Blog

We've brought you the all mountain ski comparison of crazy 98s, threw down with a big mountain ski comparison of skis between 100 and 110 mm underfoot - and now we're bringing you the big boys with this powder ski comparison.

Powder skis get a lot of attention - partially because so many of us dream about the deep bluebird days, and partially because so much of recent ski innovation has happened here. Rocker, reverse camber, early rise and taper all cut their teeth in the powder before trickling down to narrower skis.

For this ski comparison test, we'll take a look at the Atomic Bent Chetler, the Volkl Shiro, the Salomon Rocker2 115, Nordica Patron & Nordica Helldorado, Armada JJ, AKJJ and Magic J, Line Influence 115, K2 Sideseth, Icelantic Gypsy & Keeper, Dynastar Cham 127, Dynafit Huascaran, DPS Wailer 112, Blizzard Gunsmoke and the Rossignol S7, Super 7 & Squad 7.

These are all fantastic powder skis and cover the spectrum, from quick and nimble skis for turning quickly through your favorite tree stash to big and stable for arcing big lines down open bowls - and everything in between.

POC has been growing in popularity over the last few years, both for ski racers and recreational skiers - for good reason. Their ski protection is some of the best and they've built up a big following on the race circuit.

Shane, one of the Start Haus's resident ski racers, talks about what makes POC equipment so good:

Dominator Wax and the Start Haus have teamed up to create a custom line of ski waxes and ski wax additives that offer the best performance for your skis in a wide range of temperatures and snow conditions.

The Start Haus Ski Wax includes HF Yellow, HF Pink, HC Turquoise, HC White, Warm Old Snow, Cold Old Snow, Warm New Snow and Cold New Snow.

Here's our in-depth explanation on which waxes are best for you, and why:

Welcome to our weekly Tahoe Ski News blog post, where we share ski conditions, racing, events, wax calls and ski deals every Friday.

Don’t forget to send your race, ski event or results to website@starthaus.com. with the headline: Tahoe Ski News to get them listed here each week.

Craig Dostie, author of EarnYourTurns.com and our backcountry ski expert at the Start Haus, got one last day in for 2012 on the west shore of Lake Tahoe - and what a day!

UPDATE: Check out the 2014 big mountain ski comparison here.

Last week we took a look at our most popular category, the 98 mm under foot skis, in an all mountain ski comparison. This week, we're taking a step up into the 100 to 110 mm range, what we'd call big-mountain skis.

There are wider skis that still fit into the big mountain ski category, but the 100 to 110 width are still solid quiver-of-one contenders for skiers in high snowfall ski areas that favor off-trail soft snow seeking to railing groomers all day, what Sierra Jim terms soft-snow oriented skis.

For this ski comparison, we're looking at the Armada TST, Atomic Ritual, Blizzard Cochise, Dynastar Cham 107, Head REV 105, Kastle BMX 108, Icelantic Nomad RKR and Volkl Gotama.

Holly snow - we got a white Christmas and then some in Tahoe - we've already hit 55 percent of average snowfall for the year, just in December!

Welcome to our weekly Tahoe Ski News blog post, where we share ski conditions, racing, events, wax calls and ski deals every Friday.

The Blizzard Black Pearl  (Now only $480! Click Here) Women's Ski became an instant hit at the Start Haus as soon as our testers got on it - and if you look around the web, you'll find testers from magazines, blogs and other sites feel the same.

Credit goes to what Blizzard calls "Flipcore" construction and what we call one of the best applications of rocker in an all mountain ski - a subtle rocker-camber-rocker profile that blends together when turned on edge and doesn't flap at speed.

Here's what on of our testers, Quincy, had to say:

Happy holidays from the Start Haus crew! We've been dreaming of a white Christmas and it looks like we've got it! If you haven't been here before, this is our weekly Tahoe Ski News blog post, where we tell you about ski conditions, racing, events, wax calls and ski deals every Friday.

UPDATE: See the 2014 all mountain ski comparison here.

If you've taken a look at our blog, you've probably noticed we've paid a lot of attention to 98(ish) mm underfoot all mountain skis. These are the quiver-of-one skis for many skiers, especially out west - the daily driver skis for almost any conditions.

The question is which one is the quiver-of-one for you? We picked eight for our shelves: The K2 Hardside, the Dynastar Cham 97, the Rossignol Experience 98, Rossignol S3, the Blizzard Bonafide, the Nordica Enforcer, the Volkl Mantra, the Line Prophet 98 and the Kastle BMX 98.

This blog aims to help you narrow it down from that list to the right one for you. We'll tell you the comparative strengths and weaknesses of each model and tell you who we think each ski is best for.

We've been on a little bit of a 98 mm underfoot all mountain ski kick lately here on the blog, but we haven't hit on many women's models.

The Dynastar Exclusive Legend Paradise is one of our favorite women's skis, regardless of width category, but it happens to fall into the range that we consider a great quiver-of-one for Tahoe and other western ski areas, especially for female skiers with a bias towards off-piste and soft snow.

It's not too late to get that special somebody what they really want - we're offering free 2nd Day UPS Shipping on all orders over $300!

So if you've got somebody on your list looking for a new pair of skis, the perfect pair of ski boots, the right set of ski bindings or any other piece of ski equipment, now's your chance to make them happy. Or maybe you've been eying something in our ski outlet and want to buy yourself a little present - we won't judge.

Just make sure to place your order by Thursday, 1 p.m. PST for the 2nd day shipping to get your package to you in time for Christmas.

Questions? Shoot us an email at Online@starthaus.com