SierraDescents | Category | Gear
February 28, 2012
Rossignol Pursuit HP
Rossignol's new Pursuit HP replaces the popular Avenger Ti, taking over the maker's high-end frontside carver niche—non-race edition. Think of the wood/titanium-core Pursuit (more)
February 27, 2012
Nordica Fire Arrow 80 Pro
Nordica's Fire Arrow 80 Pro was one of the most popular skis at this year's SIA demo. I waited diligently for a chance to ride the updated Fire Arrow, and I'm glad I did. This is (more)
February 23, 2012
Blizzard Cochise
Of all the skis I tried at this year's SIA show, the Blizzard Cochise was easily the biggest surprise. The Cochise didn't just win best of show—it changed how I look at (more)
February 21, 2012
Salomon Enduro XT 800
Salomon's Enduro XT800 is another one of those carving-oriented All-Mountain skis that finds itself reclassified by today's standards as strictly a frontside carver. Yes, the ski (more)
February 20, 2012
Atomic Smoke Ti
Atomic's Smoke Ti is a frontside carver that makes shop owners and skiers happy alike—it sells well, and it delivers a lot of ski for the money. Probably Atomic wouldn't (more)
February 15, 2012
Volkl RTM-84
Volkl's RTM 84 has been highly regarded in print reviews, topping many a frontside-carver list. Oddly enough, however, during my own on-snow testing at Winter Park, the RTM 84 (more)
February 10, 2012
Head i.Supershape Titan
The spirit of Frontside carving is alive and well in Head's i.Supershape ski line. If you're looking with disdain at fat-waisted All Mountain skis and wondering where your (more)
February 9, 2012
Volkl Nunataq
My take on Volkl's Nunataq is that it's exactly the ski it's supposed to be. Billed as the touring version of the Gotama (or so Volkl told me), the Nunataq does indeed deliver a (more)
January 2, 2012
Black Diamond Warrant
I'm going to coin a new term to try to capture the essence of Black Diamond's Warrant, part of the revamped 2012 Black Diamond ski lineup: let's call it 'de-specialized'. The (more)
December 22, 2011
Exped DownMat 7
Yes, there is down (as in feathers) in Exped's DownMat-series sleeping pads, which include the DownMat 7 and the DownMat 9, in lengths from short to long. Putting feathers inside (more)
December 13, 2011
Canon XF100
I understand that Canon's XF100 is currently one of the very hottest items in the compact professional camcorder market, and I understand why. But to my eye, the XF100 is (more)
December 6, 2011
Scarpa Charmoz GTX
Scarpa's Charmoz GTX is a light Alpine/Mountaineering boot in the same class as the very popular La Sportiva Trango S EVO. On my scale the two boots are almost identical. The (more)
December 1, 2011
Sony NEX-5N
Sony's next-generation NEX-5N looks pretty much the same as its immediate predecessor, the intriguing NEX-5A, but there the similarities end. The NEX-5N is in many ways the (more)
November 30, 2011
The Malache Jacket
I'm a big fan of non-fleecy fleece. Yes, we all know the performance advantages of fleece, and we've all got at least one fleece jacket lurking somewhere in our closets—but does (more)
October 3, 2011
Fritschi Eagle
Fritschi's Eagle 10 and Eagle 12 (for maximum DIN setting) replace the Explore/Express bindings as the slightly-lighter alternative to Fritchi's hugely popular Freeride Pro Alpine (more)