Lincoln loop. Rodeo 900 Indy. Butter 540. Japan air. Urban rails. This is the future of freeskiing, and with kids going “urban” hitting rails downtown, skiing has officially left the resort. From the 3 Quebecois (Vinnie Dorion, J.F. Cusson and J.P. Morgan) to the 3 Phils (Philippe Larose, Philippe Belanger and Philippe Dion) skiers own the park, shadowing all that snowboarding was…

How to choose the right twin tip for you.

BUYING TIPS: Which twin tip matches your needs? When considering your needs think about how much time you spend in the terrain park. If you’re in the park 90% of the time, and are concerned about tip and tail presses, butters, and ollie power, a pure park and pipe twin tip would be best.

If this is going to be your only pair of skis and you need to be able ski groomed, crud, and the park and pipe, Then you may want to consider a more universal park and pipe twin tip.

If you rarely hang in the park or pipe, yet seek floatation, and crud busting power, then a backcountry twin tip may be your best choice.

One approach to buying twin tips is to rank your needs by priority. For example, if you were looking a park and pipe ski and you already own a pair of all-mountains, you may rank your needs as only park and pipe. Yet if this is going to be your only pair of skis you may rank your needs as 1) park ‘n pipe 2) universal or visa versa. The goal here is match your needs with the right gear, that way you’re not stuck at the hill with some skis that don’t carve.

In an over simplified way, twin tips can be separated into three major groups, park & pipe, universal, and backcountry. Unfortunately, Ideal conditions may warrant owning two or three pairs of skis. (e.g. backcountry skis for Powder, Park skis for the Park, Race skis for the gates.) If you don’t have the financial means for more then one pair, choose wisely and get a pair that cover all your needs.

UNIVERSAL: You kick it in the park & pipe mostly yet you still want to ski…
PARK & PIPE: You grind cement and stomp on rails. You only Jib.
BACKCOUNTRY: You seek POW and to HUCK, and sometimes GRAB… You ski it all-

Binding Selection:
Yes Bindings are a big deal. The general consensus is that twin tips riders prefer flat bindings. Flat meaning your boot sole is flush with ski, and no riser plate. Riders with flat bindings will gain the benefits of increased control on landings and more balance in the air and on rails. In other word, you have more “feel” with flat bindings. Also consider your mount point. (where your bindings are mounted to the ski) Your mount point will affect how your skis function, and should not be over-looked when matching your skis to your needs. Many Riders mount their skis forward of the ski manufacturers traditional midsole mounting point. This will provide increased control riding switch and better balance rotating on and off axis. However, moving the binding too far forward can cause a ski to lose stability at higher speeds, so consider your needs wisely.

K2’s research and devolpment team has devised a scale that can help skiers determine their own mounting point based on their skiing style. This scale can be adapted to many twin tips on the market today. Here is how their scale breaks down…

0-2cm forward: All Mountain: If you plan on skiing mostly outside the park and want the ski to behave like a traditional ski, you should stay on the conservative side and mount traditionally.

3cm- 5cm forward: 50% All Mountain, 50% Terrain Park. When mounting beyond 3cm, you will lose a little of the traditional feel of length in front of the binding, but with more tail, you gain the control in the air and riding switch.

6cm- 7.5cm forward: If you bought the skis primarily for the terrain park or are focused on riding switch in powder or in backcountry, you may consider mounting your skis this far forward. While you may sacrifice forward directional float and stability, it’s made up for in the switch riding and landing stability and balance in the air.