As evidenced by the picture, these things have a seriously aggressive tread pattern and make easy work of scrambling up loose terrain. The neoprene (or similar material) liners don't work quite as well as I would have liked in keeping dirt and small rocks out of the shoes but what can you expect for a pair of light-weight trail running shoe. Note that the shoe seems to run a little narrow -- I needed to unlace the fore foot area to accommodate my rather average width foot and I don't know that they'll stretch out given the exterior reinforcements.

Simply put, this ski does everything -- It floats well in powder, provides stability in crud and variable conditions, holds an edge on groomed terrain and feels solid at high speed.

I didnt find the ski particularly stiff despite the marketing hyperbole to the contrary. The stiffness or lack thereof isnt necessarily a bad thing and may contribute to flotation in powder and/or aid in turn initiation. However, buyers should know what theyre getting.

This is a heavy ski. The twin-tip tail is notched but Ill likely use my old skis for backcountry due to the weight. Again, the weight may also be what lends stability to the ski at speed so everything comes at a cost.

I have yet to take advantage of the twin tip. To date, all switch landings in the park have been promptly followed by spectacular wipeouts so its hard to say whether this feature is a winner; perhaps those more skilled can provide guidance.

All told, I’m very happy with the ski and with backcountry.com for shipping them to me in such prompt order.