Ski Kit
Freeride
Skilled skiers who see the entire resort as their playground will get a kick out of this gear.
Skiers who’ve reached the pinnacle of their craft (or something like it; we firmly believe skiing is a lifelong learning experience) need gear that can keep up—and perhaps push them to even steezier levels. We put this kit together with those hard-charging folks in mind. It’s packed with strong, stable, and dependable products that can handle everything from cliff drops to expertly carved turns. Take a look, and see if the gear here matches your stoke.
K2 Cortex 130 Zonal Boa ($950)
Fischer Ranger 108 ($900)
Look Pivot 2.0 15 GW ($480)
Black Diamond Factor Shell ($679)
Flylow Baker ($440)
Arc'teryx Atom ($280)
Smith 4D Mag ($348)
Smith Nexus MIPS ($365)
Flylow Wolverine ($125)
Ortovox 185 Rock'N'Wool ($120)
Le Bent Shred Targeted Cushion ($34)
Black Crows Oxus ($149)
Speed demons and jump-turn enthusiasts, rejoice. The Cortex 130 Zonal Boa (women's 125) provides a powerful platform that will shepherd you confidently through arced turns and dizzying steeps. Make sure your foot works with the low-volume fit, though.
Hardpack Performance
All-Mountain Performance
Comfort
Fit Customization
Build Quality & Durability
Sustainability
The Ranger 108 is a bit of a cyborg—and that’s a compliment. This ski has enough metal underfoot to carry you over (or through) variable snow, even at speed. On the other hand, it still has enough life in the tips to remain playful when you need it to be.
The Pivot 2.0 15 GW is well-known among skiers who require top-tier reliability and performance from their setup. It’s burly, dependable, and—above all—safe for going big.
The Factor is Black Diamond’s take on a high-end ski jacket, pairing supple, soft materials with a trendy, freeride style. It’s too heavy and bulky for the backcountry, but it’s a cozy, protective, and highly mobile option for day-in, day-out resort use.
Weather Protection
Warmth
Comfort
Breathability
Durability
Sustainability
For resort skiing, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more complete package than the Flylow Baker Bib. It offers top-of-the-line protection and durability for less than many competitors, plus a plethora of size options. Just don’t take it too far into the backcountry.
Weather Protection
Warmth
Comfort
Breathability
Durability
Sustainability
It’s hard to go wrong with the minimalist Atom as a midlayer. This versatile layer pairs high-end construction with ample breathability and mobility, though it’s expensive for a synthetic piece.
Warmth
Comfort & Mobility
Breathability
Versatility
Durability
Sustainability
Visibility is important for any skier, but it’s essential when you frequently find yourself in consequential terrain and/or skiing at high speed. The 4D Mag has the best field of view in the game, complemented by crystal-clear lens tech and an excellent overall feature set.
Optical Quality
Field of View
Lens-Change System
Comfort
Ventilation
Sustainability
This is a top-end helmet for top-end skiers, and one that actually lives up to its enormous price tag. The Nexus MIPS is packed with safety features, premium cushioning, plenty of ventilation, and just about everything you want in a helmet.
Comfort
Warmth
Ventilation
Weight & Bulk
Durability
Sustainability
The Wolverine is a premium-feeling full leather glove without a premium price tag. Its sleek undercuff design will never distract you on the slopes, and its reasonable waterproofing will resist moisture in all but warm, wet weather. Just be aware that it’s not the warmest glove in its class.
Warmth
Waterproofing
Dexterity
Comfort
Durability
Sustainability
The Rock'N'Wool is an all-merino base layer with a very playful style. The finely woven fabric is very soft, provides exceptional warmth, and effectively resists odor build-up—but unlike synthetic alternatives, it will need to be babied.
Warmth
Breathability
Durability
Comfort
Odor Resistance
Sustainability
Le Bent did its homework with this sock: It’s relatively thin to provide a trustworthy connection to your boots, yet retains enough cushion to keep your shins happy. The quality is immediately evident, and the Shred’s interesting blend of fibers makes it uber-comfy, too.
This minimalist, fixed-length pole won’t turn heads for its feature set, but that’s not its purpose. The aluminum Oxus is a relatively thick, dependable pole that lets you pivot around it and punch into the next turn without worrying whether it’s up to the task.
How We Built Our Freeride Kit
As opposed to the hard goods we included in our beginner, intermediate, and crossover ski kits, which all take some form of user-friendliness, weight-to-performance ratio, and even uphill ability into account, the boots, skis, and bindings we picked for our freeride friends have one major thing in common: They’re all built to keep you in control and steaming ahead when things get rowdy in the resort. (And yes, we’re talking terrain-wise, not referencing what happens when you have one too many Bloody Marys during lunch.) Whereas other kits might prioritize ease of use and on-piste performance, our freeride favorites are designed for going big in steeps, powering through crud, and perhaps hucking off a jump or two.
