Features

Looking for a fat ski for 2009-10? Then you've come to the right place. Mark Jones is one of Britain's top ski-testers, and he skied all the latest models at the official SIGB test earlier this year, for the Ski Club of Great Britain and Ski and Board magazine. Here, he picks his favourite off-piste skis of the season.

Mark Jones, director ICE, a training centre and gap course provider in Val d'Isère, and one of Britain's top ski-testers. Picture: Mark Junak, www.junakandjunak.co.uk

It used to be so straightforward. Working out what kind of powder ski you needed meant applying a simple formula; the deeper the snow and the greater the speed, the wider the ski.

Now it's getting complicated. These days, you have to consider the rocker and the sidecut. Do you want a full-length rocker, or rocker in the nose and tail, or just in the nose? Do you want a shaped sidecut, straight or even negative sidecut? Or do you want to keep the it simple and settle for a classic fat design, which a lot of manufacturers are still producing? It's getting so complicated you'd be forgiven for closing you mind to the subject and jumping on a snowboard instead.

Don't. These design innovations have improved the performance off-piste skis and made them easier to use. It would be a shame not to get the benefit.

To learn more about how these design innovations work, read my article about the reverse-camber revolution on Welove2ski. But if all you want to know is which of the new crop of skis I rate, then read on!

VOLKL GOTAMA

Price: £550 including bindings.

The new Gotoma is an exceptional ski. At speed it feels rock solid, but is reactive enough to make long fast turns in powder. It also feels very smooth and stable in chopped-up conditions. Although this is a wide ski, it's also surprisingly grippy on the piste.

Construction highlights: Multi layer wood core/nose rocker/carbon reinforcement

Sidecut: 137-106-122mm.

K2 HELLBENT

Price: £449 not including bindings.

The Hellbents may be scary-looking beasts, but they are actually very easy to use in deep snow - and can turn much more quickly than an ordinary fat ski. The full-length rocker makes it easy to stand over the middle of the skis, while their hefty construction makes them stable at high speeds. Of course, like any ski with this much rocker, they're a nightmare on hard-packed pistes and the nose tends to flap about alarmingly. But if you're lucky enough to ski a mountain with regular top-ups of powder, you'll love them.

Construction highlights: Full rocker/wood core

Sidecut: 150-122-141mm.

HEAD JOE

Price: £670 including bindings.

The Joe is a classic fat-design ski, and has all the qualities you'd expect from a more traditional shape and flex pattern - including good stability, and a turn shape that's easy to predict. It instantly feels well balanced, and had a super smooth flex which allows you to feel every change in the snow and terrain. For this type of ski it's also very playful and easy to adjust through the turn when you need to. Big mountain addicts will probably want a fatter ski than this, but for someone who's looking for a more adaptable ski, capable of handling most conditions, it's a good choice.

Construction highlights: Wood/cool graphics

Sidecut: 121-104-130mm.

SALOMON LORD

Price: £495 including bindings.

The Lord appeared on the scene last winter and was the first ski not specifically designed for powder to feature a small rocker through the nose. Although it is relatively narrow, it feels floaty and easy to use in the deep stuff, and its progressive shape means it's very forgiving when entering the turn. It also has an incredibly sensitive touch, and you can really feel every small change in the surface of the snow under your foot. On piste it was surprisingly grippy too, and had superb dampening for this type of ski. All in all, a great choice for someone who's going to be skiing every part of the mountain.

Construction highlights: Full wood core/210mm rocker/edgy monocoque

Sidecut: 128-87-115mm.