Top Picks: 2014 Women’s Powder Skis

If making slarvy turns and sinking deep into light fluffy whiteness sounds like your ideal day on the mountain, you’ll want to consider the latest and greatest for ultimate powder enjoyment. We rounded up our top picks for the 2013-14 ski season.

It’s important to note that although these skis perform best in that deep goodness, some of them can carve quite a mean turn. How is this possible, you ask? Its a little something called rockered tip and tail and shortened, traditional sidecut. Essentially, powder skis these days enjoy the best of both worlds. The rockered—also known as early rise—tip and tail ensure optimal floatation. If you were to set this type of ski on a flat surface, you’d notice that where the ski touches the ground is where the sidecut is, or where you engage the ski to make a turn. Thus, these wide boards are surprisingly nimble and provide impressive carving capabilities.

Okay, enough tech talk. Without further adeui, Women’s Gear Guide’s top women’s powder skis picks. If you have any questions about Women’s Gear Guide’s powder ski suggestions tweet @womensgearguide. Happy face shots!

Armada VJJ

The Armada VJJ, despite the fact that its name illicites grumbles amongst feminists, has been a fan favorite in the powder department for the last three years. As a leader in the rockered tip and tail and positive camber/traditional sidecut movement, Armada knows what their doing when it comes to making a ski that’s floaty, playful, lightweight and even versatile. One of the best things about this ski is that is can rip groomers well. If you tip your ankles it’s quite easy to get this ski on edge and really hold that edge. The earlier iterations experienced some tip chatter at speeds on groomers, but that’s no longer the case. If you want a powder ski that can do everything and do everything well, the VJJ is it.

Lengths: 165, 176
Dimensions: 126-136-115-133-123
12m @165

Rossignol Star 7

You probably already know this, although it has a new look and a new name. Formerly the popular S7w, the new Star 7 is one of Rossignol’s new “S Series” models. This ski still has all the same things that made it a favorite several years ago: a rockered tip and tail and traditional camber and sidecut. But there’s a couple new features that keep the Star 7 at the top of the powder gamut. The new honeycomb tip reduces the swing weight of the tip significantly, making it one of the most maneuverable powder skis out there. And of course, its traditional sidecut and camber make for easy groomer cruisin.’

Lengths:162,170,178, 188
Dimensions: 140-116-130

DPS Yvette

As ladies we’re prone to knee injury. There are ways we can reduce the stress on our knees, especially as skiers. One of those ways is losing some weight on our set up. DPS skis are constructed using carbon fiber, making it one of the lightest alpine skis on the market. The DPS Yvette combines rockered tip and tail with traditional sidecut/camber making it a dream in powder and in variable conditions. This ski is an ideal pick for an AT set-up, as this ski can do just about everything well and each ski weighs less than 3.75 pounds.

Lengths: 168, 178
Dimensions: 141/112/128

Salomon Rockette

These beefy mamas look intimidating, but they’re quite versatile –much like everything else in its class. The Salomon Rockette‘s enjoy the same shape and construction as the popular men’s Rocker2. These playful sticks have reduced swing weight and overall weight t this year, too, thanks to a honeycomb tip and an absence of edge in the tip (which is unnecessary anyway). A forward mount is recommended on these babies.

Lengths: 156, 164, 170
Dimensions:137 – 115 – 127 @170