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Do Unkind Reviews of Skis Still Exist in the General Media?

Chuck danache

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Haven’t seen a negative review of new or recently manufactured skis in a while, actually years. Even on Blister and Ski Talk. Occasional low tester scores on Ski Essentials but I put less credence on their ratings. Why is this?
 

Andy Mink

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The reality is there are very few bad skis out there. There are wrong skis. We try hard here on SkiTalk to be accurate in the "who's it for, who's it not for" section of reviews. I've been on skis I don't care for personally but I can tell they're a good ski for another type of skier.
 

Chip

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Skis are like wine, some people love it, some people don’t.
I’ve demoed plenty of skis over the years and sometimes the diffence between one I love and one I’m not keen on is minuscule. So not surprised that there are not many bad review.
 

AngryAnalyst

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I kind of agree that too few reviews are clear about relative performance attributes between skis or what things a ski might be lacking. You pay enough attention for long enough I think you figure out the deal so more than feeling ski media is dishonest I think my point is there is a…friendliness (?) to most coverage of different skis.

I certainly don’t feel like we get a lot of “oppositional” coverage with new products. Perhaps that’s appropriate because most skis now don’t deserve oppositional coverage (they are really good for someone!) but it is notable.
 

Philpug

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There are no ski companies that set out to make a bad product. We just try to review the ski for the market that it was directed towards.

This is not dissimilar to our Cage Matches, we don't say one is better than the other but we try to help you the reader decide which one is better for them.
 

Tony Storaro

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The reality is there are very few bad skis out there. There are wrong skis.

I’d like to hear more about it. I mean, given the combined experience of the test team here-were there ever a ski that the unanimous decision on was: Man, these SUCK!

Thinking about bad/wrong-there is the curious case of Candide 2021 skis which I guess received lukewarm reviews at best from their intended target audience being too heavy and too stiff but these exact things led to creation of The Church of 2021 Candides with @GregK as its high priest. :ogbiggrin:
 
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Chuck danache

Chuck danache

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I kind of agree that too few reviews are clear about relative performance attributes between skis or what things a ski might be lacking. You pay enough attention for long enough I think you figure out the deal so more than feeling ski media is dishonest I think my point is there is a…friendliness (?) to most coverage of different skis.

I certainly don’t feel like we get a lot of “oppositional” coverage with new products. Perhaps that’s appropriate because most skis now don’t deserve oppositional coverage (they are really good for someone!) but it is notable.
Your comments align with my thoughts on this topic.

I do recall a ski a couple of years ago a ski that was awful. I thought maybe it was the tune, so I had it base ground and the edges reset. It was still awful. I ski about a dozen skis, 82 to 112 wide, park (although I don’t really ski park), all mountain, powder, semi-carver…with that ski, I have no idea who the target audience was yet the reviews were quite favorable. Go figure.
 

Philpug

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Your comments align with my thoughts on this topic.

I do recall a ski a couple of years ago a ski that was awful. I thought maybe it was the tune, so I had it base ground and the edges reset. It was still awful. I ski about a dozen skis, 82 to 112 wide, park (although I don’t really ski park), all mountain, powder, semi-carver…with that ski, I have no idea who the target audience was yet the reviews were quite favorable. Go figure.
Just because you didn't like it, does not mean it was awful, it is just that you didn't like it. We have had skis that I didn't like that were still Testers Choice winners.

 

fatbob

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Your comments align with my thoughts on this topic.

I do recall a ski a couple of years ago a ski that was awful. I thought maybe it was the tune, so I had it base ground and the edges reset. It was still awful. I ski about a dozen skis, 82 to 112 wide, park (although I don’t really ski park), all mountain, powder, semi-carver…with that ski, I have no idea who the target audience was yet the reviews were quite favorable. Go figure.
Oh come on you can't leave us hanging. At least name and shame the awful ski so we can agree with you or argue with you that you're a philistine.

Personally I don't ever get on a ski that is awful (bar an Elan at an on snow demo that clearly needed the tune fixing) but there are some that I just go meh.
 

François Pugh

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Haven’t seen a negative review of new or recently manufactured skis in a while, actually years. Even on Blister and Ski Talk. Occasional low tester scores on Ski Essentials but I put less credence on their ratings. Why is this?
This is because they (the ski essential reviewers} didn't develop using the same tools you did, and maybe even not with the same snow or ice that you did, and therefor, do not have the same skill set or value the same performance characteristics that you do as much as you do.

