Men's Journal Ski Awards: We Tested the Best Ski and Snowboard Gear of 2024-2025

The best ski and snowboard gear keeps getting sturdier, lighter, safer, and more technically advanced. Thing is, there's a lot of it. We’re here to help you cut through the chatter—and pick your perfect ski and snowboard kit from head to toe.

The 2024-25 Men’s Journal Ski Awards is a comprehensive guide to all things skiing and snowboarding. Nine testers put in more than 1,000 on-snow days to test an exhaustive amount of gear. Most have been testing apparel and gear for over 20 ski seasons. We’ve skied New England and Eastern Canadian hardpack, Whistler powder, Pacific Northwest cement, and everything in between, including months in the French, Italian, and Swiss Alps. Our testers have visited more than two dozen ski resorts in every condition imaginable, and skied plenty of peaks, steep slopes, and couloirs. Our combined ski history spans more than 100 years of high-level race and big-mountain experience.

We’ve worked hard to include a blend of newer brands with tried-and-true favorites, curating the best pieces with an eye on what people actually want to wear. This season, we’ve seen a focus on sustainability and recycled fabrics. We considered fit, performance, and durability. We know that ski and snowboard apparel isn’t cheap—and that prices have definitely been impacted by inflation, so the gear we picked is built to last.

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Best Skis of 2024-2025

From groomers to glades to the best powder runs of your life, it's amazing what a difference the right pair of skis can make. Singling out our favorite dozen was a ridiculously fun job. Our pick for the best skis overall is the mighty Atomic Maverick 105 CTI for its incredible performance in all conditions.

Best Ski Boots of 2024-2025

Ski boots have trod a long way from those stiff, ugly clompers that left your feet feeling cold, squeezed, and glum. Our top contenders are marvels of new ski boot tech—with the groundbreaking K2 Mindbender 130 BOA taking our No. 1 slot.

Best Ski and Snowboard Jackets of 2024-2025

Superior fit, function, fabric, and features all factor into our lineup of the year's best ski and snowboard jackets that will see you through bluebird days, blizzards, and everything in between. Our favorite of all is Patagonia Storm Shift, which we'd take anywhere.

Best Ski Pants and Bibs of 2025

Keep your lower half happy by investing in a pair of ski pants or bibs that sport all of those evolved features—adjustable waist, reinforced boot cuff, articulated knee, full-length zipper—that your legs will love. You won't find a comfier, more durable, and better looking pair than Ortovox 3L Deep Shell.

Best Ski and Snowboard Gloves of 2024-2025

Frigid fingers were once just a hard fact of life on the slopes. The following pairs of outstanding new ski gloves, mittens, and three-finger hybrids make for far happier hands these days. Rab Khroma Freeride Gore-Tex Gloves earned our top pick for durability, performance, and reliable warmth.

Best Ski Goggles and Sunglasses of 2024-2025

This year's top ski goggles and sunglasses fuse cutting-edge performance with style and conveniences, like interchangeable or adaptable lenses and fog-fighting hinge systems activated by the nudge of a glove. Zeal Cloudfall Automatic+ leads the way as the top goggle of the season.

Best Ski and Snowboard Helmets of 2024-2025

Now that helmets are standard on the slopes, it's worth investing in the most trustworthy and comfortable noggin protection out there. Here they are—topped by our very favorite, SHRED Notion No Shock Helmet, which is cool-looking, functional (with an innovative venting system), and about as comfy as a helmet can get.

Best Ski and Snowboard Packs of 2024-2025

A ski pack might look like a regular bag, but it's shouldering a much bigger job up there. The best of them are light, sturdy, water-resistant, and thoughtfully engineered to haul everything from snacks, shades, and extra layers to water bladders, shovels, transceivers, and skis—all in a compressible, organized, back-hugging bag you'll forget you're wearing. Our top pick is Deuter Freeride Pro 34L+, which served us brilliantly from the front slopes to the backcountry.

Best Backcountry Skiing Safety Gear of 2024-2025

Carving your own tracks on the outer slopes calls for the most reliable safety equipment. From the best ice axe and brightest headlamp to our three favorite avalanche airbags, these tested and reviewed essentials are total lifesavers—literally.

Best Ski Bindings of 2024-2025

The real MVP of your ski setup is that essential hardware mounted to your boards. These top six pairs of bindings are marvels of engineering and will ensure a flawless day wherever your skis lead them. For best in durability and dependability for 2025 we singled out the Cast Freetour 2.0 Pivot 15, which enhances the groundbreaking design of its 1.0 predecessor.

Best Après-Ski Items of 2024-2025

That full day of epic runs is just part of the whole ski experience. The other part comes after—or après—when you’re kicking back with friends, old and new, after the last chairlift closes. From cool shades and cozy duds to the perfect martini and caviar kit, these après-ski essentials will ensure a peak post-ski experience.

Best Backcountry Skis of 2024-2025

Far from those long lift lines and rowdy resorts, backcountry skiing is a whole different deal—and you’ll want a pair of planks that’s up to the job. For mixed conditions often encountered in the backcountry, these seven sets of skis are as light, stable, and dependable as it gets. Our overall best backcountry ski nod of 2025 goes to the Atomic Backland 109 which hits the sweet spot in weight and sturdiness.

Best Skis of All Time

While many of us might avoid a term like "best of all time" to describe a ski, if we had to tap a single pair with that honor for its flawless performance in every condition from hardpack to powder and glades to bowls, here it is—the Atomic Bent Chetler 120—plus eight other timeless nominees tailored to specific skier types.

How to Layer for the Slopes

The ideal outfit for skiing or snowboarding starts from next-to-skin and works out. You’ll want a wool or synthetic base layer (aka long underwear). Base layers should have a fairly sleek fit, as you don’t want air between them and your body. However, if you wear your “longhandles” as a standalone layer for post-ski drinks and dinner, think about moving up a size. The midlayer you select for the day is determined by temperature and activity. Midlayers should be versatile; think vests, light sweaters, and weightless down puffys. Think of your outer layer as your ski uniform. This hardshell (waterproof/breathable nylon or polyester material) is your first line of defense against the elements.

Color: How to Use the Right Shade and Look

Color is safety in the mountains—and style-wise it's making a comeback. Even if you lean black, brown, white, or beige in your personal color preference, know that a pop of brightness in your jacket, pants, helmet, or goggles helps you express your sense of fashion freedom, and individuality—and makes you safer.

Consider a bright jacket, add a neon helmet, vibrant mittens, or a splashy neck gaiter to stick out—in a good way. Ski apparel shouldn’t be camouflage, causing you to blend in with snow, rock, cliff bands, and trees. Ideally, you won’t end up in a tree well, snowdrift, or crevasse, but bright apparel does help your friends keep track of you in the lift line and on the slopes. Those same rules apply if you’re deep in the backcountry, where visibility makes all the difference in a rescue scenario. Finally, with color, you’ll look better in photos.

You need to wear to believe. Behind the following links are the best new pieces of ski gear for 2025—all must-have essentials for any skier’s wardrobe this year.

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