Category Winners - Fall-Line Ski of the YearRead why they won...
Piste ski of the year
Head Supershape Titan – the most tested ski in Bormio, it delivered in all the crucial areas. A smooth blaster which liked longer turns despite a tightish 13m turn radius, the Titan just edged out the Blizzard G Force range and Fischer Progressor 8 thanks to serious rack appeal, in part due to the new KERS system. Some testers claimed to detect a shove out of the turns; we'll simply acknowledge that it's a great ski with useful extra width underfoot (75mm against, say the 70mm of the standard Supershape) which gives more stability when flat out. (Interestingly, no-one noted that rocker skis were any more stable than the unrockered piste skis.)
All Mountain Ski of the Year
Atomic's Nomad Blackeye Ti– with its new wood core and improved graphics, is our all-mountain ski of the year. We like the whole Nomad range, and the Blackeye hits the mark for the UK with a more piste bias but the promise of off-piste potential. That piste performance is very strong - everyone commented on how punchy it was. A perfect ski to grow into and develop a skier's ability over several years.
Freeride Ski of the Year
Atomic Access – we said the Atomic offering was good when we first saw it, and it's proved to be the case. The Atomic Access was a hotly debated winner of the freeride category because it suits and flatters newer freeriders, rather than established steep-hunters. Classics like the Volkl Mantra and Line Prophet 100 were strongly considered and will become Hot Tips, but for putting a big grin onto many of our testers' faces and giving them a great story to tell skiers looking to go deeper off-piste without getting a full-on fattie, the Access grabs it.
Freestyle Ski of the Year
K2 Silencer – last year we rewarded innovation; this year we're returning to roots. In particular, UK freestyle's dryslope-shredding, rail crunching, dome-riding essentials. And that's cheap, poppy and tough as old boots. The K2 Silencer looks like the outgoing Extreme, keeping sidewall construction, fantastic all-mountain ability and a £200 price tag. It'll sell by the lorry-load, and deserves to.
Big Mountain Ski of the Year
Rossignol S7 Open Freeride – this is one of the more fashion-led areas of the rack, but it's seen some action thanks to a couple of decent seasons. We're looking for some sort of 'get me down this piste in one piece' capability but crucial areas are making pow a blast, holding it together at high speed and giving riding gods the ability to do extraordinary things. And they need to look the nuts, too. So, with strong competition from the Atomic Bent Chetler and Line 'Franny B' (Sir Francis Bacon - see these skis even have pet names), this year's winner is one of the most talked about rides around - the Rossignol S7 Open Freeride.
Posted by Dickie Fincher - Thu, 22/04/2010 - 11:03am
Read why they won...
Piste ski of the year
Head Supershape Titan – the most tested ski in Bormio, it delivered in all the crucial areas. A smooth blaster which liked longer turns despite a tightish 13m turn radius, the Titan just edged out the Blizzard G Force range and Fischer Progressor 8 thanks to serious rack appeal, in part due to the new KERS system. Some testers claimed to detect a shove out of the turns; we'll simply acknowledge that it's a great ski with useful extra width underfoot (75mm against, say the 70mm of the standard Supershape) which gives more stability when flat out. (Interestingly, no-one noted that rocker skis were any more stable than the unrockered piste skis.)
All Mountain Ski of the Year
Atomic's Nomad Blackeye Ti– with its new wood core and improved graphics, is our all-mountain ski of the year. We like the whole Nomad range, and the Blackeye hits the mark for the UK with a more piste bias but the promise of off-piste potential. That piste performance is very strong - everyone commented on how punchy it was. A perfect ski to grow into and develop a skier's ability over several years.
Freeride Ski of the Year
Atomic Access – we said the Atomic offering was good when we first saw it, and it's proved to be the case. The Atomic Access was a hotly debated winner of the freeride category because it suits and flatters newer freeriders, rather than established steep-hunters. Classics like the Volkl Mantra and Line Prophet 100 were strongly considered and will become Hot Tips, but for putting a big grin onto many of our testers' faces and giving them a great story to tell skiers looking to go deeper off-piste without getting a full-on fattie, the Access grabs it.
Freestyle Ski of the Year
K2 Silencer – last year we rewarded innovation; this year we're returning to roots. In particular, UK freestyle's dryslope-shredding, rail crunching, dome-riding essentials. And that's cheap, poppy and tough as old boots. The K2 Silencer looks like the outgoing Extreme, keeping sidewall construction, fantastic all-mountain ability and a £200 price tag. It'll sell by the lorry-load, and deserves to.
Big Mountain Ski of the Year
Rossignol S7 Open Freeride – this is one of the more fashion-led areas of the rack, but it's seen some action thanks to a couple of decent seasons. We're looking for some sort of 'get me down this piste in one piece' capability but crucial areas are making pow a blast, holding it together at high speed and giving riding gods the ability to do extraordinary things. And they need to look the nuts, too. So, with strong competition from the Atomic Bent Chetler and Line 'Franny B' (Sir Francis Bacon - see these skis even have pet names), this year's winner is one of the most talked about rides around - the Rossignol S7 Open Freeride.