More on 2011/2012 Skis courtesy of Off-Piste

Our friends at Off-Piste shared a little more intel on some of the new ski goods from the recent OR show. Thanks to them and check it out:

In other ski gear news, Voile announced a new ski at the show, the Vector BC. The Vector BC adds a waxless pattern base to the Vector. At 94mm underfoot, The Vector BC is the widest, most downhill oriented waxless ski yet to be offered by anyone. I have always been an advocate of wide waxless skis (I have some prototypes from past years) and find them super fun for light touring, long approaches and general ski fun. 

NEW FROM VOILE

In other subtle changes, the Dynafit Manaslu will change for 2011. The 2011 Manaslu drops the synthetic stringer construction in favor of the all-wood construction of the Dynafit Stoke. The result is a slightly stiffer tip on the ski. Overall, the 2011 Manaslu seemed to have a damper ride than the original, but was not dramatically different. I am a big fan of the original Manaslu ski, and the new version is a nice evolution without reinventing the wheel. The Stoke comes in with the same construction as before, but with the new binding mount locations (further forward).

DYNAFIT OFFERINGS

In other interesting ski news, DPS announced a radical, new ski design call the Spoon. There are a couple of standout characteristics that set the new spoon apart from other skis. First, the base is convex. Second, there are four points called cleats, where the base is shaped to allow contact with firm snow (and thus allow you to stop, if need be). I was not able to ski the new board, but it is truly a new take on powder skiing. Can't say that convex bases will take off like rocker just yet, but it will be interesting to learn more about the ski.  In the meantime, for a true description that does the new spoon ski design justice, visit the DPS Spoon Ski information page.

IT'S SO RADICAL THE PICTURE MOVES

We (Off-Piste) will have a chance to ski just about all of these skis, and lots more, during our annual ski testing in March and will post updates at that time (see http://www.offpistemag.com/).