3 Best Piste Skis: Learn What Piste Skis Are & The Top 3 Piste Skis

These days, you can’t move far through the world of skiing without hearing a thing or two about piste skis, off-piste skis, off-piste territory, piste-running, and many other variations and usages of the word.

But what does it mean?

Piste is a term used more often in Europe than it is in North America, although recently it has become a vogue turn of phrase in the United States, as well.

Piste is a French word that means trail or track.

In essence, a piste is a marked run at a ski area. A piste is the bunny slope, the blue square, the black diamond, the powder bowl, and all of those official trails marked out by the resort owners.

It’s much more common in North America to refer to a piste as a trail or run, but the term off-piste is frequently used everywhere. Off-piste describes an area of the mountain that is not governed by the resort’s maps. Off-piste is off the grid, it’s outside the lines–it’s the real backcountry.

Piste Skis: What Are They?

So now that we know what piste means, what about piste skis? What are they? What makes them different from other skis?

What beginner skiers may not fully understand is that there are a great variety of different kinds of skis available for use. Not all skis are the same, and some of them can be quite different than the others. A few different types of skis include:

• Cross country
• Twin Tipped
• Powder
• Backcountry
• Piste

All of these have different characteristics which make them specialized to a specific type of skiing. Piste skis are probably the most common of the bunch. When you visualize a pair of skis in your mind’s eye, it is usually the piste skis that show up.

Piste skis are designed to run well on every part of the resort marked by a map. They may not be the best at deep powder, and they may not be able to tear it up in the park, but most of them can handle the groomed snow, icy conditions, crud, and a bit of the soft stuff.

Most commonly, piste skis show up in the form of all-mountain skis: those planks that are meant to get you anywhere you need to go.

3 Best Piste Skis

Every major (and minor) manufacturer of ski equipment has a line of piste skis. They are the bestselling products in the industry, because most people want nothing more than to spend their days skiing down the groomed slopes.

If you are looking for a new pair of piste skis, or are simply curious, here’s a peek at three of the best models available from three of the leading producers of every kind of ski.

• Salomon Aeromax Skis – Easy to use for high intermediate and advanced skiers, the Aeromax skis feature a 3D Sport Monocoque construction, Titanium bottom layer, Hybrid Control Technology, and an ultra forgiving design.
• Volkl Tigershark Skis – With an innovative 3-Station Power Switch System, you can adjust the flexibility of these piste skis by tightening or loosening a central screw. Great for all skiers, in all conditions, at all times.
• K2 Apache Crossfire – A Fir/Aspen core for natural flex, a semi-wide 70mm waist for versatility, and a Titan metal laminate construction for precise and stable performance make these K2 piste skis some of the all-time best.

Return from Best Piste Skis to Best Skis

Return from Piste Skiing to Best Ski Gear