Scream down the slopes.

• Position: What's New? - Salomon S.A.

* Unlike the sport's early days, 21st-century skiing is definitely not just strapping on a couple of barrel staves and pointing yourself downhill. Take, for instance, the Scream 10 Pilot from Salomon, Beaverton, Ore., which the manufacturer immodestly has labeled the most-versatile ski ever. Of course, there is a vast difference between bragging and braggadocio. (Go ahead; look it up!) After strapping on a pair, we found ample evidence that the claim bears up under its weight. No matter what the surface--perfectly groomed snow, powder, or the inelegantly named crud--the Scream 10 was perfectly at home, gliding over good snow or blasting through its not-so-good counterpart. Whether looking at flex, control, vibrations, or any of the other factors that change the variables of downhill skiing, the Scream 10 stood out.

The Pilot portion of the ski's name is the most-prominent key to its performance. That's the product line that integrates the ski and binding system so that, instead of the traditional screw attachment of the binding through the top of the ski, the oh-sovital binding is connected through it. We figured this was just a gimmick, until we found that the system allowed the ski to flex on twin axes, providing maximum feel for the snow beneath it. (Anyone who has ever felt the "dead spot" under the foot that typical ski/binding systems leave one with will appreciate the difference.) Greater flex also allows sharper carving, making for more-precise turns and spectacular change-of-direction ability.

Our eyes did start to glaze over, though, when we encountered such terms as Monococque composite double-wall chassis construction and metal-tex dampening, both of which struck us as a little sci-fi gilding. Well, whatever snickering we did at the terminology was...