For newcomers to cross country (XC) skiing, deciding on the best skis can be intimidating, especially if you don’t want to rely entirely on retail sales people or on-line outlets for advice. The following guidance about selecting and using XC gear is general and intended to help you be an informed consumer. Note that as a rule of thumb, standard[Read More…]
Originally published in the 2020-21 Masterfit Buyer’s Guide and realskiers.com Bindings are rugged little devices, but like any mechanical unit they can wear out quickly if not kept clean and lubricated. At the beginning of the season, do a binding check. Annual shop inspections of the ski/boot/binding system will reveal any deviations in the release system that may require a binding to be[Read More…]
SKIS The ski shop makes more money renting out or selling higher performance equipment. Be honest with yourself – if you don’t ski hard and fast you probably don’t need it. Higher performance skis perform worse when not skied hard – they need higher momentum, and more force to get them to work well. Skied slower they can be harder[Read More…]
Originally published in the 2020-21 Masterfit Buyer’s Guide and realskiers.com How long your gear remains in tiptop condition depends entirely on how well it’s maintained. At least once a season, it’s good to get skis tuned by a specialty shop, where tuning machines can reproduce a factory finish on the skis so they perform like new. Here are some tips[Read More…]
Isn’t it remarkable how electric vehicles are taking over the automotive industry? By 2035, virtually all General Motors vehicles will be battery powered. Our grandkids will look back and tell their kids about a time when combustion engines ruled. I think a similar new frontier is being established with the Dahu ski boot. The company has parted ways[Read More…]
Last winter XC ski gear was in demand like never before and all segments of cross country ski equipment sold out, with few or no options for retailers to reorder. There also was an uptick for backcountry gear and snowshoes. Retailers are still experiencing demand and supply issues. Coupled with global supply chain challenges, everything from the components that complete[Read More…]
When it comes to skis, buying without trying can be confusing. I prefer demo days or demo-ing from shops at or near the mountain. Reading how a ski performs can provide helpful guidance in your selection process but using those skis – especially on familiar terrain – really helps in deciding how to make the best purchase. That said, we’ve[Read More…]
Guidelines For An Objective Assessment. One of the great things about ski rental shops today is their willingness to rent top of the line skis. This is a great deal because for $35 – $50/day, you can try skis that will set you back $1,000. For the CPAs, math and economic majors, the break-even at $50/day on a $1,000 pair[Read More…]
DIY: Prepare And Repair Ski Bottoms. Here’s What It Takes. Way back when I used to drive to ski resorts, I used to slide a toolbox into the back of the car with everything needed to tune a pair of skis, fix a gouge in the P-Tex and wax the bottoms. The biggest and most important item was my Toko[Read More…]
[Please consider supporting SeniorsSkiing.com with a donation. We appreciate your help. Click here.] Seven Ways To Make Ski Tests More Objective. Way back in the late 20th Century, while running the SKIpp Testing program for SKI Magazine, John Perryman and I learned the most difficult problem to solve and the biggest variable was the ski tester. In conversations with almost every[Read More…]
Does The World Need A Custom Ski Just For You? [Please consider supporting SeniorsSkiing.com with a donation. We appreciate your help. Click here.] Way back in the winter of 2018, long before Covid raised its ugly head, I asked the heads of marketing (none of whom would qualify for a SeniorsSkiing/com subscription) from three manufacturers a simple question: “Has ski[Read More…]
One of the downsides of not skiing this season is that I am unable to experience some new and interesting products in a skiing environment. I make clear in each article I’ve written about these products that it is not a product review. These pieces may be about the product’s features and benefits and how I think it will benefit[Read More…]
A Digital Coach Speaks As You Ski. Among the many things that attract me to skiing, one is the opportunity to improve at something I enjoy. I’m an advanced skier who started skiing as an adult without the benefit of regular lessons. Over the past three years I took mid-week lessons which made a real difference, but COVID cancelled those[Read More…]
This is the time of year when, with input from the Realskiers.com website, we publish SeniorsSkiing.com’s annual listing of the best new skis for older skiers. Arrival of the pandemic virtually wiped out implementation of the comprehensive women’s test. But Realskiers.com was able to collect sufficient data to pick the best models for senior male skiers. The 2021 Best Skis[Read More…]
Remember the old Sears and Montgomery Ward catalogs? For many readers, those thick bibles of material culture were a fixture of my youth. The comprehensive, new Masterfit Buyer’s Guide is close to being their skiing equivalent. In addition to it’s gear reviews, the guide has numerous helpful articles about how skis and boots are reviewed, kids gear, packing for a day[Read More…]
It’s the skier’s truism. Boots are our single most important piece of equipment. While many consider their main function to be comfort and warmth, their primary role is the efficient transfer of energy and movement from skier to skis. A SeniorsSkiing.com reader survey conducted a few years ago showed that in a given season, 25% of you purchase new boots.[Read More…]
It Pays To Spend A Little Extra Effort On Your Gear. Here’s How. [Editor Note: Don Burch’s article on storing your gear was published last year around this time. We are reprising it to help remind you that a little care for your stuff goes a long way.] Hopefully your ski equipment has taken good care of you all winter,[Read More…]
[Editor Note: SeniorsSkiing.com is asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.] Support SeniorsSkiing.com by clicking here. ______________________________________________________ Nifty Tricks For Your Feet And Schnoz.[Read More…]
[Editor Note: SeniorsSkiing.com is asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.] Support SeniorsSkiing.com by clicking here. ______________________________________________________ Don’t Wear Your Ski Parka. Choose Specialized[Read More…]
[Editor Note: SeniorsSkiing.com is asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.] Support SeniorsSkiing.com by clicking here. ______________________________________________________ Roam Elevate is a computer-driven exoskeleton that[Read More…]
[Editor Note: SeniorsSkiing.com is asking our readers to contribute to support our online magazine. Yes, we have grown in the number of subscribers and advertisers. But our expenses have also grown. You can help us defray some of these expenses by helping us out with a donation.] Support SeniorsSkiing.com by clicking here. ______________________________________________________ The week before last, more than a[Read More…]
…And Boots. Ski Butler Service Takes The Schlep Out Of Ski Vacations. I’ve always wanted a butler. After watching all of those episodes of “Downton Abbey,” who wouldn’t? And like the wise and efficient Carson on that popular TV show and movie, Ski Butlers offers an indispensable service, making the lives of traveling winter recreationists a whole lot easier. Ski[Read More…]
Who owns a hat for 50 years? Well, if it’s a Moriarty hat, perhaps you understand why. Getting ready to shovel the driveway one cold morning last winter, I reached to the top shelf of the hall closet for a hat. My fingers felt the double-thick headband of my old Moriarty hat tucked up out of sight. I pulled it[Read More…]
SeniorsSkiing.com’s Reviewer Tried Againer Exoskeleton On His Second Day On Snow. Find Out How It Worked For Him. I am a 75-year old, advanced intermediate skier with 10 years experience as a PSIA instructor in the East and mild osteoarthritis in my left knee. I currently ski at Alta; that’s where I recently tested the Againer Exoskeleton. The Againer consists[Read More…]
How many of you remember the days when you got to the mountain early, skied all day, and quit when the lot was empty? I didn’t fully appreciate it then and look back on those times with nostalgia. Youth is wasted on the young. But what if we could be out there a bit longer and ski a bit stronger?[Read More…]
