THE TEST ITSELF ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

In 2008, the Ski Press Ski Test turned sweet 16. That makes this the 16th edition of an institution that dates back to 1992. Like a child becoming an adult, the test over time has matured, with changes in the testing methodology designed to better do what the Ski Press Ski Test does so well: Help skiers buy skis.

Once again, Mont-Sainte-Anne and Whistler-Blackcomb were our gracious hosts. The two resorts represent the full gamut of skiing possibility — -Mont-Sainte-Anne with its classic mix of Eastern trail skiing, and Whistler-Blackcomb with its -classic mix of Western big-mountain skiing. Mont-Sainte-Anne was great for skis with narrower waists designed for occasional racing, groomed-snow carving, -park-and-pipe trickery, and some all-mountain freeriding. The terrain at -Whistler-Blackcomb was ideal for testing fatter, big-mountain boards.

The Ski Press test team, 184 strong this year, was hand-selected from -expe-r--ienced skiers from all walks of the sport. Many were instructors with high certification levels who spend 100 days or more on snow every winter. For some models, we also asked for input from recreational ‘sport’ skiers.

Each tester was asked to test up to a dozen skis a day, taking two to three runs on each model to determine how well it performed, particularly for the terrain and conditions it was designed for. The test ran for four days at Mont-Sainte-Anne and three at Whistler.

The result?? Each ski was subjected to as many as 60 test runs. Skis were ranked from 1 to 10 for various criteria, from stability at speed to forgiveness to edge grip to versatility. Testers also added personal comments, providing additional insights into the skis’ performance. Once the onsnow -testing was complete, all the criteria scores were totaled up, averaged, and then ‘normalized’ to elimi-nate unusual scores and to account for different testers’ varied scoring patterns.

The criteria scores are included in each write-up, so you can compare the relative strengths and weaknesses of each ski.

WHAT ENDS UP IN THE MAGAZINE |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

In each category, the top eight skis are included in Ski Press magazine. There are many different skier types, skiing styles and skiing priorities, so simply choosing the highest-scoring ski overall doesn’t necessarily make sense for every skier. Additional high-scoring skis are included on the website at -skipressworld.com. Even better, our one-and-only Ski Finder is there, too. It’s the world’s best — maybe only — personalized Ski Finder.

The statistical data are the main criteria used to select the top skis, but that doesn’t explain everything. That’s why in the write-ups we’ve relied heavily on tester comments. Finally, in each write-up we are including icons (see chart on right) to highlight a ski’s outstanding characteristics.

We’ve provided info about the skis. But before choosing a ski, you need to assemble a portfolio of info about yourself: where you ski, how you ski, what kind of skiing you prefer. Then seek out the ski that makes the best match. On the following pages, we’ve provided help with descriptions of where each kind of ski fits in the big picture.

Finally, don’t just take our word for it. If you get a chance, try before you buy. As any of our 184 testers can tell you, nothing beats trying a ski yourself to determine if it’s perfect for you.

HOW TO READ THE WRITE-UPS |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

• ID: Names of the manufacturer and of the ski model tested. When we identify a ski as a women-specifi c that means it’s made specially for women.
• Normalized Score: The scoring is corrected so that the occasional ‘rogue result’ doesn’t distort the testers intentions.
• Dimensions/Tested length: At the tip, at the waist, at the tail, in millimeters. It reflects the sidecut of the ski./The length of the ski we tested.
• Radius: The arc or size of a turn. Long-radius turns are wide and deep,
• while short-radius turns are quick and shallow.
• Flex: The stiffness of the ski while in motion. A soft ski will feel like it
• absorbs changes in terrain, whereas a stiff ski will transfer all the energy
• directly to you.
• Price: The cost of the ski. Includes the binding when it’s part of the package.
• The write-up: a summary of the shared assessment of our team of
• testers in ra ting each ski for a variety of criteria.
• Icons Explained: We’ve used the following icons to highlight the outstanding feature of each ski, when com pared with other skis in the
• same category.