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There is no question that we are in an age of a worldwide economy. Not only are products being used in regions halfway across the globe from their originating country, but brands are combining efforts with competing brands. To quote Peter Venkman, "Dogs and cats living together". The ski...

If you yell loud enough, eventually they will listen or the squeaky wheel gets the grease and manufacturers just want to shut us up and appease us. Either way you look at it, manufacturers are listening to what is said on SkiTalk, specifically when it comes to bindings. All four major binding...

Sorry, this is nothing new. It has been going on for a while and I just get fed up enough to type out this rant regarding why the ski industry's pricing of gear, if you really think about it, just does not make sense. Why is it that two skis using the same construction from tip to tail and in...

Crab cakes and football, that’s what Maryland does. Well, blue boots and racing are what Lange does. There is a long established history of Lange and racing and, while they have had race boots in various colors such as black, yellow, orange, pink, and of course, purple haze, it is the blue boot...

Yes, BOA is taking the lions share of the attention for the coming season. Atomic, Fischer, K2 and Salomon are putting their eggs in the BOA basket and both the positive and negative buzz that has been created is beyond anything we have seen in the boot world in recent memory, even more than the...

You want to know what is going on in the US ski market? All you have to do is look at the automotive industry. There was a time when sedans and wagons ruled the American automotive landscape. The best selling cars for years at the high water mark in the late 1970’s were the Oldsmobile Cutlass...

Recently, we had fun doing some retrospective articles of iconic collections including the Look Pivot and the Salomon SX Series of boots. With the help of former Salomon employee/rep/racer, Jim Schaffner, we had another chance to go back in time to look at the Salomon Driver series of bindings...

Sometimes the easiest answers are the most obvious ones. I saw the Bootcaps on a few coaches and professionals last year and they peaked my interest. Those who are on snow as a profession along with those who suffer from cold toes know the pain and discomfort that goes with having cold digits...

Salomon introduced the Strive collection of bindings for the 2023 season (Preview HERE). It was immediately acknowledged that the brand was all in with the new design and that the Warden as well as Sth2 bindings had a short future from that point. Salomon was adamant that the new Strive design’s...

Skiing gear is less expensive now than it ever was. I stand by that statement. Do not get me wrong, gear is not cheap, but it has not kept up with inflation. There is no need to get into the previous century since many of our readers have not been buying gear for more than 25 years… at least...

Motive, ProMTN, RCOne. Fischer has a long history of making skis in the upper 70 mm to mid 80 mm range that were standard bearers in the category. These have been and are now the skis that other manufacturers gun for. Enter the all new 2025 The Curv collection. For Fischer, this is a...

Sacrilege, right!?! All over the actual and virtual ski worlds, the Look Pivot is the be all and end all of ski bindings. There is no question the Look Pivot has one of the most loyal followings of any product on the market, it is one of the few products that, if a shop does not carry the Pivot...

Blizzard Unveils New Black Pearl Collection, Reinforcing the Ski’s Legacy as ‘The Boss’ - Just Like The Skier They Serve. WEST LEBANON, NH (JAN 2, 2024) – Blizzard is proud to introduce a brand-new collection of their iconic women’s all-mountain skis, the Black Pearl. One of the best-selling...

There is a segment of skiers who are being dismissed by the ski industry, the Lilliputian skiers, the adult skiers with tiny feet, who need a 21.5 boot. These skiers need to stand up and be noticed. Sorry, you are standing up. In recent years boot brands have stopped producing 21.5 adult boots...

We are nearly 25 years into the 21st century, and there is one piece of ski gear from the 1980's and 1990's that just will not die: the Salomon SX series of boots. Specifically, the SX92 makes many appearances in the wild these days, but let's talk about how that started. All the naysayers...

BOA Technologies feels the days for boots buckles are numbered and they have the data to back it in the linked study: Evaluating wrapping alpine ski boots during on-snow carving. Recently we were invited to the BOA Technology headquarters in Denver, Colorado to tour their extensive facilities...

The 2024 SkiTalk.com ski reviews are live. We have well over 225 reviews live of the 2024 reviews and we are proud to say that more than half of the reviews are either women specific skis or offered in sizes for women which makes it one of the most extensive offerings on the web. LINK TO...

We sat down with Dennis Gaspari, Dynastar/Looks Vice President of sales to discuss the history of the Look Pivot from the first models that arrived in 1963 to its current incarnation. The Look Pivot can easily be dismissed as just a turntable heel with a lot of elasticity, but it really is a...

Well, this is what we've all been waiting for! At least some of us. I finally got to take the new for '24 Lange Shadow 130 LV out for its maiden voyage. With the departure of the very popular Lange RX series, the Shadow has some big shoes, er, boots to fill. Before you ask, no, I have no direct...

We have been going to the Outdoor Retailer show for over a decade, and every year we see brands trying to get a foothold in the industry. Sadly, more often than not, we don’t see them the following year. The 2023 show in Salt Lake City was no different. This is where we ran into a new jacket...

