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Preview: 2024 Gear, What's New and Hot!

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 that we were expecting. A new model here … a mid-range collection there ... but overall, not the influx of skis we expected. There are a few standout skis that are worth noting, and we will talk about them. But first we will start with boots and the big changes there before circling back to the ski discussion.

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Lange is abandoning their Dual Core RX collection for an all new Shadow (which still retains Dual Core) collection, which, when you start peeling away the layers, is a pretty big departure for Lange. We will talk about this boot in its own article soon. Head is reimagining their volume leader, the Edge series, and Nordica is redesigning their race Doberman series. But, the big buzz is BOA, the mechanical cable closure mechanism which helps contain the forefoot. Brands like Atomic, Fischer, K2 and Salomon have all jumped aboard the BOA bandwagon and have added a plethora of models with both alpine and back/sidecountry features. It will be exciting to see how these new models perform and how our readers accept them. If the early discussion within the community is any indicator, it might take some time.

Now back to the skis. We will focus on what is significantly new with the brands, and we might touch base on the carry overs, but since all of our readers prefer shiny objects, let's get it started with the new stuff.

What’s all new in the ski world.
Past the NGT and carry over skis from last year, here are a few early ski takeaways that I think will indeed be making some waves for this season.

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Dynastar is re-creating their 80-some offerings, skis that should make a splash in the 80-90 mm category with two all new models, the M-Cross and E-Cross. While they are constructed in the focus 82 and 88 widths, narrower mid performance levels will be included too. The M tag refers to the men's/unisex and the E, the women's. Dynastar is staying with their tried and true gradual tip rise here, but it is their Hybrid Core 2.0 that really sounds interesting. I am sure we will be seeing some of these new Cross skis in SkiTalk’s long term test fleet very soon.

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Armada is finally updating their staple ARV collection with all new ARV 88, 94 and 100 in both men’s and women's, and we are sure that we will see the other sizes to follow. This new construction as well as the size offerings do modernize these collections.

Augment/Van Deer-Red Bull still have presented no solid plans on returning to the US market, other than a statement that they will delay re-entry into our market until 24/25. This is making their used skis a hot commodity. We are receiving an e-mail every week or so asking if we are interested in selling any of our demos. Sorry, still no.

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Head is embracing the blues and has abandoned the yellow in favor of a new blue, both in accents and new graphics in their race collections. While this could easily be dismissed as NGT, these are new skis plus it is a major move for a company so identifiable on the race podium. As far as other significant changes, the Joy collection has been completely revamped with all new shapes and even some new models. Expect Tyrolia Protector bindings to be the offering of choice.

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While Atomic has a good amount of carry over and some NGT, like the beautiful new Bent collection, they will be bringing Volant back into the US market with a small boutique collection that will be available at select premium retailers. Stay tuned for a complete overview of the collection in the near future.

Nordica is bring back an old name in the Steadfast, and making it a frontside-ish all mountain collection from the upper 70 to mid 80 mm range, pretty much replacing the Navigators. If you are a Navigator fan, start stockpiling, because the new Steadfast is much more hard snow oriented and from what I previewed, is very different and will debunk the old “Steadfast Rule." Nordica has also revamped their pseudo consumer race Dobermans and Spitfires.

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Elan is going prime time with an all new frontside collection called, you guessed it, Primetime, with three offerings for both men and women. The Slovanian brand is also coming out with two new jibby freeride skis, the Playmanker 91 and Playmaker 101.

Last year K2 redesigned their Mindbender Ti skis and now the little brother the C series (for carbon) gets the attention. With the Ti’s moving up both the performance and power side of the SkiTalk scale, I expect the new C constructed skis to fill the void for the fans of the original Mindbenders.

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Blizzard has gone back to the drawing board with their Rustler and Sheeva collections and moved a lot of numbers around in waist widths and constructions. We expect good things from these new skis.

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Stöckli is doubling down and doubling the offerings with their Montero collection by adding a women’s version of the AX, the AW, with a different construction and smaller sizes, as well as a narrower 76 mm Montero, the AS. IMHO, this will bring back some of the spirit of the original Laser AX that was lost when the Montero AX’s waist hit 80mm.

