How to choose your freeride skis?
Fat, freeride, freetouring or even all-mountain, the names are multiple, but few skiers know what they correspond to. And that's without even getting a look to the technical data: camber, radius, sidecut, width at the waist ... So many parameters to take into account that you would lose sight of the bigger picture! Here is our guide to better understand the differences between several models and how to choose your freeride skis.
What is freeride?
"Freeride": If today it has a name, back then it was simply ski. Back then, before paid leave, before winter sports holidays, before the democratisation of leisure skiing, when people put on their skis to move, in complete freedom, in the heart of the snowy mountain. And it is this "adventurous" spirit that still animates today's freeride enthusiasts. In French, it is called "hors-piste", off-piste skiing. You too have been bitten by the virus of powder, light snow and virgin spaces? So if "pow-pow" is your thing, welcome to the world of freeride.
Newcomers will need to equip themselves accordingly: on one hand, with skis designed for pow-pow, and on the other hand, with the necessary safety gear.
Off-piste safety
Insuring your safety and the safety of others is the main issue when freeriding. To do this, go with several people, learn how to use your equipment beforehand and check the weather conditions before any outing (weather, avalanche risk index...).
Your freerider profile
Before you know how to properly choose your freeride skis, you should already know what kind of freerider you are. Indeed, freeride is a generic term that encompasses many practices. Each of them plays on a different note: some emphasize the effort and challenge, others seek adrenaline, some aim at surpassing themselves ... There are therefore a multitude of profiles of freerider. Here, let's find the four main categories that correspond to the different ranges of freeride skis on the market.
The versatile
You're comfortable on all types of snow, as much as you like to ski down beautiful groomed slopes, you also can't help but venture out of the slopes on fresh snow days. A bit of a jack-of-all-trades, you need to choose a versatile freeride ski: this is the All Mountain range.
The diehard freerider
To go out of bounds is an escape for you to touch the freedom of your ancestors with your fingertips. You only swear by powder, even if sometimes the snow conditions aren't the best! It is therefore in the 100% freeride range that you should choose your freeride ski.
The natural freerider
Enough of the snowpark and the man-shaped modules? You are looking for freedom and play with Mother Nature's gifts. Cliffs, tree stumps, corridors… There is everything you want to drop and tons of room to dish out the craziest tricks in the backcountry. Choose freestyle backcountry skis to get the most out of the pristine mountain.
The ski tourer
You do not remember the last time you saw a chairlift. You hike the mountain on your own strength and you can only enjoy the downhill if the effort has been hard enough. Free touring enjoyer, you need to choose a freeride-touring ski downhill oriented.
The freeride skier's gear
It can't be said enough: any off-piste outing requires safety equipment including a avalanche transceiver, a probe and a shovel. For your own protection, you can equip yourself with a helmet, a back protector and an airbag backpack.
The characteristics of freeride skis
All-mountain skis
The all-mountain range is aimed at the occasional freerider, who occasionally escapes from the slopes. So it needs to be good on groomed snow as well as in powder. Tough! They have a light rocker with a classic camber and a width at the waist between 80 and 100 mm. Manufacturers generally note in percentage the slopes/off-piste use. For example, a ski that is 40% slopes 60% powder will be more maneuverable off piste.
Freestyle Backcountry skis
A blend of freestyle and freeride, this range combines the technical characteristics of both categories. So these are skis with dual rockers for switch skiing and a central binding position for better rotations. Added to that is a wide waist for maximum lift-off on fresh snow. And all this for a weight that defies all competition: lightness is the primary condition to achieve jumps and tricks. However, this lightness will be compensated because you will need solid and therefore heavy bindings.
The 100% freeride skis
This is very specialized equipment, dedicated to off-piste skiing exclusively. Freeride skis are super wide, they have therefore inherited the sweet sobriquet of "fats". There are more than 110 mm to the waist, compared to less than 80 mm for a slopes ski. The camber is reversed, which means that only the waist touches the snow. Usually endowed with a rocker to the tip to lift-off in the pow-pow. The rocker to the tail will bring handiness for better trajectories.
Touring skis
For maximum freetouring fun, you'll need to start with a "100% freeride" model to which you'll adapt touring bindings. The key point is weight. Aim for under 2,000g if you like to go up and down. If, on the other hand, you are close to the chairlift, then you will be able to ski downhill with skis weighing up to 2,500g. You will find specific models called "Freetouring".
What ski size to choose for freeride
To get better lift-off in powder fields, a freeride ski is slightly longer than an alpine piste ski. You usually need a ski length equivalent to your own height. For small sizes or featherweights, we can consider reducing the length of the ski by 5 cm to maintain good maneuverability. Following the same logic, bigger skiers can go up to 10 cm longer than their height.
To choose your freeride skis well, you must first of all know yourself well: your style, your level, your desires, your use and the frequency you're skiing. Then we will lean more towards a range rather than another. Once you are well equipped, you will have to think about completing your equipment with all the safety gear necessary for the freeride practice.
The three key points to remember when choosing your freeride skis:
- It is necessary to choose your freeride ski according to your practice (versatile, 100% freeride, touring, freestyle backcountry)
- You adapt the size of your skis to your height and your level
- You equip yourself for your safety and that of others