ONE-SKI QUIVER: Reviewers’ Choices – Part 2
One ski, for every day on the mountain, any and all conditions….
That’s the topic at hand, and this is Part 2 of our One-Ski-Quiver series.
To recap, we’ve asked our reviewers the following four questions, and these questions make up our selection criteria:
1) You have to choose one ski to use every day at the following BLISTER test sites: Taos, Alta, Jackson Hole, Las Leñas, and Niseko. What ski would you choose for each of those places? (You’re allowed up to two picks for each place, a first choice and a runner-up.)
2) What skis were the most difficult to leave off your list?
3) What skis do you imagine have the greatest likelihood of making your list, if and when you get to ski them (or get to ski them more)?
And finally, the Ultimate, End-All-Be-All, No Caveats, Bottom Line, One-Ski Quiver Question:
4) If over the next three seasons you had to ski one ski, every day, regardless of location, what would you choose?
TWO RULES, ONE REQUEST:
1) We’ve only considered what we’ve actually skied.
This should, of course, be obvious, but the ski review industry is a funny place. Some review sites give awards to stuff that they’ve hardly tested. We don’t. If you want to brush up on how we do things around here, check out the BLISTER Manifesto.
2) No company has paid us to get their ski on this list.
BLISTER is different. We don’t accept any money from any of the manufacturers we review. We don’t allow them to buy advertising on our website, and we don’t charge them a fee to review their skis. (Maybe that’s why our reviews don’t read like everybody else’s….)
3) If you’re ticked that your favorite ski didn’t make our list, tell us.
We’ll look to test the ski this coming season, and we’ll see whether we agree with you.
Each week, BLISTER reviewers will present their One-Ski Quiver choices. Last week’s One-Ski Quiver: Reviewers’ Choices were from BLISTER Editor-in-Chief, Jonathan Ellsworth, and BLISTER reviewer Julia Van Raalte.
Up this week, reviewers Will Brown and Lexi Dowdall.
Comments:
Questions? Comments? Tell us what you think.
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ONE-SKI QUIVER: Reviewers’ Choices
One ski, for every day on the mountain, any and all conditions. This is the Holy Grail of the ski industry, and we're going to let you know which skis in our view come closest to the ideal of the one-ski quiver.
June 22, 2012 at 1:05 pm
So I’ve finished all four 1ski quiver articles. I think Will’s is the most confusing. When asked what ski he’d select if stuck with it for the next three years, he goes with the Chochise, yet it doesn’t get a single #1 pick and only runner-up status at one area (granted it’s his “home” area.) Hmmmmm . . . .
June 22, 2012 at 1:38 pm
Hi there,
I picked the Belafonte for a specific area (Taos) given the sort of terrain the mountain offers and the way I prefer to approach it. The Cochise is a slightly more versatile and forgiving ski than the Belafonte, so while the Cochise still does very well at Taos, I think it’s more likely to perform well anywhere, at any ski area regardless of terrain type, than the more specialized Belafonte. To put it another way, we’re discussing a ski that’s best suited for a specific resort and riding style, vs one that can perform well enough in a variety of terrain types/conditions and that satisfies a greater number of riding styles. Hopefully this helps to clarify my thinking. If you haven’t done so already, reading over my reviews of the Belafonte and Cochise may give you a stronger sense of the differences between them.
Cheers,
Will B
June 26, 2012 at 2:31 pm
I guess the whole “one-ski-for-the-next-3-years” premise is highly dependent on where you will be skiing (or wish you were skiing) the next three years. I am looking for a new everday lift serviced set of boards. As an OldSchooler, I’m not certain that the skis the 20-something reviewers dig are boards that I’d like. If going with Blizzard, I’d like to try out the Gunsmokes. Unfortunately, the local ski area doesn’t have a demo day like some of the resorts do down south. Try-before-you-buy is a awesome concept. Anyone know where you can find out demos dates at various western resorts?
June 30, 2012 at 8:50 pm
Best option is to contact directly the manufacturers you’re interested in, and ask them if they have their demo schedules nailed down.