[QUOTE="michael, post: 57714, member: In photography, for example, a camera has XYZ pixels, such-n-such dynamic range, etc. and those properties are apples-to-apples for cameras (within and across brands). Skis, though... [/QUOTE]
In photography, those 'numbers'- dynamic range, pixel density, ISO range are all measuring how well a device creates an image. Those numbers don't measure the 'user interface'. Have you ever read a camera review where the camera seems to be spectacular but the reviewer just... doesn't like the way it handles? With a ski, it's all 'handling' or 'user interface', there is no end product like a photograph. It would be like walking around 'taking photos' with no CF card, no way to review the image, only the memory of clicking the shutter. At that point, the dynamic range kind of doesn't matter. Only your enjoyment of operating the mechanism matters.
As I said earlier, it is more like food than an electronic product. Walk into any fast food restaurant and you can get all the 'numbers' for their burger. Those numbers don't help you compare how much enjoyment you will get from their product compared to a local farm-to-table gastro pub's burger in any meaningful way. You just need to sample the product. (Or know that grass fed, locally sourced beef tastes better than Burger King...).
I am not saying the numbers are useless, just that they are such a small part of what a ski 'is' that they are more likely to get in the way than they are to help. Knowing how different a Blizzard Cochise's rocker profile is compared to an ON3P Billy Goat doesn't help compare the two skis. There is SO much else different that comparing rocker is just a waste of brain wattage. The numbers are a nice baseline, but that really is ALL they can be, more numbers don't get you closer to understanding what the ski will do on snow. Actually, it is more accurate to say the numbers are kind of usefull at understanding what a particular ski is all about, they are much less useful at COMPARISONS between skis. That is when everything breaks down. Ski A from Manufacturer A vs Ski B from Manufacturer B by numbers... not gonna help much.