SKI GEAR FOR 2023
PHOTO SAMO VIDIC
Something’s got the epic Glen Plake excited: must be the awesome bits of kit that are heading our way…
WORDS DICKIE FINCHER
There’s always a tingle when we turn up at the annual SIGB Ski Test (an industry test where retailers and media have the chance to demo next season’s skis, boots and bindings). We’ve normally seen all the models at shows or manufacturer viewings, but this is where the specs come to life.
We won’t ask for your sympathy because, of course, it’s an absolute hoot being able to test so much awesome kit in one place – but, we have to tell you, it is one of the most exhausting weeks of skiing we could imagine. We spend five days in Kühtai, Austria, hammering around 10 skis, and often several boots, a day from first lift to last. So, how is the gear looking for next season? Here’s a sneak peek at some of the key trends and most exciting pieces of kit for next winter.
Kühtai: the perfect spot to hammer around on some spankin’ new kit
“If there’s a ski out there that’s got my name on it, I better be happy with the end result or I wouldn’t have signed off on it. So yes, I’m really excited about the result. And you know what’s going to be weird, is seeing people out on it. That’s reality for me, to be skiing along someday and see somebody skiing on my skis, that’s when reality is going to hit.”
Glen Plake on his new signature ski: Elan Ripstick Tour 104
The ski test in Kühtai is a gear lover’s paradise
TRENDS
The overall trends on the manufacturing side are towards recycled materials. What this sadly isn’t doing is reducing prices; along with all other products, ski gear is going up and quality skis – the sort we’d invest in rather than rent – are now over £500 with bindings.
Boots too are moving north of £600 for top-spec touring models. The quality of design and materials is generally high, adding to the longevity of any gear you buy – despite access to test equipment, we still use some great decade-old kit by choice.
Atomic’s Backland 95: effective and great value
The biggest growth in terms of products is in freetouring. As with all of these niches, working out exactly what defines ‘freetouring’ depends on who you talk to. We define it as gear that’s great fun on the downhill and doesn’t hamper the uphill... too much.
The skis and boots are light yet powerful, but are they really the unicorn setup that works everywhere? Maybe, because you can still make the decision to fit alpine rather than pin bindings to most of these skis.
Having said that, one of the most interesting new models is the Elan Ripstick Tour 104 Glen Plake special, and Plake is on record saying this lightened Ripstick works best with tech bindings. Mind you, he is a man who jumps off cliffs on touring kit, so he doesn’t play by normal rules.
Let’s take a look at some of the other kit that caught our attention.
Tyrolia and Head’s Protector bindings are designed to reduce knee injuries
BINDINGS
If you are looking for a lightweight alpine binding, Salomon/Atomic’s new Strivecomes in at under 2,000g and sits noticeably lower to the ski. It has a long nose allowing for increased elastic travel over most bindings. In further binding news, Tyrolia and Headhave rolled out a range of Protectormodels. The Protector design has lateral release to reduce ACL strain – the heel piece slides sideways to reduce the twisting action in a fall. We have tested this…
Kü-pow!
TOURING SKIS
In addition to Glen Plake’s signature model, there are lots of other new touring skis to get excited about. A long term favourite - the Blizzard Zero G 95 - gets a construction update to make it a little less stiff and more accessible. There’s a new Kore Tour range from Head (our favourite is the Kore Tour 99) and Scott's new Pro Guide 96 is another epically light yet genuinely skiable rig. At £500, Atomic’s Backland 95 remains one of the better-value touring skis around. Just a few pounds more is the Nordica Enforcer Unlimited 94, followed by the Völkl Blaze 94 at £590.
Sticking with this width – considered by many as the sweet spot for up and downhill action – sees a selection of excellent skis at £650 and above, including the Faction La Machine Mini 2.
Many skis and boots are carried over from last year’s non-season, though this is building on a trend to keep products in production for longer for reasons of efficiency and sustainability. Making new moulds and rendering products obsolete after one season isn’t acceptable these days.
