for you. Much easier to go back and forth to finalize brand and length.
-think of it as a full-day affair. It is business. Go alone or even better, with someone that demos with you.
-most shops will charge you anywhere between 100$ and 200$ for the privilege of demoing skis (from a few pairs to unlimited). If you buy skis from them, they'll deduct the same amount from the price of your skis.

Francois

Francois
 

fbrissette

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Sorry to hear you didn't get the right ski. What we do at Suburban would have helped out. If we suggest a ski for you and you don't like it (after couple days skiing and undamaged) you can return it for a credit towards another pair.

I think Ski Magazine does some great testing however I'm not a fan of their "Hard Snow" Category. Most of the skis are 80+ and they test the skis for attributes such as Floatation and Crud which distorts the end results.

I concur. One of the main problem with ski reviews is that they are mostly done out west. Conditions don't really match what we have out in the east. Hard pack, more ice and much tighter trees.

Francois
 

bigbog

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I skied on the Cham 97 a couple times last year.

The first time was on firm snow at the Stratton Demo and I can report that they were skiable. They wouldn't be my first choice on Hard Snow but it wouldn't be a deal-breaker.

The second time the conditions were perfect for this ski, Deep Wet Snow. It was pure joy skiing in the bottomless mank with this ski. I can only imagine how much fun it's going to be in Powder.
You'll see this ski in our rack come August...

That ski looks promising....
 
Last edited:

Sky

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Is anyone else slightly disappointed in this year's Ski Mag Gear Review? I agree with the above statement about demoing....and if you're a fan of a certain brand (or ski-origin...e.g., Austria / France / etc)...it probably doesn't matter if your brand came in 3rd or 7th.

I was glad to see my Atomic Crimson Ti (albeit NOT this year's model :> ) ranked 3rd. But I demo'd it before buying. I save these mags just to be able to review when I go to buy last year's (or older) skis...or to help pals with their choices (hopefully they demo first).

And boots....talk about importance of demo (read "fit")! Does it matter of Ski Mag likes a boot or not? Proper fit, appropriate flex, foot beds?...alignment check? Bam! That and a decent tune from a proper source and you will succeed.

Meh...I guess you can consider this year's Ski Review as ski porn....albeit (IMO) in need of "enhancement" (nudge nudge, wink wink).

*end rant*

*I blame the meds*
 
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