1 year (4 issues) for $20 + tax! Outside Canada is additional for postage.
Every January hundreds of international ski brands gather for their annual conference to showcase their latest gear, and Ski Canada is there to look, listen, poke, and prod. The result each year is our buyer’s guide to the best new alpine ski gear.
Knee Deep in Research It’s never a good idea to end up in the back seat, but especially on skis. Add a bit of a twist, arms behind you, weight on the inside edge of your downhill ski and you’ve just created the prescription for tearing the anterior cruciate ligament, ACL, aka the most common … More »
A better puffy Everyone needs a down jacket for staying warm at rest stops, on chilly summit tops or organizing in parking lots. Down on its own is fine, but the latest crop of puffies is giving the sleeping bags with sleeves a 21st-century upgrade. Marmot West Rib Parka: Marmot doubles down. First it stuffs … More »
Backcountry Gear 2020 – Gear & Gadgets Helly Hansen’s Odin Mountain 3L Shell Jacket ($600) and Bib Pant ($475) offer minimum build and maximum features from a helmet-, backpack- and harness-compatible design to ergonomically correct pockets, all in Helly Tech Professional 3-layer, water/windproof breathable fabric. The durable pant’s three thigh-high pockets put everything in its … More »
What you need to know about buying ski goggles Here are three main variables to consider when goggle shopping. 1. Lens shape: Lenses are either spherical, curving horizontally and vertically, or cylindrical, only curving horizontally. Spherical has less distortion and glare. Making cylindrical lenses is a simpler process, so they are often less expensive. … More »
Backcountry Gear 2020 pt 2 EXPEDITION The essence of backcountry skiing is exploring. It’s wandering up a valley to see where it will go, crossing mountain ranges to get to the other side, and climbing mountains because, well, they’re there. The distances are often far and the vertical gain is often high. Weight, breathability and … More »
Backcountry Gear 2020 Editor’s Choice pt 1 Less stiff = more fun Blizzard totally redesigned its Zero G line of skis, softening them up a bit to make them a little more fun and forgiving to ski without taking away too much performance. It started with construction, wrapping the paulownia wood core with carbon fibre … More »
The day trip is the realm of the powder hunter who wants to get away from the madding crowd. It’s for those who are as devoted to finding untracked snow as they are to ripping it up on the way down. For them gear needs to find that middle ground: light and efficient for getting … More »
Slackcountry For most of us this is where backcountry skiing begins and ends. This style of resort-accessed backcountry goes by many names: slackcountry, sidecountry or simply off-piste. Whatever you call it, bootpacks and skinning time (if indeed there’s any skinning involved) are short, so downhill performance trumps weight. Boots for walking Do-all ski boots designed … More »
Faction Dictator 2.0x – women BEST FOR: Women (and confident men) who want a ski that can do it all—and love pink. LENGTHS: 155, 163, 171 DIMENSIONS: 127/96/117 RADIUS: 18@171 SUGGESTED RETAIL: $849 OTHER MODELS: 1.0X Apparently everyone loves this dictator. The hot pink topsheet attracted them, but it was the effortless turns in soft … More »
Test 2020: K2 Mindbender 98 Ti Alliance BEST FOR: A B.C. quiver of one. LENGTHS: 154, 161, 168, 175 DIMENSIONS: 134/98/120 RADIUS: 16@168 SUGGESTED RETAIL: $700 OTHER MODELS: 115C, 106C, 90C, 88 Ti, 85 When K2 launched the Mindbender series, it made some big claims. Quick edge-to-edge. Amazing float. No speed limit. Grips hard snow. … More »
Every January hundreds of international ski brands gather for their annual conference to showcase their latest gear, and Ski Canada is there to look, listen, poke, and prod. The result each year is our buyer’s guide to the best new alpine ski gear.
Knee Deep in Research It’s never a good idea to end up in the back seat, but especially on skis. Add a bit of a twist, arms behind you, weight on the inside edge of your downhill ski and you’ve just created the prescription for tearing the anterior cruciate ligament, ACL, aka the most common … More »
A better puffy Everyone needs a down jacket for staying warm at rest stops, on chilly summit tops or organizing in parking lots. Down on its own is fine, but the latest crop of puffies is giving the sleeping bags with sleeves a 21st-century upgrade. Marmot West Rib Parka: Marmot doubles down. First it stuffs … More »
Backcountry Gear 2020 – Gear & Gadgets Helly Hansen’s Odin Mountain 3L Shell Jacket ($600) and Bib Pant ($475) offer minimum build and maximum features from a helmet-, backpack- and harness-compatible design to ergonomically correct pockets, all in Helly Tech Professional 3-layer, water/windproof breathable fabric. The durable pant’s three thigh-high pockets put everything in its … More »
What you need to know about buying ski goggles Here are three main variables to consider when goggle shopping. 1. Lens shape: Lenses are either spherical, curving horizontally and vertically, or cylindrical, only curving horizontally. Spherical has less distortion and glare. Making cylindrical lenses is a simpler process, so they are often less expensive. … More »
Backcountry Gear 2020 pt 2 EXPEDITION The essence of backcountry skiing is exploring. It’s wandering up a valley to see where it will go, crossing mountain ranges to get to the other side, and climbing mountains because, well, they’re there. The distances are often far and the vertical gain is often high. Weight, breathability and … More »
Backcountry Gear 2020 Editor’s Choice pt 1 Less stiff = more fun Blizzard totally redesigned its Zero G line of skis, softening them up a bit to make them a little more fun and forgiving to ski without taking away too much performance. It started with construction, wrapping the paulownia wood core with carbon fibre … More »
The day trip is the realm of the powder hunter who wants to get away from the madding crowd. It’s for those who are as devoted to finding untracked snow as they are to ripping it up on the way down. For them gear needs to find that middle ground: light and efficient for getting … More »
Slackcountry For most of us this is where backcountry skiing begins and ends. This style of resort-accessed backcountry goes by many names: slackcountry, sidecountry or simply off-piste. Whatever you call it, bootpacks and skinning time (if indeed there’s any skinning involved) are short, so downhill performance trumps weight. Boots for walking Do-all ski boots designed … More »
Faction Dictator 2.0x – women BEST FOR: Women (and confident men) who want a ski that can do it all—and love pink. LENGTHS: 155, 163, 171 DIMENSIONS: 127/96/117 RADIUS: 18@171 SUGGESTED RETAIL: $849 OTHER MODELS: 1.0X Apparently everyone loves this dictator. The hot pink topsheet attracted them, but it was the effortless turns in soft … More »
Test 2020: K2 Mindbender 98 Ti Alliance BEST FOR: A B.C. quiver of one. LENGTHS: 154, 161, 168, 175 DIMENSIONS: 134/98/120 RADIUS: 16@168 SUGGESTED RETAIL: $700 OTHER MODELS: 115C, 106C, 90C, 88 Ti, 85 When K2 launched the Mindbender series, it made some big claims. Quick edge-to-edge. Amazing float. No speed limit. Grips hard snow. … More »
1 year (4 issues) for $20 + tax! Outside Canada is additional for postage.