Where to find gear info?

[Grace]

I just love ski gear, need some new stuff, but feel I know far too little about it (especially after reading the anecdotes on these forums which stress how important it is to know your stuff when you go to the shop). So my question: what are good sources to get clued up on gear (especially on women's boots and skis)? The ski magazines I've seen don't seem to contain too much technical info. Does anyone have any book or website suggestions? I would be most grateful.

Thanks!
Grace

 

[ski diva]

One resource, though it's only by paid subscription, is Realskiers.com. Not sure how much it costs now, but it's not much and could pay off, in the long run. The last time I was in the market for new skis I subscribed to the site, and I thought their reviews were pretty helpful.

Plus you could always ask us Divas; we have plenty of opinions about equipment. :D

 

[eng_ch]

Yep, I was going to say here, snowHeads and Epic are probably the best free sources of info

 

[Jilly]

Like SkiDiva suggests, we can help you to. Just post your questions. And don't be afraid to ask anything!!

 

[ski diva]

Another web site worth checking out: Ski-Review.com.

 

[SnowHot]

Like SkiDiva suggests, we can help you to. Just post your questions. And don't be afraid to ask anything!!

Please do so!
As with all of us, we use a lot of sources. If you're new to this type information superhighway, some of us will be more than eager to help you in any way and even ask for you from one of the other sources.

I think we need a 1-800 ASK-PHIL help line....;)

 

[SnowHot]

BTW, if you need boot information, you can't miss with Jeff Bergeron on Epic(in the Gear section there is a sticky dedicated to his boot Q & A), or On Snowhead Smallzookeeper. Both are amazing with this stuff!

 

[Lynn]

I rely on the RealSkiers website for equipment info. They seem to have a really good system for evaluating skis without the commercial bias the mags have. Their testers are a combo of ski pros and regular folks. Ultlimately, the site manager, Peter Kelty will always recommend demoing skis to find the one best suited to you.

The women here may have the best subjective opinion on woman oriented skis. Many of the personal reviews written on different skis sites are by men. You know, that other species.;)

 

[ISki]

Learning how skis are made and what components go into construction is very useful information. "Ski" magazine, Sept. 2006, had a good article and referenced:

https://skibuilders.com/howto/

 

[eng_ch]

The main thing to be aware of with RealSkiers is that they don't cover every make - for instance they don't have anything on Scott skis which are getting rave reviews in Europe this year (the Scott Mission is Fall Line Magazine's ski of the year and everyone who tried them at the snowHeads PSB the other week loved them)

 

[Grace]

Thank you so much for the advice -- some great suggestions.