Name: Newschoolers X Powder Gear Week 2024 at Banff Sunshine Village
Uploaded: 2023-11-05T00:00:00-04:00
Duration: 11 s
Channel: Newschoolers
Description: Summer camp vibes and the best 24/25 gear on test. What more could you ask for?

Cover Photo: Hanne Lundin Wallengren

Photos: Carter Edwards & Hanne Lundin Wallengren

You know how sometimes there’s that one friend you invite to stay for a night and somehow, years later, they’re still living on your couch? Yep, that’s kind of what we’ve done at Sunshine Village (@ShredSSV ) with the ski test back for a fourth year. And then that friend invites their cousin to stay… Yep, we did that too, and now both Newschoolers & Powder Mag are calling Sunshine the home of Gear Week. So yep, this year was bigger and better than ever.

Alongside the staff of both platforms, we had more than 20 local rippers involved in testing skis and outerwear from brands across the skiing spectrum. I (Twig) spent more time in front of a camera lens than I care to relive, but the week was a heater once again. We say it every year but this was probably our best test year.

We were apprehensive going into the week with lots of powder skis to test and not much snow in either the recent past or the forecast but as has become a tradition, Sunshine delivered, with several dumps of white gold during the week and of course, some of the best parks on offer. PBR sessions immediately proceeded test week, meaning the Strawberry Park was on fire, and new for this year, we added a sunset park shoot for all our testers in Great Divide Park, which had some perfectly groomed jumps for the occasion.

Our veteran filmer @aaronKalat

This year we had three ski categories on the NS side: Park, All-Mountain & Powder along with Best Of Awards for outerwear too. You’ll see the results in the fall, but we spent time on banger skis from @DYNASTAR_LANGE , @ARMADA , @K2 , @Salomon, @Line_Skis, @Atomic, @Nordica, @RossignolSkis, Blizzard & Scott. We found some unexpected gems, argued over our favorites (mostly in the hot tub) and had a belter of a week all round.

@milo-mcsenderson tapping into his inner Sammy C on the new K2 Reckoner KF

Most of our testers are seasoned vets at this point so the whole process was smooth, and most of all, a good time. Summer camp, as the test is now known to us is a gathering of new and old friends. Of course, it’s work too but it barely feels like it. A huge shoutout goes to our whole crew and we can’t wait to show you the videos and gear guide in the fall. If you're a gear nerd, next winter is shaping up to be a good’un!