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SkiTalk Test Team

Testing skis so you don't have to.
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Unpiste

Booting down
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Feb 15, 2016
Posts
586
Location
California
Excellent work, and thanks!

Seems to be a slight problem with the Kästle, Stöckli, and Völkl links, though. (They're just linking to their banner images.)
 

nemesis256

Patrick
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Apr 25, 2017
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510
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North Conway, NH
Quite the list you guys have there!

I can't help but notice how many skis have "Ti" in their name. I assume it's referring to titanal?
 

pchewn

Skiing the powder
Skier
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
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2,607
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Beaverton OR USA
We truly live in a great era for skiing. A cornucopia of ski models available for selection, along with the multi-area passes make skiing these days so easy, accessible, and enjoyable!
 

Choucas

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Feb 17, 2016
Posts
342
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Vermont
Interesting to do a quick compare and contrast with Ski magazine's 2018/2019 list. Award winning skis here don't appear anywhere in the magazine and vice versa. Too many models/brands to cover? Fischer, which gets a lot of love here, is absent in the magazine. Pugski gets on the skis early. Maybe after the orders start to come in the companies re-spin their stories on certain models and push them in the magazine test which happens later in the year. Maybe skiing on Deer Valley snow in the spring gives different results from Winter snow in Colorado and the Sierras. Stockli and Blizzard, and to some extent Nordica, seem to get a lot of love everywhere, but even there, not always the same models. Having your skis built in Mittersill seems to be a good idea these days.
Ski's testers have an average age of 42. That seems pretty old to be testing high performance products. Yes, they are all quite accomplished as are the Puggers, but some top level (recently retired) freeride skiers and racers would add more credibility to the results particularly at the top of the market.
 

Tricia

The Velvet Hammer
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Reno
Interesting to do a quick compare and contrast with Ski magazine's 2018/2019 list. Award winning skis here don't appear anywhere in the magazine and vice versa. Too many models/brands to cover? Fischer, which gets a lot of love here, is absent in the magazine. Pugski gets on the skis early. Maybe after the orders start to come in the companies re-spin their stories on certain models and push them in the magazine test which happens later in the year. Maybe skiing on Deer Valley snow in the spring gives different results from Winter snow in Colorado and the Sierras. Stockli and Blizzard, and to some extent Nordica, seem to get a lot of love everywhere, but even there, not always the same models. Having your skis built in Mittersill seems to be a good idea these days.
Ski's testers have an average age of 42. That seems pretty old to be testing high performance products. Yes, they are all quite accomplished as are the Puggers, but some top level (recently retired) freeride skiers and racers would add more credibility to the results particularly at the top of the market.
You will also notice that some brands are missing entirely from Ski Magazine as well as Powder.

Pugski testers get a list of skis across all brands with notes on skis that are all new, carryover, redesigned, etc.
We attend several industry demo days on the east and west coast to get as many skis tested by as many different types of skiers possible, in as many conditions as possible.
We don't ask a manufacturer to come to a test day with XYZ skis to be skied three days in a row in whatever conditions happen during that time. Sometimes they get a powder day, sometimes they don't.

We also provide reviews from a variety of skier types and sizes that are relatable.
*Edit to add: We also encourage the Pugski testers to ski stuff that's not on the list if they see something that may be missed.
 
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AmyPJ

Skiing the powder
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And sometimes, we attend demo days on our own and ski whatever floats our boat and then write about it :D
I skied the Black Pearl 98 and Santa Ana 100 and a few others on a demo day at Beaver Mountain, for example.

I certainly have my favorites/preferences, but there really ARE a lot of great skis out there. Lucky us!
 

markojp

mtn rep for the gear on my feet
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PNW aka SEA
Ski's testers have an average age of 42. That seems pretty old to be testing high performance products. Yes, they are all quite accomplished as are the Puggers, but some top level (recently retired) freeride skiers and racers would add more credibility to the results particularly at the top of the market.

The SKI mag skiers in fact do have ex-USST skiers in their ranks. One of them is my boss. Mike Rogan and Robin Barnes, PSIA demo team captain and member respectively are involved, probably both over 42, and can ski the legs off of most mere mortals... I mean Mike can just haul the mail in pretty much any terrain. In general, the biggest gripe consumers have with testers is that they are generally much better skiers than the general public. "What good does it do if 'they' like them? They're pros, I'm not." Our boss is also buying a large quantity of skis/boots/bindings and is adept at stepping into other's shoes, which makes her a great resource for all in her orbit, including manufactures' development testing sessions, etc... Lesson one of retail is, if testers/buyers only ordered their personal favorites to sell, the shop would have a very short shelf life. There's just a butt ton of great skis on the wall. There aren't bad ones, but there ARE wrong ones.

IMHO, Phil and the Pug crew have more 'choice' skis because there's no numerical scoring involved which IMHO is NOT the way to go... there's really no reason to rank skis, only to point out ones that everyone seems to agree that they like. And the whole numerical scoring is sort of like evaluating a great artist or writer with a multiple choice test. Don't even get me started on the silliness that ranks boots. Yes, I read the hell out of them because I know we'll have to talk people out of the wrong boot that SKI MAG said was 'the best'. The individual comments that Phil and Trish put together for each ski is the money shot and is something that SKI would do well to emulate, but don't much anymore. The problem with SKI mag isn't the testers, it's the way the editorial staff paints the conclusions.
 
