All 2007 Ski Test data is available for subscribers at www.skicanadamag.com, so there’s not much point ?lling pages with numbers again—but maybe it’s worth reviewing some highlights.
BEST TUNING There is an unofficial competition going on among suppliers to turn out the killer tune that makes their skis feel the best they can. At Ski Canada we suspect that the fabulous tuning is the main reason why some testers come back year after year. Every brand had days when they hit the wax, but for sheer consistency in the perfect-tune department, nobody could touch Dave “Army” Armstrong at Atomic. Years of World Cup experience showed every day. Atomic was closely followed by Head, Salomon and Nordica.
BEST SENSE OF HUMOUR Scott skis were sent to the test via a series of contacts and drop-off points. Through a comedy of errors and bad timing, the skis never made it to Panorama but they were tested the following week in the Silver Star park. Despite two weeks of phone calls, Scott’s Aaron Barsanti never once lost his cool.
OVERACHIEVERS The Stöckli Sinox Fun and Salomon X-Wing Tornado, both tested by the women, shared the amazing average overall satisfaction rating of 87 per cent, the highest numbers recorded during the week.
MOST UNIQUE FEELING SKI OF THE WEEK Ogasaka has a design with a different centre of pressure than most conventional skis, but once dialed in it really works.
BEST LOVED CONSISTENTLY BY THE MEN Fischer
MOST SMILES PER DOLLAR If you’re looking for a ski that gives the most performance per penny, K2 is easily the frontrunner. Moving production to China has enabled K2 to put extra money into construction.
MOST CONSISTENT PERFORMER OF THE WEEK Atomic
MOST OFTEN RECOMMENDED FOR OFF-PISTE SOFT SNOW Movement
MOST OFTEN RECOMMENDED FOR HARD SNOW Rossignol and Atomic
MOST OFTEN RECOMMENDED FOR ALL TYPES OF SKIERS Head
SURPRISES OF THE WEEK With experience comes expectations and we thought we knew what to expect. Then Salomon showed up with a new collection of skis that blew testers away with power and ?nesse. Stöckli also revealed a new lineup that consistently impressed the test team.
MOST OVERLOOKED MODEL Nordica didn’t have a spot on the chart to enter the Hot Rod Nitrous in the regular test, so it brought it out for the Impressions Test. Testers gave it some of the highest marks of the week.
