SALOMON, XW LAB, 2008, Expert, Pro, Freeride, Skis

Phew!! These are big! Massive in fact. Only available in a 198cm length this ski takes a little getting used to but they are surprisingly easy to ski. The flex pattern is very unusual and they are obviously designed to twist as you ski them so that they skid and smear their turns. In fact if they didn't achive this then you really would need to be a hairy chested napalm swilling devil on skis to get any action out of them but thankfully this pliable flex pattern allows you to ski them on all sorts of terrain without too much fuss and without a lost feeling of inadequate control.
In all I really enjoyed my several runs on the XW LAB, they are extremely specialised and best suited to those perfect days when the snow never stops falling and you can't feel the ground beneath your feet- but for lift line impressions, wooing the Swedish version of the opposite sex and for also skiing on they really are quite good!