To that end, the centerpiece hardware in this kit are all beefy examples of ski equipment with enough backbone to remain powerful and predictable even when faced with high speed and less-than-desirable snow. Sometimes that takes the form of trustworthy metal components, as is the case with our chosen ski, the Fischer Ranger 108, and our binding pick, the Look Pivot 2.0 15 GW.
Skis
The Ranger 108 has a titanal layer that runs from the middle of the ski (under the binding, where you generate the most force) partway towards the tips and tails. The addition of metal does wonders for dampening your ride, even while bashing through chunder at speed. At the same time, the Ranger’s poplar and beech core keeps the tips and tail sprightly and fun. All told, it’s a more nimble ride than something like the Volkl M7 Mantra, which features more metal in its build. The Mantra would be a good choice for skiers who like a more directional, aggressive feel or are on the heavier side, while the Rossignol Sender Free 110 is an even more poppy option that rewards imaginative line choices and folks who like to air things out.
Ski Bindings
Moving on, the Look Pivot 2.0 has a metal toe piece, which is uncommon for a binding (most are plastic, including the Marker Griffon 13, which you can find in our Editors’ Picks Kit), and ratchets up durability by a significant notch. The toe and the heel piece also have a higher amount of elasticity than your average binding, which means that you won’t be fighting the Pivot to feel the natural progression of your turns despite it being such a beefy design. Finally, its DIN of 15 is around what aggressive skiers will want to aim for, so it won’t let them come out of the binding prematurely as it absorbs impact. Other beefy, secure bindings that would make sense for a freeride skier include the Marker Jester 16 and the Tyrolia Attack 17 GW.
Ski Boots
When it comes to ski boots, you’ll want one that’s designed to give expert skiers all of the confidence, support, and feedback they need. If those three things sound like what you’d want from a partner or a friend, consider that you’ll be relying on your boot to be your faithful companion in steep, complex terrain. It should have a flex of about 120 or higher, which will allow it to be much more structured and responsive than boots for intermediate skiers, which have lower stiffness levels (90 to 110 or so).
Our pick, the K2 Cortex Zonal 130 Boa, has a 130 flex that’s about as stiff as it gets before crossing into race-adjacent territory. During our testing, we found that when you drive this boot correctly, it feels like the most natural motion in the world. If your foot fits the Cortex’s low-volume last (that’s actually a significant if, so try it on first), it provides plenty of comfort, helped by the precise fit you’ll achieve with the dual Boa dials. If the shape just isn’t for you, check out another high flier with a more accommodating width: the Tecnica Mach1 130 MV, which has a 100-millimeter last and a similar 130 flex. If you want your freeride journey to continue into the backcountry, an uphill-capable boot like the Atomic Hawx Prime XTD 130 should help facilitate your need for speed.
As far as apparel goes, choosing layers for a freeride skier comes with a special twist. We wanted the feel of these products to match the hard goods above—not so much for their burliness, but in the sense that they’ll never hold you back on the mountain. That means outerwear with pretty loose cuts, lots of stretch, and near-unlimited mobility. You probably have an idea of what a “freeride fit” is—we tried to adhere as close to that as we could, while still choosing layers with good weather, build quality, and value.
Ski Jacket
To wit: The Black Diamond Factor Shell, which has a fit that we deem roomy but not too baggy, and a stretch-woven face fabric that ensures you won’t bump up against this jacket’s mobility limits. Its gusseted cargo chest pockets also exude full-on “freeride” vibes, though the storage options received mixed reviews from our testers. What we’re all fans of, though, is the Factor’s 3-layer waterproof construction. It’s not Gore-Tex—which helps keep the price below $700, a small victory in this premium kit and category—but it will keep you dry through the vast majority of precipitation you’ll be skiing in. Another dependable option for a well-rounded shell with a dialed fit is the Arc’teryx Sabre, which does feature a Gore-Tex membrane and costs $750. The Sabre has a sleeker look and feel than the Factor, but that might only widen its appeal.
