Regardless of seeing loads of innovation in different sectors of ski gear, 2024 has really been a reasonably quiet one in the case of new skis. Many manufacturers have opted to get not less than one other yr out of their present lineups, however a couple of issues stood out. This previous April, Powder spent a full week testing subsequent yr’s best wares on the slopes of Sunshine Village, Alberta and right here’s what was recent to the lineup.
We’ll have full opinions on every of those skis (and lots of extra) within the coming weeks. Keep tuned.
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K2: Reckoner KF
True professional mannequin skis are few and much between in 2025, however K2 continues to interrupt the mildew with a freestyle pow ski straight from the thoughts of Karl Fostvedt. Developed over the previous few seasons at their Seattle-based Superior Useful resource Collective facility, the Reckoner KF is a really distinctive ski designed with the specific objective of constructing pow snowboarding much less severe and an entire lot extra enjoyable. At 114 underfoot it floats and slashes with the most effective of them, however the carbon development and deep twin rocker strains are what actually stands out. It’s one of the vital energetic and bouncy skis we’ve ever ridden, encouraging freestyle aptitude wherever you level it, however the Reckoner KF is by some means one of the vital approachable soft-snow weapons on the market.
The K2 Reckoner KF is obtainable now.
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Blizzard: Anomaly 102 + Black Pearl 94
On the other finish of the spectrum, Blizzard dropped their new Anomaly 102 and Black Pearl 94, catering on to the all-mountain/laborious snow crowd. Blizzard took the award-winning Flux Kind development of the favored big-mountain Rustler collection and created two perfectly-balanced all-mountain skis round it: the unisex Anomaly 102 and the ladies’s-focused Black Pearl 94. On snow, these aren’t your typical 2×4-stiff Blizzards of yesteryear. As a substitute, they’re vigorous and energetic crud-busting and groomer-carving machines that reward excessive speeds with predictable edge maintain that by no means lets up.
The Blizzard Anomaly 102 and Black Pearl 94 can be found now.
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Salomon: Départ 1.0
This yr, Salomon re-enters the freestyle recreation with their long-awaited and subtly teased Départ 1.0. It seems like something however a park ski, and that’s as a result of athletes and designers Sami Ortlieb and Nico Vuignier didn’t desire a spin-to-win comp ski. As a substitute, they acknowledge that freestyle snowboarding has advanced far past the confines of the terrain park, and so they wished a ski to specific their creativity wherever there’s snow on the bottom. It’s a directional twin-tip with a uniquely large (and pointy) tip, a tender however poppy flex, and a sturdy development that may maintain as much as abuse. It’s bizarre, and it’s actually enjoyable.
The Salomon Départ 1.0 is obtainable now.
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Scott: SEA 108 and SEA 116
Scott’s new SEA line, designed with assist from newly-minted Scott athlete and big-mountain mastermind Parkin Costain, is the Swiss manufacturers newest entry into the freeride area. With an unconventional, squared-off tip and tail form, gentle weight, and a really damp flex profile, the all-mountain oriented SEA 108 stunned testers with their agility, unfastened and surfy really feel, and constant efficiency in all kinds of snow. For pow days, the bigger SEA 116 takes the same form and extra energetic core to deliver your big-mountain goals to life, providing an ideal stability between freestyle chops and freeride brawn.
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Völkl: Blaze 104
Want a single pair of skis to do all of it? We’d have discovered the one. Völkl has an up to date Blaze for subsequent yr, changing the present 106 with a brand new 104mm-waisted model. Splitting the distinction between touring and devoted alpine efficiency isn’t any straightforward feat, however the Blaze 104 is among the finest examples of a real one-ski quiver that we have examined. It is each fairly gentle and tremendous damp, oozing stability at excessive speeds even in questionable snow. It will be proper at house with a hybrid binding as a ski you’ll be able to confidently seize any day of the season, irrespective of the place you’re headed.
The Völkl Blaze 104 is obtainable now.
