Best ski tech 2017

Technology is getting into all areas of life and also sport. You might not think about skiing as a sport with a lot of gadgets available but you could be surprised. We headed off on a ski trip in Finland so decided to find out what’s out there for all you tech-savvy skiers and snowboarders. Here’s the best ski tech 2017. We’re calling it ‘ski tech’ but we’re not being prejudice against snowboarders. That’s just how we tested these gadgets. Most of the items in our list are perfectly suitable for snowboarding too.

By Chris Martin | 23 Feb 2017

Oakley Airwave 1.5 with Snow2 HUD
Therm-ic Powersocks
Piq Robot
POC Auric Cut Communication
Sony HDR-AS50
GoPro Hero Session
Heat Holders ski socks
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Oakley Airwave 1.5 with Snow2 HUD

Have you even wondered how fast you ski or wanted to check a piste map without freezing your hands off by getting a paper one out of your pocket? Well these are the goggles for you.

The Oakley Airwave 1.5 googles have that stylish design you’d expect on the outside but it’s what’s tucked inside that’s really interesting. They have a Snow2 HUD built-in which is essentially like a Google Glass for skiing.

Glance down at the screen while you ski and you can get information like your speed as you’re hurtling along plus other useful stats like distance, altitude and vertical drop. However, you can do a lot more including getting notifications from your phone and maps for the ski resort (with locations for friends also using the gadget).

Have you even wondered how fast you ski or wanted to check a piste map without freezing your hands off by getting a paper one out of your pocket? Well these are the goggles for you.

Therm-ic Powersocks

If you’re fed up of having cold feet while skiing and using those single use toe warmers then Term-ic Powersocks are the answer.

You can think of these as electric blankets for your feet and work very simply by plugging batteries into specially designed socks. With a heating element down the back of your leg and covering the soles of your feet, you’ll feel much more comfortable skiing in colder conditions. Your feet largely dictate how cold or warm your body feels overall.

When you use the Powersocks with the IC1200 battery packs, you get the luxury of three different heat settings and a decent 14 hours of usage so you don’t even need to charge them every night.

Piq Robot

Activity trackers can be bulky and annoying but the Piq Robot is a tiny little thing and straps to your ski boot out of the way. If you’ve wanted to know how good your technique is aside from what other people say this is the gadget for you.

The sensor can track various sports but this edition has been made with Rosignol especially for skiing. It has a small LED display, up to six hours of battery life, NFC and Bluetooth Low Energy. It’s also IP67 rated so there’s no need to worry about it getting wet. Set up is a little complicated but that’s just a niggle.

Once you’ve done your day’s skiing, you can get all kinds of stats via the app including angle, speed, force, transition and turn rate. If you’re hitting kickers in the park you can also get a report on your jumps with info such as rotation, air time and the G-force on landing. The stats are interesting but will also help you improve.

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POC Auric Cut Communication

Activity trackers can be bulky and annoying but the Piq Robot is If you find yourself skiing on your own it’s really nice to have something to keep you company and music while you glide over the snow is a glorious experience – whether you’re hacking through the park pulling off tricks to The Prodigy, or casually cross-country skiing to Vivaldi.

You can, of course, just use in-ear headphones and pop a helmet or hat over the top but it’s far nicer when your helmet has headphones built-in. We’re really impressed with the sound quality of the POC Auric Cut Communication and the in-line control means you can easily pause and adjust volume.

Use the helmet in collaboration with the Snow2 HUD and you can use the device to control the music playing though the helmet even easier.

Sony HDR-AS50

If you’ve mastered parallel turns then you’re probably at the stage where you want to get some sweet videos of your skiing to post on social media. Using a GoPro is an obvious choice but the Sony HDR-AS50 is a decent alternative.

It might not record in 4K resolution but you’ll be thankful for the SteadyShot technology making your videos much smoother and even with this feature switched on you’ll still get a nice wide 120 degree view of the slopes and mountains in the distance.

Various mounts are available including helmet and shoulder so you can get the preferred shot.

GoPro Hero Session

If you do want to opt for a GoPro (and why not get two different camera shots at once) then we recommend the Hero Session, which is now a very affordable price.

The device is tiny and waterproof without additional casing. With the decent range of accessories, you can easily mount it on your helmet, ski or snowboard with minimal hassle (although only use the adhesive ones if you own the equipment). It’s also really simple to use so you don’t need to be into videography to get decent results.

For the reasonable price, we’re impressed with the quality and you can record at up to 1440p albeit at 30fps. Luckily you can opt for 60fps at 1080p which is preferable for a fast paced snowsports.

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Heat Holders ski socks

There’s no electronic tech here but the Heat Holders range of products is most certainly wearable.

If the Term-Ic Powersocks are a bit out of your price range then the Heat Holders ski socks are a much more affordable option. They’re best described as fluffy duvets for your feet and you’ll struggle to find cosier socks. Then there’s the fact that they have a tog rating of 2.34, a whopping five times higher than a regular cotton sock.

The firm’s range covers plenty of other areas and you can keep warm while skiing with items like a fleece base layer, gloves and hats.