The Buyer's Guide 2008 issue published August 27, 2007.
The Buyer's Guide 2008 is available on newsstands across Canada until March 31, 2008.
VOL. 36 NO. 1
COVER Photo: RYAN CREARY, Rogers Pass, B.C. | Cover Illustration: MARTIN GAGNON
Contents
GEAR GUIDE 2008
By Martin Olson, Technical Editor
SKIS 2008
Fat and in shape will get you everywhere.
Versatility is front and centre in this year’s gear.
BOOTS 2008
More choices, more categories, more for your
dollar: your local ski shop can fi nd a fi t for any foot.
BINDINGS 2008
Whether for the groomed, big mountain,
backcountry or terrain park, bindings have quietly
kept pace with the specifi c needs of skiers.
SKI CANADA TEST 2008
PART I: ON-PISTE CRUISERS AND ON-PISTE CARVERS
From the slopes of Lake Louise, the longest running
magazine ski test will point you in the
right direction.
Written by Paul Cunnius, Technical Editor (Test)
FEATURES
REV IT UP
Get ready: Revelstoke Mountain Resort promises big vertical, big snow and big development.By Steven Threndyle
9 FOR THE ROAD
The road from Calgary, that is. Here’s what’s new at the big arc of resorts in Alberta and B.C.’s East Kootenays. By George Koch
SHORT TURNS
Good news for knees, where is Kelowna Mountain?, the red menace, new {Black} skis, Whistler's Peak-to-Peak Gondola, Banff Book and Art Den, and more.
CROSSHAIRS
The Ski Canada photo gallery featuring in this issue the spectacular mountain action photography of Stephane Godin, Jordan Manley, Grant Gunderson, Greg Martin and Ken Gallard.
GEAR OPENING
Fat and in shape will get you everywhere. Versatility is front and centre in this year’s gear.
BY MARTIN OLSON, TECHNICAL EDITOR
Crystal-ball gazing is risky business for a technical editor, but a week in the aisles
at the last Ski Industries Association show in Las Vegas gave a grassroots hint at
the direction of ski products of the future. One insider from a major manufacturer
proclaimed, “Carving is dead as a doornail.” Maybe he meant carving skis as a category. The
problem is that specialized, one-trick-pony skis are harder to sell to a skiing population that
can ski Chickopee one week and Lake Louise the next. It can be confusing, too. For example,
since skis have become wider and twintips more common, it’s more and more diffi cult to tell
the difference between a freeride ski and a park-only freestyle ski. What most skiers really
want is a ski that works in a variety of conditions. To serve that need, expect a new breed of
versatile skis to hit shelves this fall. These skis are on the fat side (80-mm waists are common)
and feature lots of shape, but are softer than traditional carving skis. Most brands call them
“all-mountain” or “all-terrain” skis, but they are more realistically versatile than all-mountain
skis of past years. Think of a fat guy who is incredibly fast on his feet. This new versatility
was abundantly clear at the instruction tips photo shoot in the spring with Paul Cunnius, Ski
Canada’s new technical editor for testing. He cut up the groomed and danced through the
bumps on a pair of K2 Outlaws that measured in at a beefy 88 mm!
The one-ski quiver is back in favour—especially appreciated by those checking-in at the airport.
SAMPLE BRAND REPORTS
Atomic
The Big Picture Atomic is proving that it's much more than the Austrian company that dominates the world of ski racing. Key performance-enhancing technologies, such as B5 in Metron skis and Powerbridge for race skis, have been supplemented by B5 Connected and Integral Bridge. They both offer comparable performance benefits but are lighter. The Izor line is gone, but nanoframe technology continues in a number of skis. Atomic's Nanotechnology is the science of creating an ultra-thin coating of individual atoms and molecules that is up to 50 times harder and lighter than steel.
K2
The Big Picture It's old news now, but youthful K2 was one of the first to move manufacturing to China. Despite original scepticism, the result is top-quality skis at a great price. Also, by collaborating with Boeing Laboratories, K2 has emerged as a leader in mass damping for skis, filtering out unwanted vibration and imbalances. Marker provides the binding technology on all K2 systems.
Rossignol
The Big Picture After 100 years and millions of skis, it's no wonder that Rossignol is a world leader in winter sports equipment. To further boost the development of women's gear, Rossignol has created True Colors, a specialized team of women composed of freeskiers, nordic specialists and World Cup veterans to steer the next generation of women's products.
Salomon
The Big Picture It's difficult to summarize the huge range of Salomon products available. Sixty years of design and innovation is brought to bear on this year's collection and Salomon seems to be positioning itself as the all-mountain specialist. The X-Wing range has been expanded and the all-new Aero line features a totally new hybrid construction technology for carving skis. Indeed, it's difficult to find any part of the line that doesn't benefit in some way from new technology or progressive design concepts. Here are just a few of the highlights.
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