Ski Bib
More so than a beginner or an intermediate skier, it’s likely that a freeride practitioner is dipping in and out of the trees, perhaps skirting some rocks, and all in all moving through environments that can shred apparel over the course of a season. That’s why we’ve picked outerwear that can hold its own, a main highlight of the Flylow Baker Bib. The Baker has a 150-denier polyester face fabric that’s as tough as nails. (Of the bibs we’ve tested, only the Trew Gear Jefferson, with its 200D x 300D Oxford weave, has thicker material.) And yet, despite the Baker’s hefty 3-layer material, the bib has a slightly baggy fit that means you’ll never feel straightjacketed while wearing it, even while bashing over moguls or heading into the park. Similarly, the Arc’teryx Sabre Bib is another excellent option (though far more expensive).
Midlayer
It’s a bit more challenging to tailor midlayer performance to a freeride skier. Still, broadly speaking, it's better to err on the side of slightly less weight than you might usually opt for with resort-ready insulation. Cruising around the mountain seeking out freeride lines can get the blood pumping, so you’ll likely appreciate active insulation layers that use more breathable insulation and venting, such as the Arc’teryx Atom Jacket. Its 60-gram synthetic insulation is on the lighter side, and the breathable fleece side panels will feel especially good if you’re booting to reach the top of the line. If you run warm, check out the even more aerobically inclined Patagonia Nano-Air Light Hybrid Jacket (40g fill and with an entirely fleece back).
Base Layer
The Atom works well in concert with our base layer choice, the Ortovox 185 Rock'N'Wool. It’s made from 100% merino wool and provides midweight warmth, which is a nice counterbalance to the Atom’s below-average (but still well-rounded) insulation. And merino is plenty stretchy, so it adds to our mobility through-line. We also dig the funky colors (at this point, it should be clear that style definitely has a place in the freeride world). A “freeride base layer” is a vague category (okay, we kind of made it up), but, as with midlayers, the best rule of thumb is not to go crazy warm. Another couple of well-balanced alternatives are the Smartwool Intraknit Thermal Merino and the Patagonia Capilene Thermal Weight.
Ski Gloves
Finally, a freeride glove should be warm and waterproof enough to keep you out in inclement weather, but above all, it shouldn’t get in the way. Our glove pick, the Flylow Wolverine, aligns well with this kit’s set-and-forget and durability directives. Its undercuff design will integrate neatly with the Factor, so you don’t have to worry about sloppy layering that could catch on an errant tree branch. It’s not super warm—again, you’re going to be working pretty hard—but if you’re getting cold fingers, the uber-insulated Black Diamond Guide will solve that problem. (Be aware that it's an over-the-cuff model and heavier, though.) Black Diamond’s Spark glove has an undercuff design similar to the Wolverine's, if you want another option.
We wanted this kit’s goggle and helmet to help account for the margins of error you might encounter as you slash, jib, and huck your way around the resort. That’s why we immediately thought of the Smith 4D Mag, with its curved bottom portion of the lens that provides better downward sightlines than any goggle on the market. If it makes the difference between you seeing that stump in time or not, you’re welcome.
Sussing out the snow conditions in front of you can be challenging, too, so the other significant benefit of this goggle is Smith’s ChromaPop lens tech, which offers best-in-class clarity and definition. ChromaPop lenses come in a variety of VLTs and are quick and easy to swap out, but if you want one lens for nearly every combination of sun and cloud, Smith sells the most expensive version of the 4D Mag with a photochromic lens. Smith’s I/O Mag goggle also has ChromaPop and a wide field of view, though it lacks the downwards-looking benefit of the 4D Mag. Outside of Smith’s impressive lineup, Anon’s M6 also offers high definition and clarity, and its magnetic lens-swap system may be even better.
And if, say, you clock a patch of ice and take a tumble, the Smith Nexus MIPS helmet will go a long way towards making sure you walk away without your eggs getting scrambled. As its name suggests, the Nexus has MIPS to protect against angled impacts, and it’s also one of two helmets in Smith’s lineup (the other is the equally highly rated Vantage 2 MIPS) to have a full complement of Koroyd. Koroyd, which is placed between the helmet’s shell and cushioning, is the brand’s honeycomb-shaped material that crumples to take the brunt of an impact, rather than your skull. The Nexus’s in-mold build with tough ABS on top is also durable without being too bulky, and the interior is as comfortable as a luxury sedan. (Note: if your helmet takes a dent when you fall, you’ll need to exchange it or buy a new one.)
Is the Freeride Ski Kit For You?
This is the most high-performance ski kit we’ve put together. The gear above contains the tools for advanced and expert skiers to tick off every run on their list with confidence, speed, and safety. If you’re worried that your gear won’t be able to handle your ski style, give these products some serious consideration. The same goes for skiers who have double blacks down pat and want to take the next step. If you don’t think you’re that type of skier yet, take a look at our Intermediate Kit and Editors’ Picks Kit.
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