Fischer is expanding their very good Ranger collection with a new Ranger 84 which will be a very competitive narrow wide ski in this highly contested category. I expect good things from this skinny Ranger.

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IMG_0994.jpeg Like some other brands, Kästle has been working on boots, and their new boot for a first year project deserves a solid B+. I think boot development took priority over their recreational ski development, and if you noticed, I said recreational, because they have been very busy developing top level World Cup skis which are appearing on the feet of top 30 racers. As far as the consumer models, the mid level DX skis, a collection that falls between the stellar PX skis and the reference MX models, are new. There is also a Terra collection, consisting of the Quartz 72, Marble 84 and Obsidian 92 which are all female focused.

Völkl has been focusing mostly on the front side of the mountain of late, but looking at the Revolt series for this year, it appears the race engineers left the offices early and the athletes took over in both design and graphics and had some fun in the process. Expect a lot of spinning, jibbing, big air and whatever else the kids nowadays are doing. Whatever it is, it is fun and I am jealous that I am too old for that shit. Völkl also added two bookend-sized Blaze offerings, a 84 mm ski in a both a men's and women's version, and a unisex 114.

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While focusing much attention on their new Strive binding and BOA Supra boots, Salomon did a little house cleaning and condensing of their skis, but did add a new light sidecountry offering from their QST series, the Echo 106. While the Echo is not in our wheelhouse for review, we did get out on it at Snowbasin and were blown away, stay tuned for the review. Salomon's Stance men's and women's collections both receive new constructions to make the skis more accessible without losing the top end that performance skiers expect from the series. Oh, add in some Bold New Graphics (BNG) here, too.

Rossignol is looking forward with their Essential ski, a full push into sustainability, and we will say this is not a ski you would expect your typical pine cone eater to gravitate to. The Essential is a serious sub 70 mm frontside carver. Rossignol has also replaced the React series with a carver collection called Forza with DNA goes back to some of our favorite modern Rossignols, the Classic 70 and 80. We expect the Forza 70* V-Ti to be a reference ski on the power side of the scale, especially in its 78mm waist, since it is available with the race-derived R22 plate.

Line has been focusing on their new Bacon and Cronics with an all-new Bacon 108 and 115, and of course the Shorty, and the 94 and 101 in the Cronics. Both of these are familiar names/collections, but are all new skis.

Bindings
Now how do you attach those cool new skis to your boots? That's right, bindings.

Salomon has already expanded their new Strive collection with a MultiNorm or AT ISO 9355 verson of the Strive with a 16, which was actually a late additon for this year. There is also an MN version of the Strive 14 which will be available alongside the GW or Gripwalk ISO 23223 version, and a Strive 12 GW which shares the heel of the Stage 11 GW.

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Tyrolia is expanding their commitment to the Protector collection, the only bi-lateral release heel on the market by coming downmarket with the SLR 10 and SLR 11, both of which are GripWalk compatible.

Marker has created a segment than has either been ignored or addressed depending on your perspective, and that is an AT binding that is specifically designed for a junior boot. This is the all new F5 JR Tour, a junior frame binding that will accommodate boots from 235 to 300 mm for the kids to go start hiking and get into the back- or side country.


Look remains pretty much unchanged except for some new colorways.
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We will go into more depth on many of these products, both on the site and our YouTube channel, so stay tuned, and we hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into the coming season.
About author
Philpug
I started skiing in the mid-70s in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania; from then on, I found myself entrenched in the industry. I have worked in various ski shops from suburban to ski town to resort, giving me a well-rounded perspective on what skiers want from their gear. That experience was parlayed into my time as a Gear Review Editor and also consulting with manufacturers as a product tester. Along with being a Masterfit-trained bootfitter I am a fully certified self proclaimed Gear Guru. Not only do I keep up with the cutting edge of ski gear technology, but I am an avid gear collector and have an extensive array of bindings as well as many vintage skis.

Replies

In my mind, beat to shit but still functionally sound Pivot 15/18's should be worth the big $ because those are cool. Those of you my age, remember jean jackets? Kinda like that.

And it surely is the camera angle and/or lighting but, either way, the tip shape of those SuperShapes *IS* the tip shape they should have rather than the blunt, short and abrupt rise of current.

