Welcome to a special Resort Guide installment of Gear Spotlight from FREESKIER. Here, we provide a close-up look at the equipment and accessories that everyone should know about. Can’t get enough gear? Click here to see our entire 2019 Buyer’s Guide.
Blizzard Sheeva 11
The Sheeva 11 is the widest offering in Blizzard’s women’s freeride collection. At 112 mm underfoot, it’s wide enough to surf deep days but not too overwhelming for when the snow is tracked out. A rocker-camber-rocker profile also aids in that versatility. As for the organs within its body, the Sheeva 11 is built with poplar, beech, balsa and paulownia wood in the core, which combine together for low weight, energy and rigidity. Additionally, Blizzard employs full width, specially shaped Titanal underfoot that tapers toward the tip and tail (which feature unidirectional carbon fiber). This yields strength and stability lengthwise, with lessened rigidity width-wise for improved playfulness. Bottom line: The Sheeva is meant to be worshiped.
Salomon QST 118
Everybody needs a pair of powder skis. The ones you pull out on the days every skier dreams about. Trust us, the Salomon QST 118 will not let you down when the white room opens its doors. Its rockered tip and tail allow it to plane above deep snow and quickly maneuver around any object you may encounter, while camber underfoot enhances that stable character many covet. Salomon’s use of a woven carbon and flax layer takes the QST 118’s rigidity to new levels, without weighing it down in the least. While wide enough for those bottomless days, the characteristics mentioned above allow the QST 118 to swiftly and smoothly navigate chunder, trees and groomers with ease.
Liberty V92
Liberty’s new V92 is certainly built for speed, but also for comfort, like a Porsche. A directional shape with camber throughout 90 percent of the ski, vertical strips of metal and bamboo wood in the core make the ski an absolute barnburner on the mountain, ideal for those who eat up speed limits for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Liberty also employs slight rocker in the tip, a full carbon layup with poplar wood down the gut and metal tip and tail protectors to promote easy turning, smooth the flex and reduce chatter. All together, the V92’s construction is meant for speed freaks but is ultimately easy to ski and won’t fight you down the mountain. Two thumbs up, Liberty.
Völkl M5 Mantra
The Mantra has been a beloved ski of all-mountain shredders the world over since 2005-06. The updates Völkl made to the new M5 are sure to keep those loyal Mantra skiers satisfied. Völkl’s new construction technique positions Titanal around the perimeters of the tip and tail, with a carbon inlay plopped into the nose. This maintains the damp, rigid properties of the Mantra while getting rid of some bulk—characteristics held in high regard by skiers today. In a diversion from the previous Mantra, which featured full reverse camber, the M5 has an early rise tip and tail with camber underfoot for a combination of playfulness, maneuverability and supreme stability. Mantra fans of the past, this is the update you never knew you needed.
