When I go to a ski shop for the first time, I usually go straight to their ski wall. I love looking at all the skis lined up and checking out the new topsheet graphics on some of my favorite models. You can tell a lot about a ski shop from their ski wall.
The ski wall at Jans tells our story too. We don’t offer every ski—or every brand. We have a commitment to quality and performance. Our skis are tested, debated, and finally selected by our expert buyers.
Our curated selection supports the range of skiers and ski conditions we have here in Park City, Utah. We know that shopping for new skis can be an intimidating endeavor, so we broke our ski wall into basic categories that share similar attributes: All Mountain, All Mountain – Wide, Carving, Powder, and Touring.
All Mountain Skis (80 – 90 mm underfoot)
As the name suggests, skis in this category are designed to be capable of exploring any terrain you might encounter at the resort. They are wide enough to keep you afloat in moderately deep powder, and a combination of camber underfoot with tip and tail rocker offers versatility to perform well in a variety of conditions.
These skis are designed for a wide range of terrain and skiing styles. Some models are very user-friendly for beginners, while others have heavier, stiffer construction that makes them better-suited for advanced and expert skiers.
All Mountain – Wide Skis (90 – 100 mm underfoot)
Whether you want to call it an East Coast Powder or West Coast All-Mountain, making a versatile ski wider makes it even more versatile. Skis narrower than 90 mm underfoot have limited powder performance. When you’re in more than six inches of fresh snow, having a wider ski really helps keep you floating on top.
If you’re used to skiing narrower skis, then it may take a few runs before you’re comfortable with the extra width under your feet. This can be an issue for skiers who favor an ‘old-school’ style of keeping their legs and skis close together. Once you dial it in though, it can be hard to go back to narrower skis—especially since, with the exception of aggressive carving, these skis will perform as good, or better, than narrower models for all-mountain skiing.
Carving Skis (70 – 80 mm underfoot)
This niche category includes skis that are purpose-built for holding an edge in high-speed turns. Carving skis resemble racing skis in their shape and construction, but they are more user-friendly so you don’t necessarily need to be a ski racer to bend these skis and access their arcing prowess.
Due to their narrow width, these are best for skiing on-piste. If you venture into deep powder on carving skis, then you may have trouble keeping your tips from sinking. Carving skis have less or no rocker in the tips and tails. Instead, these skis have a cambered profile that helps keep the full edge length in contact with the snow when you’re arcing turns.
Shop Stockli Laser SC SRT Skis w/ System Bindings
Powder Skis (>100 mm underfoot)
Miracles do happen. And if your local resort or vacation destination gets hit with a storm, then wide powder skis are a must-have—especially in really deep snow.
Powder skis generally have more rocker and less camber in their profile than All Mountain and Carving Skis, and the tip and tail rocker extends further toward the middle of the ski. This profile design helps these skis float on top of fresh snow and easily initiate surfy powder turns.
Similarly to the All Mountain – Wide skis, the extra width of powder skis can take some getting used to. If you’re trying powder skis for the first time, keep your feet shoulder-width apart and try to maintain a small gap between your knees. This will help keep your skis from clacking together.
Shop Atomic Bent Chetler 120 Skis
Touring Skis
When you’re earning your turns skiing in the backcountry, you want a ski that’s light enough not to kill your legs on the climb up. Shaving weight in ski construction requires using lightweight materials that can feel much different than the alpine skis you’re used to skiing in the resort. When you’re in-bounds, heavier skis can provide more stability and less chatter. You can also put more force into a ski with a heavier construction, and you’ll notice the difference most when carving turns and charging over variable snow.
For the Jans ski wall, we found our favorite touring skis that deliver great downhill skiing performance in a lightweight construction. These skis offer a balance between weight savings and ski ability—so you won’t feel like you’re sacrificing one for the other.
Shop DPS Powderworks 110 C2 Skis
There’s something to be said about being able to see all the skis together and visualize some of the features and differences between models. At Jans.com, we wanted to give our online shopping community that same experience. You can now see all our skis in a row just like at our flagship Park Ave location, and you can easily navigate right to the type of ski you’re looking for. Stay tuned over the coming weeks as we have a few more brands to add.
By Chris Norwood, Editor & Ski Writer
