When someone asks, “What’s new in ski equipment this year?” the answer could easily be “Not much.” Sure, there are a few new things out there, but it’s mostly minor tweaks to existing products. The big shaped-ski revolution has turned into a quiet evolution made up of small improvements. Boots, bindings and poles are following the same path as skis, and accessories and ski wear are getting the same treatment. But, there is some very good news in all this.

The technology that started with top of the line race equipment has worked its way down to lower-priced models. That means beginners and intermediates can buy plenty of ski or boots for very reasonable prices. No big changes also means a new pair of leftover skis or boots can provide the performance at considerable savings. It all adds up to value.

If you haven’t had new skis for awhile, your new models will surely be shorter. How much shorter? Before the shaped skis came along a decade and a half ago, a typical slalom ski for advanced male skiers was 200-205 cms and a GS 200-210 cms. Today, my slalom skis are 165’s and my GS 175’s and they are as stable as the old longer skis.

One trend that continues this season is wider skis. Race skis are typically 65-66 (2 ½ inches) mms at the waist with some as wide as 68 mms and they don’t change much. There are also recreational versions of race skis with similar dimensions. In recreational models the majority of skis are 70-80 mms at the waist with tip widths of 116-124 mms. Some are even wider. The question for all is, “How wide should your new skis be?” And the answer is, “Where do you do most of your skiing?”

The wider models are primarily to perform better in powder or soft snow. If you ski only groomed runs, you don’t need wider skis. If you spend most of your time off piste, in the trees and other places that don’t see the grooming machines, wider skis make some sense. They do offer floatation in powder, but they sacrifice quickness — when I ski in the trees I want a ski that is quick edge to edge and easy into the turn.

There is one item that helps the performance of these wider skis. Marker’s iPT Wide Ride binding is designed for skis 80mms and wider providing maneuverability closer to the more traditional narrower systems. I skied wide skis with and without the wide ride and it definitely helps the wider skis. While I will still be skiing race skis most of the time, I plan on spending considerable time on the Volkl AC 30 equipped with the Wide Ride bindings. To fully check out these skis will, of course, require getting away from the computer and onto the mountain on powder days, but I can make the sacrifice.

If you’re thinking of new skis, try to get to one of the early season demo days. Make it a point to try different lengths. As you go wider, you will probably want to go shorter, so don’t be afraid to go well below what you normally ski.

Another benefit to the new shorter skis is that you don’t need as much boot. This can mean a reduction in cost and an improvement in comfort. We no longer need that stiff race boot to make these shorter skis respond. Tecnica is a good example as they list the flex rating of all their boots. The Dragon 120 (the number is the flex rating) retails for $749. Drop down to the 100 and the price drops to $549 and the 90 to $499. The savings are similar in all brands. Softer is less money and with today’s shorter skis you can get the performance.

One impression that many have is that today’s new skis are super expensive and at the top of the lines there are price tags over $1000, but most offerings today include bindings which could be anywhere from $200-$400. The last few years I have been going out of my way to ski on lower priced models and I have found some very good skis. Some that are worth trying include Elan Magfire 74 $599, the Atomic Smoke Ti $599, Fischer Heat 74 $599, and Volkl AC 20 $699. These prices include bindings. There are plenty more and, of course, if you have a more expansive budget here are some of my favorites:

Volkl RaceTiger RC $969 w/binding, Fischer World Cup RC Pro $1175 w/binding, Atomic D2 VF 72 Select $999 w/binding. These are all skis that like to go fast, mostly GS. Between these top of the line models and the low end there are many more, as many as 300 different skis to choose from in all ability and price ranges.