I recently went through the process of finding news skis. I tried to make the search as objective as possible, focusing on reviews, web posts, objective feedback from acquaintances, etc. I tried to read between the lines, focus on what I want in a ski, and not get excited about features that more or less didn't apply to me (and where I want to go in the future). As to the multitude of reviews that I read, I have various suggestions for the manufacturers and testers. I will list those in no particular order, as follows:
'1. Don't allow a tester to test a ski if it's not the tester's right length. These reviews are almost always skewed "negative". In fact, I believe that a lot of testers simply provide negative opinions simply because they are PO'd that the manufacturer didn't have the foresight/courtesy to give them a variety of lengths to test.
2. Always detail the age, weight, height, and skill--level of the tester. Maybe even go as far as to state roughly how many days per year he/she skis.
3. Detail the snow conditions at the time of the test- in each area skied
4. If you can't test in deeper snow, don't speculate on the skis powder capabilities ---or return to the slopes (for testing) when deeper snow conditions exist. I would prefer to see a "I don't know" vs a subjective throwing of the dart.
5. Try to mix-in some upper intermediate and lower-level advanced skiers into the tester mix. Most of the testers appear to be pretty advanced or expert-level skiers. Should an intermediate skier be taking advice almost exclusively from a pretty advanced/expert skier?
6. The manufactures/dealers should realize that these reviews sit on the web for a long long time---and consumers use these reviews extensively to narrow the field. Give the testers the right length skis, tuned well. The tester can be your friend or they can be your worst enemy.
7. I have seen some testers use a relatively objective 1-10 rating system to judge various ski characteristics (stability, float, carving, etc.). It would be very helpful for us consumers if the various testing firms/people would agree on (and use) a common ski characteristic methodology. This would, at least, provide the consumer some relatively objective guardrails to go along with the tester's subjective analysis.
8. Always include a comment section after the review. Let consumers ask questions and make comments. Candidly, I sometimes focus on the comments as much as I do the tester's comments - because many of the comments are from "commoners", like me - rather than testers who may wish to avoid any deep frowns from the manufacturers.
9. Clearly provide the weight of the ski being tested, together with the weight of other length skis for that model. I looked very closely at length and weight, and compared that to the other skis on my short-list.
10. Do more videos, I especially enjoyed Bob and Jeff with SkiEssentials. They provide a very good subjective and objective overview, with a minimum of blather and they don't seem to be saying nice things about a ski simply because they don't want to ruffle the manufacturer's feathers. I feel that I (and most consumers) are pretty savvy at reading between the lines of what is said in these videos and written reviews, and the testers are better iff telling it like it is, rather than sugar-coat things.
I hope someone in high places sees this post, and elevates it to the masses. Thanks for reading.
'1. Don't allow a tester to test a ski if it's not the tester's right length. These reviews are almost always skewed "negative". In fact, I believe that a lot of testers simply provide negative opinions simply because they are PO'd that the manufacturer didn't have the foresight/courtesy to give them a variety of lengths to test.
2. Always detail the age, weight, height, and skill--level of the tester. Maybe even go as far as to state roughly how many days per year he/she skis.
3. Detail the snow conditions at the time of the test- in each area skied
4. If you can't test in deeper snow, don't speculate on the skis powder capabilities ---or return to the slopes (for testing) when deeper snow conditions exist. I would prefer to see a "I don't know" vs a subjective throwing of the dart.
5. Try to mix-in some upper intermediate and lower-level advanced skiers into the tester mix. Most of the testers appear to be pretty advanced or expert-level skiers. Should an intermediate skier be taking advice almost exclusively from a pretty advanced/expert skier?
6. The manufactures/dealers should realize that these reviews sit on the web for a long long time---and consumers use these reviews extensively to narrow the field. Give the testers the right length skis, tuned well. The tester can be your friend or they can be your worst enemy.
7. I have seen some testers use a relatively objective 1-10 rating system to judge various ski characteristics (stability, float, carving, etc.). It would be very helpful for us consumers if the various testing firms/people would agree on (and use) a common ski characteristic methodology. This would, at least, provide the consumer some relatively objective guardrails to go along with the tester's subjective analysis.
8. Always include a comment section after the review. Let consumers ask questions and make comments. Candidly, I sometimes focus on the comments as much as I do the tester's comments - because many of the comments are from "commoners", like me - rather than testers who may wish to avoid any deep frowns from the manufacturers.
9. Clearly provide the weight of the ski being tested, together with the weight of other length skis for that model. I looked very closely at length and weight, and compared that to the other skis on my short-list.
10. Do more videos, I especially enjoyed Bob and Jeff with SkiEssentials. They provide a very good subjective and objective overview, with a minimum of blather and they don't seem to be saying nice things about a ski simply because they don't want to ruffle the manufacturer's feathers. I feel that I (and most consumers) are pretty savvy at reading between the lines of what is said in these videos and written reviews, and the testers are better iff telling it like it is, rather than sugar-coat things.
I hope someone in high places sees this post, and elevates it to the masses. Thanks for reading.
