Ski Trab Polvere: Gear review

The Ski Trab Polvere is a new addition to my quiver of skis. They're based on the old Duo Freerando, which I toured on for a couple of seasons. The Polvere is slightly wider (123/88/109) with a shorter turn radius (20m). Despite the lightweight construction (carbon-reinforced glass with honeycomb I-beam) they have good progressive flex. They are pretty light but felt solid and would be a good all round touring ski when combined with a Dynafit binding or the new Ski Trab pin binding (more on that later).

The Ski Trabs come with fitted skins and a patented tip and tail clip. This latest incarnation of the Ski Trab skin clip is far better than the previous ones, which were pretty flimsy. They lock the skin on really well but as usual I have moded the front clip and glued the plastic tag so it doesn't come off the skin! The skins seem to be very good quality and have a nice glide, only time will tell how hard wearing they are. The hook at the tip of the ski that the skin attaches to is pretty solid and it looks like you could replace it if disaster struck.

This week I have put the skis through their paces in all manner of conditions: deep powder, moguls, slush and ice. They coped with most terrain pretty well. On a light boot such as the Dynafit TLT 5 you would be hard pressed to push them beyond their capabilities. When skiing them in my Scarpa Maestrale RS boots they got pushed hard, but not over the limit. When light skis are pushed on chopped up crud they tend to start throwing you around and flapping all over the place. The Polvere seemed to resist this and held the turns nicely.

At 2.8 kg/6.2 lbs a pair they are ideal for an all-round touring setup and are brilliant in the powder. I can’t wait to try the Ski Trab Volare, which is a fatter version with less sidecut. On a similar note, Ski Trab have teamed up with Scarpa and developed their own light pin binding - the TR Race. Hopefully I’ll get my hands on some soon to review this season.

See you in the powder,

Olly Allen