Type of practice
PROGRAMME OF CHOICE
You will find many programmes.
Performance, carving, piste, leisure, all mountain, freestyle, freeride, backcountry, park, touring, free touring, light touring, splitboard.
You will also see that ski ranges are becoming more versatile so that one ski can be adapted to several programmes to allow skiers to practice more widely with one or two pairs of skis maximum.
No more need to overspend!!!
PERFORMANCE
A range of skis dedicated to thrill-seekers on the pistes who have mastered the carve and are looking for a ski that is high-performance yet versatile and comfortable. Versatility here refers to the ski's ability to control itself in short, medium and long turns, but also to its ability to go from carve to glide. On these skis, the skier looks for maximum control and acceleration, in order to find a sporty feeling on the piste. These skis are of excellent construction and very high quality.
SKID WIDTH: from 62 mm up
CARVING
A beautiful, well-groomed piste is your ultimate pleasure. You master (or are trying to master) carving go full-out on it. You don't deny yourself a little straight run, arrow or a chamois to test yourself, but speed is not an end in itself. Likewise, you ski everywhere, even if your goal is to carve crazy curves, with style and speed.
PISTE
These skis are often derived from "piste performance" skis and are designed to be progressive and reassure the aspiring skier. Obviously, the first consideration is price before skiability. "Piste" skis must allow you to skid without getting stuck, help you enter the curve by assisting the first phase of the turn, in short, they must be easy and reassuring, which does not prevent a some performance.
LEISURE
Seen from the piste, these skis are the ones that suit the most people, whatever the terrain or the level of the skier. Good anywhere, they are somewhat less effective in terms of performance and stability or the capacity to ski in slightly deeper snow. This versatility necessarily becomes a weakness if we look at the criteria one by one ... Most often accessible and facilitating, these skis are perfectly suited to skiers who are not looking for too much of a fight or who want a nice and efficient ski, but not too demanding or sharp.
SKID WIDTH: between 75 and 85 mm
ALL-MOUNTAIN
As the name suggests, these are for skiing anywhere on the mountain. All mountain = versatile. All-mountain skis are designed to tackle all terrain, including powder, ice, groomers, steeps, heavy snow and everything in between, but they are not necessarily the ultimate in any of these. If you are not looking to experiment with a specific programme, you can go for a pair of all-mountain skis.
All-purpose skis generally have a so-called "mid-fat" width of 80 to 100 mm.
The key is to know where you will spend most of your time in the mountains and what type of terrain you like to ski the most.
You will also choose this type of ski according to what you want to tackle.
FREESTYLE
Freestyle skis are all double-tipped so that you can ski forward and backward (switch). However, they are not all the same. We distinguish between two main categories: hardcore freestyle and accessible freestyle. The former are designed to send big kickers and are not necessarily easy to ski, whereas the latter allow you to learn freestyle but are above all very versatile and can be used for anything..
SKATE WIDTH: Between 85 and 95 mm
FREERIDE
All you can think about is checking the spot. For you, skiing is on the other side, where the slope is immaculate with virgin snow. And if you are never reluctant to ski on piste, the combes, the forest, the open slopes and the narrow corridors are your favourite hunting grounds. For the rest, powder is your drug, your knowledge of the environment and the snow your guardian angel.
BACKCOUNTRY
Backcountry or Big Mountain Rocker skis are first and foremost image skis, skis with generous and non-standard measurements, made for the great outdoors and to go off-piste. Unlike a few years ago, these skis are still generally skiable on the pistes and have made some interesting compromises that make them less exclusive than before. Of course, the products are specialised but often easy to use, playing on the pivot and their lift to facilitate skiing in powder while offering a different way of approaching these terrains. These are fun skis, with double tips, but not very demanding.
SKID WIDTH: between 105 and 130 mm
PARK/PIPE
Park/pipe skis, often referred to as freestyle skis, are for skiers who spend most of their time in the terrain park. If jumps, rails and beams of any kind are your passion, this is the category for you. Although traditionally park/pipe skis have narrower edges with full construction, this category incorporates more rocker models and different shapes. You will almost always find these skis with double tips and other park-specific features, with thicker and stiffer edges.
TOURING
Touring skis have recently converted to rockers, which makes them more modern and easier to handle off-piste. Light to very light, these skis have a width of between 80 and 90 mm at the skate to keep them as weightless as possible.
SKID WIDTH: between 80 and 90 mm
FREE/LIGHT TOURING
It's the new Eldorado for ski manufacturers! More than a range, it is a practice that combines off-piste and touring, all of which can now be done thanks to the enormous progress made by manufacturers, particularly in bindings and boots. In the past, touring meant sacrificing the pleasure of going downhill, while off-piste skiing made it impossible to go back up on your own, as the equipment was so heavy and unsuitable.
The logic of this range revolves around a 95 mm lightweight ski with a light binding.
SKID WIDTH: around 95 mm (but up to 125 mm!)
SEE OUR ALL-MOUNTAIN SKIS SEE OUR SLOPE SKIS SEE OUR FREERIDE SKIS SEE OUR FREESTYLE SKIS
SEE OUR PERFORMANCE SKIS SEE OUR RACE SKIS SEE OUR FREERANDO SKIS