Two of my opinions but I think pretty solid.

Smart move by Marker with the Jr Tour. They will sell a boat load of those.
 
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Really stoked to try the BOA. I love them on my golf shoes and would love to give them a try on my skis. No longer looking for a full on racing boot as I start thinking about starting a family, and the Salomon S/Pro Supra BOA seems to look like something I would be into.
 
And it surely is the camera angle and/or lighting but, either way, the tip shape of those SuperShapes *IS* the tip shape they should have rather than the blunt, short and abrupt rise of current.
Must be the camera angle, other than graphics, the Supershapes haven't changed for this coming season.
 
The Scarpa Maestrale has had a version of BOA for some years now. Granted you cant micro adjust the Scarpa version, but I feel it is much less prone to failure or breakage.

 
Not a fan of the Head new blue. Looks like a rental system ski,
 
Not a fan of the Head new blue. Looks like a rental system ski,
And what do rental system skis specifically look like? In person, thye are really sharp.

any infos on what they changed in the stance lineup?
New core contructions that make the collection more playful and a lower minimum speed, where the outgoing models needed some endergy to get going. This is not at the cost of what the skis are know for, power. Plus they do look a lot better.
 
And what do rental system skis specifically look like? In person, thye are really sharp.


New core contructions that make the collection more playful and a lower minimum speed, where the outgoing models needed some endergy to get going. This is not at the cost of what the skis are know for, power. Plus they do look a lot better.
Dimension still the same? I've got a killer deal on a 22/23 stance 90 in 176 (I'm 174) with strive 11 bindings on it and I'm hasitant, whether to wait or get them. The only thing which worries me slightly is the 18m turn radius...
 
Dimension still the same? I've got a killer deal on a 22/23 stance 90 in 176 (I'm 174) with strive 11 bindings on it and I'm hasitant, whether to wait or get them. The only thing which worries me slightly is the 18m turn radius...
Molds are all still the same.
 
I'm sure skiers will come around to the BOA system and it will only be a matter of time before it's preferred. I remember all the nay-sayers when it came out on snowboard boots and now all the best boots have it. I've had it for 5-6 years and it's been bullet proof. It's made it's way over to mountain bike shoes now and while I don't own any since I ride flats, the people that have bought shoes with the BOA feature are singing it's praises.
 
Great newsletter. What is your "fully certified" certification? PISA or MFU, or? When I look at skis, my prime focus is the turn radius in my chosen ski length. Can you publish those?

I wonder if any high-performance skiers have used BOA, in high-performance boots, of the proper shell size?
 
I'm sure skiers will come around to the BOA system and it will only be a matter of time before it's preferred. I remember all the nay-sayers when it came out on snowboard boots and now all the best boots have it. I've had it for 5-6 years and it's been bullet proof. It's made it's way over to mountain bike shoes now and while I don't own any since I ride flats, the people that have bought shoes with the BOA feature are singing it's praises.
Shoes and snowboard boots are not ski boot shells. I have not tried on a boot with BOA, yet, but will soon. I like a snug fit that holds my foot and ankle, with zero slop. I want my ankle bones to stay where they belong :)
 
Great newsletter. What is your "fully certified" certification? PISA or MFU, or?
Fully Certified Self Proclaimed Gear Guru. I do have more than a decade of attending MFU. BTW, where did you get your boot doctorate? ;)
When I look at skis, my prime focus is the turn radius in my chosen ski length. Can you publish those?
Ski turn radiuses are posted in their respective reviews in our review section. . We do tend to post just the radius of the reference length which is usually the middle size of a size run and depending on manufacturer that can vary up to one meter with each size up an down. Please also understand that radiuses are set from each brand and are not sent out to an independent lab to certify that one brands 170cm ski is a 14.5 meter radius, there is some liberties taken marketing in the publishing of radiuses. Radiuses alone, let alone widths or lengths are not sole numbers to base any decision on.
I wonder if any high-performance skiers have used BOA, in high-performance boots, of the proper shell size?
Daron Rahlves has been skiing the Hawx Ultra XTD Boa as his daily boot. Fischer's new Boa boot with the Zipfit liners looks really legit. I am not sure if and when we will see a plug boot with Boa but I do know some brands have been testing it.
 
