How we test
Unique among ski tests
Our test process varies from that of other major testing organizations, especially from those of newsstand magazines like SKI and SKIING.
- We accept no advertising from ski companies. Our tests are independent and free of advertiser pressure or "advice." This project is subscriber supported, like Consumer Reports.
- We test all season, beginning in December and continuing through May at venues from Vermont to California. Our print colleagues do most of their testing in a single 5 day period in April at one Utah resort.
- We use dozens of ski shop employees from shops located around the country for our test. These shop employees as a group complete thousands of test cards on hundreds of ski models, indicating what they did or did not like about any given ski. It is from these cards that we derive our 'overview' comments.
Additional testing is conducted at Alta and Snowbird. During this testing, we do use professional ski testers, who do not tell us what they like or not, but who evaluate each ski on specific performance criteria: carving, soft edge, rebound, stability, straight run, quickness, lightness and forgiveness.
With testing complete, we sort thousands of test cards, to create the most comprehensive ski review database available. We review about 200 current models and maintain a growing database of more than 1000 past seasons' skis.
This database is backed up by available personal technical support in which we answer individual questions and provide advice on equipment choices.
Why non-professional testers?
Our test skiers include a large number of shop employees— unlike news-stand magazines, we don't rely exclusively on ex-racers, demo team members and the like, all of whom have contracts with various equipment suppliers.
Because we use skiers who ski an average number of days (20+/-), our crew provides a "snap shot" of the universe of recreational skiers (real skiers) and the reports are, in effect, peer reviews.
While we attempt to test skis in every condition, it's impossible to replicate the hundreds of combinations of tune, surface condition, available lengths and so on. In the end, the only test that counts is your own.
What about kids?
Some visitors have expressed disappointment that we provide no information on children’s equipment. We share that regret.
The truth is that we haven't figured out how to test kids' gear. Manufacturers do not produce pre-sales prototypes as they do of adult equipment; we literally have nothing to test. Moreover, even if we could find skis to test, we do not know how to collect meaningful performance data from kids.
The best bet is to locate a shop that specializes in children’s equipment. Many full service shops, in resorts and cities alike, provide programs specifically tailored to younger skiers, with options to trade equipment at reasonable rates as physical size, strength and skill increase. Forming a good relationship with such a shop is the best way we can think of to assure a good ski experience for children.
