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Does your next trip up the mountain involve wandering beyond the ropes? Prepare for your off-piste adventure with this head-to-toe review of the latest ski and snowboard gear. We tested some of the best stuff available for 2014, including skis, splitboards, clothing, packs and safety equipment.
Backcountry Skis
For my backcountry setup, I like to keep a small quiver. For the days when you need a snorkel to breathe, I use the DPS Wailer 112RP Pure3 ($1,250). The skis are spendy but float like they have some kind of anti-gravity mechanism built in and whip around plenty fast for me to stay out of trouble while sailing through the trees on deep days in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico. They're also amazingly light thanks to the carbon construction, which means I'm at the front of the pack every time we head out on a skin track. As an added bonus, the skis are designed to ski just fine inbounds so they're still plenty of fun on groomers. On days when it's not thigh deep, the K2 Annex 98 ($700, below) skis are my go-to. They're a fairly firm ski, so they hold a solid edge on steep, packed snow; sorta like confidence builders when you find yourself on a pucker-inducing line. If you do find yourself on these skis after it's dumped, you'll still be plenty happy. The rockered tips plowed through the pow during an early season storm in New Mexico and even though they're 98 mm underfoot they floated like a dream. I also had the chance to ski these on some groomers in Tahoe and it was a lot of fun ripping down the hill all day at Mach 2. — Jakob SchillerPhotos by Jakob Schiller and Jim Merithew/WIRED
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