PISTE, FREERIDE AND ALL-MOUNTAIN SKIS
Piste and freeride skis have several significant players introduced or upgraded. Atomic’s Redster Q and women’s Cloud Q series are wide-body (75-85mm) piste skis designed for changeable conditions with added dampening material. Head have been using a piezo-electric damping system for several years and their Supershape series, upgraded last season, gets the latest version of this to deliver a smoother ride across various widths from 68mm-84mm underfoOT.
Fischer’s RC4 top-end piste ski is The Curv, which was updated for last season and has three variants. They gained a multi-radius sidecut and carbon fibre reinforcement for the core and around the centre of the ski. Völkl’s Deacon piste and all-mountain range gets new 72 and 76mm performance models with a double metal layer and lightweight carbon-reinforced (and see-through) tips.
Volkl’s Deacon 72
FISCHER’S RC4 THE CURV
The Flair SC Carbon takes some of the tech in a lighter, female-friendly version. Other worthy female-focused piste skis include Blizzard’s Phoenix, Nordica's Belle and Dynastar’s new E-Lite 8, which is part of a range that starts at the super-accessible 2 and tops out at the 9, with a mega-tight 13m turn radius and narrow 68mm underfoot.
Freeride and all-mountain skis remain popular with Brits buying their own kit, especially now they’re increasingly easy and fun to use on-piste. Why take a ski that is only suited to one type of terrain when you can have it all?
Rossignol introduced the updated all-mountain Experience range last season, and the wider skis are separated into the more powerful Sender Ti range, and the more playful Blackops, which fully replaces the popular Soul 7 series by getting additional widths. Both have shapes designed to be nimble as well as handle off-piste conditions. Both are good value too, with the Sender 94Ti coming in at £450 (without bindings).
Salomon’s QST is completely revised and is now a good balance of freeride float and remarkably flickable piste usability. These are useful traits also found in the narrower Völkl Kendo and Kenja. If you want wider, Atomic’s new Bent 90 and 110 are freestyle-inspired lightweight twin tips, which ski incredibly ‘short’ for their size, as does the extremely versatile new Dynastar M-Free 99– one of our top picks for a wide ski that feels a lot more manoeuvrable than you’d expect.
VÖLKL KENJA 88
SALOMON QST 106
Not a bad day in the office…
BOOTS
In boots, we’ll pick out the new Rossignol Hi Speed piste performance models with low-energy production methods yet a very classy finish for shell and liner.
Other new piste models include Dalbello’s Veloce, which gets a shell shaped to account for common foot issues as well as a dual-density plastic to make entry and exit easier. In the Atomic Hawx series, the Magma 2.0 gets a new toe shape and several models get upgraded Mimic liners for easier, snugger fitting.
The Scarpa Quattrois the touring specialist’s new performance four-clip model, which retains an effective walk mode and hiking sole. Head have redesigned their Kore freeride touring boot to give a much better walk flex, but if you want to go super light the Dynafit TLT X delivers another level of uphill performance and gets a revised sole shape to aid crampon compatibility – which tells us exactly where its users are looking to explore.
K2’s Dispatch is another serous entry in the freeride touring category, with strong downhill performance and a rapidly adjustable Boa system in the liner – this is a steel wire lace system seen in snowboard boots that you dial up to the tension wanted. It gives a very precise fit, though at a cost – they will be around £600.
WHAT ELSE…
There’s barely space to cover other elements, but continuing the backcountry theme is the new collaboration between mountain safety experts (and high-end manufacturers of clothing and packs) Ortovox and makers of high-end technical gear, Arc’teryx.
Electric airbags have been heavy, but this system weighs in at 1.1kg and the capacitor technology allows for two inflations over a five-day period, making it viable for a multi-day ski tour. It’s also classed as flight safe. Both companies will sell packs incorporating the system including the Avabag LITRIC Tour 30 from Ortovox and the Rush 42 Litric pack from Arc’teryx. Prices are yet to be confirmed.
Clothing and accessory updates, and more technical information on next season’s gear, will be out in the next issue of Ski+board, hitting doormats this autumn.