Shoes and snowboard boots are not ski boot shells. I have not tried on a boot with BOA, yet, but will soon. I like a snug fit that holds my foot and ankle, with zero slop. I want my ankle bones to stay where they belong :)
Boa will not make any difference in ankle hold, it is there to contain the forefoot. It will also not make a shell that doesn't fit, fit.
 
Fully Certified Self Proclaimed Gear Guru. I do have more than a decade of attending MFU. BTW, where did you get your boot doctorate? ;)

Ski turn radiuses are posted in their respective reviews in our review section. . We do tend to post just the radius of the reference length which is usually the middle size of a size run and depending on manufacturer that can vary up to one meter with each size up an down. Please also understand that radiuses are set from each brand and are not sent out to an independent lab to certify that one brands 170cm ski is a 14.5 meter radius, there is some liberties taken marketing in the publishing of radiuses. Radiuses alone, let alone widths or lengths are not sole numbers to base any decision on.

Daron Rahlves has been skiing the Hawx Ultra XTD Boa as his daily boot. Fischer's new Boa boot with the Zipfit liners looks really legit. I am not sure if and when we will see a plug boot with Boa but I do know some brands have been testing it.
Hi Phil, I do like your newsletter! I have been a podiatrist for 46 years, skiing for 36 years, and boot fitting for 36 years. (Thanks to the guy who sold me my first set of ski equipment.). By the next season, I convinced him to get the Peterson System insole system. I also talked Bill Peterson into sending me all the materials so I could fabricate the custom insoles (medical devices in my hands), in-house. I learned how to fabricate prescription orthotics in podiatric medical college. I then had the opportunity to work with the Vail Ski School to further my research on center of knee mass (CKM) over the boot, and knee tracking. This research crossed over to orthotics for cycling shoes to optimize knee alignment. I continue to do custom bootfitting and ski boot orthotics and practice podiatric medicine and surgery. My CV is on Linkedin. I am excited to test my new knee, come December!
 
Fully Certified Self Proclaimed Gear Guru. I do have more than a decade of attending MFU. BTW, where did you get your boot doctorate? ;)

Ski turn radiuses are posted in their respective reviews in our review section. . We do tend to post just the radius of the reference length which is usually the middle size of a size run and depending on manufacturer that can vary up to one meter with each size up an down. Please also understand that radiuses are set from each brand and are not sent out to an independent lab to certify that one brands 170cm ski is a 14.5 meter radius, there is some liberties taken marketing in the publishing of radiuses. Radiuses alone, let alone widths or lengths are not sole numbers to base any decision on.

Daron Rahlves has been skiing the Hawx Ultra XTD Boa as his daily boot. Fischer's new Boa boot with the Zipfit liners looks really legit. I am not sure if and when we will see a plug boot with Boa but I do know some brands have been testing it.
Phil, My boot doctorate comes from my being a podiatric physician and surgeon specializing in sports medicine. My education included how to fabricate prescription orthotics. I have been skiing for 35 years and bootfitting for 35 years, thanks to the shop owner who sold me my first set of ski equipment and convinced me I could help him figure out why boots hurt skiers' feet. I worked with Vail Ski School thanks to Chris Ryman, who said working with the trainers and instructors would allow me to further my research on proper Center of Knee Mass (CKM) and proper knee tracking in ski boots. While I send plaster of Paris slipper cast to a certified lab for gait plates, ski boot orthotics I make by hand.
 
Phil, My boot doctorate comes from my being a podiatric physician and surgeon specializing in sports medicine. My education included how to fabricate prescription orthotics. I have been skiing for 35 years and bootfitting for 35 years, thanks to the shop owner who sold me my first set of ski equipment and convinced me I could help him figure out why boots hurt skiers' feet. I worked with Vail Ski School thanks to Chris Ryman, who said working with the trainers and instructors would allow me to further my research on proper Center of Knee Mass (CKM) and proper knee tracking in ski boots. While I send plaster of Paris slipper cast to a certified lab for gait plates, ski boot orthotics I make by hand.
Chris is The Man. I skied with him a good amount when we skied out of Northstar. I was his go to for ski selection for years.
 

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