After things really slowed down during the Covid years, I really expected a backlog of new exciting skis to come down the road. But for next season, carry over and New Graphic Technology (NGT) dominate. Don’t get me wrong, there are some pretty cool skis coming, but not the windfall of product...

Kästle is looking to be a full line manufacturer, and to do that you need a boot line. When Kästle re-emerged as a ski brand in the mid 2000's, they started at the top of the ski performance range and therefore set a new standard. I was able to preview their new K130P performance, consumer...

There are a lot of Alpine Vises out there and it can be confusing to know what the differences are between them. There are 4 main Toko Alpine Ski vises. They are Ski Vise Express, Ski Vise Race, Ski Vise World Cup, and Ski Vise Freeride. Here is a summary of these vises and their differences...

When it comes to discussing bindings, there are few sites that go down the rabbit hole or into the weeds like SkiTalk, and here is another binding piece that dives into the details. We’ve discussed before what you gain when you purchase pricier bindings: You are not so much buying a bigger...

There are few places on the internet where the readership will get pulled down the rabbit hole in binding discussion, and SkiTalk.com is one of them! At SkiTalk we can discuss bindings until even the most experienced skier’s eyes glaze over, and even at that point, we are just getting started...

Dahu has been around for a while, I recall seeing them at the Copper trade show back in 2015 or so. Even though the current Dahu boot/exo skeleton looks similar to the earlier incarnations, the fit and function are generations better. Since the earlier designs, Dahu has gone through some...

You can access our 2023 ski reviews by using our handy dandy SkikiTalk.com Ski Reviews in the title bar or by clicking on the Ski Reviews banner on the home page. This ski selector will let you click your way through well over 200 2023 skis along with past years models, a great option is you are...

(Reno, NV) So, you’re just skiing along and your pole snags on something and you feel your arm pull back, twisting your wrist and torquing your shoulder. Or, you don't use your straps at all, lose your grip on your pole and have to hike back up hill to retrieve the renegade pole. Maybe you're...

Philpug and Winks talk about the 80-90mm segment The 80 mm to 90 mm segment of skis has the most diverse mix of shapes as any millimeter-width range in the industry. Along with having many different types of offerings, it is probably the segment in which many skiers look for that elusive...

From Verde Brand Communications Last season the ski world took notice when Scarpa rolled out its new quiver-killer boot. The 4 Quattro XT is billed as the lightest hybrid GripWalk-compatible boot out there, and I was lucky enough to snag a pair for a trip to France and Italy last March. My...

We do like our new shiny objects, specifically skis. We are always looking for that next great ski to fall in lust with, the golden child, the new hot commodity. Well, another year, another ski ... a brand that we heard whispers of, rumors, and hell, even Exotic Ski hasn't tested them yet. We...

I have been able to spend a few days in the new Kästle K130P ski boot. The K130P is Kästle’s top of the line non race collection boot. They are also offering two 91.5 mm last full bore race models, K 130R and K150R. Kästle, as a brand, is looking to be a full line company, and to do that you...

Background: There is an old saying, the early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese. Tyrolia’s new Protector binding is the epitome of being a second mouse. No, Tyrolia is NOT the first binding to offer lateral release from the heel; this concept goes way back to the plate...

The first main stop of SkiTalk senior management’s January 2022 tour was the Winter Sport Market trade show in Salt Lake City. At this three-day show, we met up with one of our newest partners, Hotronic. For those unaware, Hotronic is partnered with Wintersteiger, the industry’s back-end giant...

Product Launches are always informative and fun. This year, Volkl/Dalbello/Marker invited us to magnificent and picturesque Sun Valley, Idaho for the launch of Volkl’s new Kendo, Kenja, and Mantra 102, along with Dalbello‘s 100mm-last Veloce collection. Weather and snow conditions could not be...

For many, waxing and tuning skis surpasses basic maintenance; it is more of a religion. I do not proclaim myself a wax geek as some of our readers are. SkiTalk has dozens of skis in its test fleet, and maintaining them takes a tremendous amount of time and effort; for someone who enjoys a glass...

SkiTalk would like to welcome Hotronic into our partnership family. Hotronic is one of the oldest names in the heated boot market, a name synonymous with warm feet. Todd Carroll, Hotronic Product Manager, wanted to start the relationship off on the right foot with a contest awarding an S4+...

Ski locks have been around since well, since there have been people with sticky fingers and help themselves to the “No cost upgrade”. The earliest locks I remember were Barrecrafter; then, in the mid 80’s, the SkiTote flooded the industry. The SkiTote, a handy-dandy nifty-thrifty device, was...

Ruh roh! We would have gotten out of Michigan if it hadn’t been for those pesky local ski builders! While Michigan is home of some of the largest auto manufacturers in the world, it is also home to Shaggy’s Copper Country Skis, a small independent ski builder in Boyne City, Michigan. We haven’t...

