I've had a chance to try out some of my new gear and wanted to give a report on some of the equipment we've been using.

I'm skiing on Salomon boots/bindings/skis and have been very impressed with everything. I've always skied on their boots and bindings and this year's models have surpassed any of their previous boots/bindings by a large margin. The black beauty (S-Lab) boots speak for themselves, you just need to try a pair and you'll love them without caring about the carbon fiber sole and heel cup. and you'll love them even more the first time you ski in sloppy conditions and realize that they are completely waterproof. Unfortunately, if you haven't already bought a pair, you might not be able to find a pair to buy. Their second-best model has most of the same features as the black beauty, however, and would make a good substitute.

How frustrating is it to have a pair of classic skis with binding that have lost their bumpers or skate skis with the yellow pull-tab thing ripped off? That is why I am super psyched that the Salomon bindings this year have no breakable/fall-off-able parts. That's right, you won't have to replace bumpers or tabs anymore. On the more technique-focused side, the bumper interfered with a skier's ability to get a full range of motion when striding, it forced the energy forward into the ski. Without a bumper, the force from kicking off all goes straight down. I guess the fact that the classic bindings now utilize the pilot system is also exciting, but I'm way more excited about their bumperlessness. I haven't noticed the classic pilot system while striding but I think it really helps while herring-boning to keep the ski aligned under your foot.

Now for the skis, wow. I've barely even gotten any wax in them and they already feel wicked fast. I've been really happy with how all of my skis have felt and am glad that I switched to skiing on Salomon. The skate skis are a clever hybrid of a stiff, energetic ski with a low riding camber. That they're stiff means that they respond well and quickly, like little trampoline skis. That they have a low camber means that the pressure is distributed over a larger portion of the ski base which means that they track really well and aren't squirrley. They also have a carbon fiber section across the top which probably enables the stiff-low camber hybrid but I just think it mostly looks sweet. The classic ski utilizes a box camber and I have loved the two pairs I've skied so far. Usually I have some trouble figuring out how to kick my first time on actual skis but these have been super easy to kick, even with unsophisticated waxing. Yep, I'm pretty psyched to be skiing on such nice stuff.