Choose The Right Skis

Picking a ski by Jake Herbert, Owner of Facewest.

I've been into backcountry skiing for 15 years now including 8 full winter seasons (We were ski bums before we started this company). I love backcountry skiing of all types and have tried many different designs of ski. Despite what the manufacturers say, there is no perfect ski for all conditions.

Here I am talking about ski choices for a skier who does some hiking and has touring bindings on their skis.

There is a wide spectrum of ski types, some are great at one thing, others are good all rounders without being brilliant at anything. The first thing to consider is what you want out of a ski. What are your requirements. Be brutally honest about this and then pick skis that fit these requirements.

It is very tempting when picking a backcountry ski to get seduced by the fattest and heaviest models. These will of course perform well in soft conditions and will ski well at speed. But they will also most likely be sub optimal in almost every other set of conditions including going uphill. The unfortunate reality is that 90% of days are not epic powder days so bear that in mind.

I have listed the most obvious elements to think about below:

Ski Width.
Fat skis are better in powder. That is true up to a point. I'd argue that 90mm is fat enough. Beyond that you are just getting a powder ski that can go faster and faster. Do you really need that? There are lots of average skiers that can blast about on a 110mm ski. But a good skier can equally rip a powder field on a 85mm waist with style. The downside with skis above 90mm is that in general they don't perform too well in hardpack, steeps or in mixed snow conditions. Plus they are getting too heavy for the uphill.

Ski construction.
Some skis are built lightly others are heavy.
A light ski will generally have a simple wood core and therefore be light but also torsionally soft (That means it cannot resist twisting forces so well). This will make a ski that struggles to hold an edge or to transfer power. Such a ski will flap or skid about at speed when skied hard by a good skier. A ski can be made stiffer by using laminate layers (usually thin metal layers around the centre of the ski). This has a weight disadvantage but produces a ski that is stiffer. These are the skis that can be pushed harder. Sometimes more expensive materials can make a ski lighter with no compromise in skiing performance. Using expensive wood cores has allowed some manufacturers to get the best of both worlds, but often at a price premium.

Making your choice.
Think about your target use and your strengths and weaknesses.

Some recommendations for different types of skier:

• Target: I like to Ski resorts, off piste and go touring.
  You need a good all rounder, but one that will give you smiles on the downhill too. My choices would be: Movement Spark, K2 Backup or Movement Logic
  Best binding would be the Diamir Eagle.


• Target: Most of my skiing is in resorts, I like to Ski off piste and want a ski to focus on this part of my skiing. I only do ocassional hikes.
  Go fatter and stiffer! Our choices here are the Movement Pariah, K2 Sideshow or the Black Diamond Warrant
  Best binding would be the Diamir Freeride. Or Marker Duke.


• Target: Regular ski tourer, but want a ski I can also enjoy at the resorts.
  Lightish All Mountain skis are the best choice here. Our suggestions are : K2 Backup , Movement Blaster or BD Aspect
  The Diamir Eagle would be the binding of choice.


• Target: I am a regular ski tourer, I want a ski to be optimised for this area.
  Pick a light ski and add a set of or Diamir Bindings for ease of use or Dynafit bindings for minimum weight. My ski choices here are Movement Iki, Movement Logic Black Diamond Stigma


• So what do I ski? I wanted a ski that can cope with day tours and backcountry resort skiing. I'm planning a few trips to the alps mostly for resort skiing and backcountry touring. I also hope to get a couple of week in British Columbia. This season I am trying the K2 Sideshow. That is a great "compromise" ski. 90mm underfoot is fine for powder. It is stiff enough to rip up most slopes (but not really stiff). It wil carve up the pistes and it's just light enough to take on day tours (but not really light) . So it works for me because it is a good all rounder. I might be tempted to get another very light setup for hut to hut touring if I go on that type of trip, in which case the Movement Logic with Dynafit bindings is high up on my list.