The category of premium 80mm skis always impresses. Last year we talked about the Augment All Mountain 77, DPS Alchemist 79, and Renoun Atlas 80 along with the reference ski Stöckli Laser AX. We also discussed some other considerations if you would like to revisit the previous article. For...

Many of these article ideas come from you, our readers. In this case, @DocGKR raised a subject that I have been dancing around for the past few seasons, and now I feel it is time to shine the spotlight on a trend that we are seeing more of in the industry. We have been seeing the replacement or...

We are all familiar with the Nordica Speedmachine, right? The Speedmachine has been Nordica’s entry in the 100 mm medium volume boot segment and very well one of the most successful ones through its first two generations. The reason it has been so successful is that the fit is great for the...

After reviewing skis for for decades, we have found many ways to pass along our interpretations. One of the most common questions we get is to compare one ski directly against another; usually they are two similar skis but sometimes they are completely different. This is where reviewing multiple...

We are seeing a trend in the way skis are built and produced, one that goes past pretty top sheets or consistent factory tunes (which, by the way, still needs to be addressed). This trend is about scaling constructions, shapes, and dimensions. "Scaling" a ski is just what it sounds like: each...

SkiTalk.com and Blossom Skis are excited to offer a unique opportunity to own a special edition (Edizione Speciale in its native Italian) of the Blossom White Out, an homage to the iconic Spalding Sideral. This ski shares much of its DNA with the original Sideral as both Spalding and Blossom...

Exclusive: Premiere of Stereo Skis in the US Market SkiTalk has become the voice of premium skis looking to make their mark, and not only in the US. With our increasing global outreach and balanced review platform, our email inbox has been very active. There are certain people whose calls I...

Ever go on a trip and at some point yell, "KEVIN!!!" You know, that moment when you realize you left something significant behind? Well, on our way to Waterville Valley, New Hampshire for ski test, I had one of those moments. I forgot my ski socks (along with my jacket and a couple of shirts)...

To quote the great 20th-century philosopher Ferris Bueller, “If you have the means, I high recommend picking one up.” The Toko Edge Tuner World Cup is a toy -- err, tool -- that should be in every serious skier’s chest of tuning supplies. (At least those who are serious about keeping their edges...

There are a few ski models that might be more important to a brand than the brand itself; one of those is the Völkl Mantra. Not much can be said about the importance of the Mantra’s place in history that has not already been said, but we will try anyway. Since the turn of the century (and since...

Kulkea has done it again, this time with a bag meant for air travel for the adventure-seeking soul. This bag is aptly named the Käydä, which means "to go." Phil and I take a lot of long trips, mostly in the SS Pugski, so we use big gear bags that can carry a month's worth of belongings. The big...

Universal Goggles Insert Convert your own Goggles to a Prescription Goggle with our Universal Prescription Lenses Inserts (4 sizes for kids & adults + prescription lenses available) Suitable for almost any Ski Goggles, Snow Boarding, Motorcycle & Motocross Goggles, Safety Goggles and even...

Nordica is reinventing its Enforcer collection once again. Even with the flagship Enforcer 100, very little has carried over other than the name. In a segment where someone is always poised to take the crown from the incumbent, Nordica is not going to give up the title "Best in Class" without a...

Every year we have transitions in product lines and collections and, in most cases, these changes are evolutions. Changes are as minute as a different topsheet material or maybe a lighter core. Changes we will discuss here are revolutions to the point that a brand will not only start with a...

The rumors are true: the rear-entry boot is back. And it's just what the industry needs. Nordica has learned from its own history in offering this collection of HF boots, HF as in "Hands Free." You still have to touch the boot with your hands to put it on, so HF may be overstepping it a little...

Kästle skis and the iconic MX collection were brought to the states in the mid-2000s and immediately set the bar of what a premium ski could and should be. At the time skis were skis, and each brand stayed in line with everyone and no one really wanted to rock the boat with pricing. Price points...

The Augment 77 is superb. I could end the review right here, but I would feel remiss. So, let me ramble on a bit. Everyone once in a while a ski comes along that stands out above the rest and we all rave about its new shape and space-age materials. Well, the Augment doesn’t really have any of...

Let’s start with Kulkea (cool-kee-ah). I currently carry the Kulkea SP Pro boot bag (review here) and many friends carry Kulkea bags of some sort, so I have been around the brand a good bit. Most of my trips are via air travel so my luggage takes a beating. I’ve had multiple other ski cases...

One of the earliest promotions here at Pugski.com was to "Bring Back the Pivot 15." We started this campaign in 2016 to accomplish a few things. First, we wanted to showcase the talent and artwork of Dave Petersen; we also wanted to have fun with collector, historian, and Look aficionado Bill...

When Kästles, Stöcklis, and Renouns become commonplace, it is time to elevate your options. I was invited to the Mudroom at Caldera House in Jackson Hole to test out Kästle’s Limited Edition 93mm Supra and Bomber’s new 84mm 50/50 ski, the Pro Terrain. The Mudroom’s manager, Gov Carrigan, made...