As to reviews, society has changed and we are much more sensitive. Now instead of saying this ski is rubbish and vibrates like a paint shaker on crack when you get it up to speed on hard snow, reviewers will say this is a good ski for beginners who stick to soft snow groomers, or maybe mention that it has a speed limit, without giving any indication of how extremely low that speed limit is. Instead of saying this ski is unforgiving, they will say "requires strong skier". Instead of saying lacks precision and has fuzzy turn initiation, they will say ski is forgiving of errors. You have to read between the lines to find what you want.
 
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Erik Timmerman

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Why don't you trust SkiEssentials? I get being diplomatic and saying there are no bad skis, but there sure are better ones, and I guess that makes the less good ones bad. I've skied some that I did not like. I've also skied terribly tuned skis that are unsociable and just not reviewed them. Last year at the SkiEssentials test I skied a Rossignol ski that didn't have a lot going for it. I think I gave that ski ones on the score card. Maybe someone else liked it, but I couldn't tell you who it would be good for.
 

AmyPJ

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I really think there aren't many "bad" skis out there anymore. I will say I skied a pair of indy brand maybe 5 years ago (Kitten Factory-now defunct) that were hideous. The top sheets were cats, the skis were worthy of the litter box.
 

Tony S

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Last year at the SkiEssentials test I skied a Rossignol ski that didn't have a lot going for it.
Bless you for at least telling it as you saw it. Seriously.

@Chuck danache my assumption is that when ski tests are held there are sometimes enough people like Erik involved that a clear negative trend emerges on a particular ski. What happens then, though, is that no one sees an upside to publishing that info. And given the small "everyone knows everyone" nature of the industry, there are tons of downsides. There is no Ralph Nader of ski gear.

Every generation of gear had had some laughingstock items. It's not reasonable to assume that the current generation has none. It's just hasn't quite emerged what they are yet, partly because there is still money at stake with them.
 
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Chuck danache

Chuck danache

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Why don't you trust SkiEssentials? I get being diplomatic and saying there are no bad skis, but there sure are better ones, and I guess that makes the less good ones bad. I've skied some that I did not like. I've also skied terribly tuned skis that are unsociable and just not reviewed them. Last year at the SkiEssentials test I skied a Rossignol ski that didn't have a lot going for it. I think I gave that ski ones on the score card. Maybe someone else liked it, but I couldn't tell you who it would be good for.
Seems there are many comments stating the ski was too short for me, then the reviewer moves on with the commentary with the “short ski” in mind. Or a low score review with a final comment that “my legs were fried at the end of the day when testing this ski. I can appreciate that, so maybe exclude these reviewers comments from the reviews. Just saying.
 
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Chuck danache

Chuck danache

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Oh come on you can't leave us hanging. At least name and shame the awful ski so we can agree with you or argue with you that you're a philistine.

Personally I don't ever get on a ski that is awful (bar an Elan at an on snow demo that clearly needed the tune fixing) but there are some that I just go meh.
BD Boundary Pro
 

GregK

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As others have mentioned, you have to read between the lines on reviews to better pick a ski for your needs.
Can definitely be “bad skis” out there if their forte is something you don’t desire and the things that you do desire in a ski they don’t do well.
Even before reading a review and seeing their weight, spec’d turning radius, flex pattern etc you get to tell if it’s something you might be interested in or not. The review usually just confirms it.

Agree that reviews don’t usually say things like “this ski sucks in crud or at speed” any more, it’s usually phrased like “if you’re after high stability and better performance in untracked conditions, there are heavier, more substantial options out there better suited to your needs….” :roflmao:
 

scott43

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I used to like Car and Driver because they didn't pull any punches on car reviews. Having said that, they had enough clout to pull it off. Here's how it started...
 

Sibhusky

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I'm in the "there are no bad skis" cohort. Probably because I've found, at least here, that skis I like are trashed, and skis I dislike are revered. I've also found that my own opinion of skis I get changes over time. I need probably 50 days on a ski to really get to know it. Before that, it's probably just a reflection of the day's (and my own) condition. After a while, though, a trend will start to emerge. But it takes quite a while for it not to be influenced by "new toy" or other fleeting variables.
 

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