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Choucas

Getting off the lift
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Posts
342
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Vermont
We call it ski testing but it's really ski evaluation. Ski testing is done by ski companies when they develop new or updated models. They test prototypes against their existing models and/or comparable models from their competitors. Evaluating the end product for the ski consumer is a job that can be done by skiers of any age who can adjust their skiing level to closely match the kind of skiing that the target skier is doing or is aspiring to do. They are, for the most part, better skiers than the consumer but they need to be able to adjust their skiing to mirror the intended buyer. This isn't about which ski do I like, it's about which ski will the person walking into the shop will like. By accurately describing the skis performance in a common language that the consumer will understand, testers are, ideally, able to guide the reader to the best choice for the way they ski and the level of skiing to which they aspire. I think the Pugsters do a good job of doing this over all and particularly with their cage match comparisons.
SKI mag does a good job of covering the skis they have under their system. I like putting a number next to each ski. But they don't give feedback from a variety of venues and a variety of snow conditions. I don't think I could find anything bad to say about any ski when skiing on perfect Deer Valley snow. It's a much shallower dip into the pool and leaves too many loose ends.
It's a daunting task to cover so much equipment on snow. It's great that we have access to so much good information on such a confusing subject.
 

NZRob

Skiing the Rock
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Oct 8, 2017
Posts
407
Location
New Zealand
The individual comments that Phil and Trish put together for each ski is the money shot and is something that SKI would do well to emulate, but don't much anymore. The problem with SKI mag isn't the testers, it's the way the editorial staff paints the conclusions.

I can't really think of any mainstream magazine that I read and think 'nice balanced review'. If you pick up any of those mag's you would think that every ski reviewed is the best ever. It's about as useful as reading manufacturer marketing blurb.

So +1 to the reviews and assessments we get here on pugski.
 

Philpug

Notorious P.U.G.
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I can't really think of any mainstream magazine that I read and think 'nice balanced review'. If you pick up any of those mag's you would think that every ski reviewed is the best ever. It's about as useful as reading manufacturer marketing blurb.

So +1 to the reviews and assessments we get here on pugski.
Can we quote you on that?
 

markojp

mtn rep for the gear on my feet
Industry Insider
Instructor
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Nov 12, 2015
Posts
6,604
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PNW aka SEA
I can't really think of any mainstream magazine that I read and think 'nice balanced review'. If you pick up any of those mag's you would think that every ski reviewed is the best ever. It's about as useful as reading manufacturer marketing blurb.

So +1 to the reviews and assessments we get here on pugski.

Maybe not print, but 'Real Skiers' and 'Blistergearreivew' do a pretty nice job as well.
 

Ron

Seeking the next best ski
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Steamboat Springs, Co
Interesting to do a quick compare and contrast with Ski magazine's 2018/2019 list. Award winning skis here don't appear anywhere in the magazine and vice versa. Too many models/brands to cover? Fischer, which gets a lot of love here, is absent in the magazine. Pugski gets on the skis early. Maybe after the orders start to come in the companies re-spin their stories on certain models and push them in the magazine test which happens later in the year. Maybe skiing on Deer Valley snow in the spring gives different results from Winter snow in Colorado and the Sierras. Stockli and Blizzard, and to some extent Nordica, seem to get a lot of love everywhere, but even there, not always the same models. Having your skis built in Mittersill seems to be a good idea these days.
Ski's testers have an average age of 42. That seems pretty old to be testing high performance products. Yes, they are all quite accomplished as are the Puggers, but some top level (recently retired) freeride skiers and racers would add more credibility to the results particularly at the top of the market.

Just a comment to dovetail what @Tricia has posted in regards to evaluating/testing a ski from the PUGSKI perspective. I have to give the credit to @Philpug and @Tricia for creating a new genre in ski evaluating (someone above called it evaluating and I agree). Having a retired racer or free rider doesn't necessarily make them a good tester. In fact, I know of a shop owned by a retired racer that carries the highest level ski of a certain brand because in his opinion, this is the only ski that is worthy. IMHO, this version of the ski is not the best ski for steamboat or for intermediates. When we test, we are explicitly directed to evaluate a ski based on our own opinions ,but to always look to see who the ski is best for, not for what we necessarily only like or prefer. Also, I have never been encourage to give preference to any brand or ski model regardless of whether they are a sponsor or not. As Phil has written, of course our personal preferences will tend to steer us towards certain skis, (Damp ,precise ski's for me) but that's why we have a team of testers who represent different weights and skill levels. For instance, I tested a ski last SIA that is easily over-skied by Advanced skiers but for intermediates who are building skills, the ski would be fantastic. You need to have testers who can understand and feel what a ski is doing and articulate that to the reader more than simply having expert levels of skiing ability. Age? honestly, I don't see how age even begins to factor into this other than most accomplished skiers who understand ski's are older (with the exception of @dean_spirito of course :) )
 
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