The Wackiest Vintage Ski Gear From POWDER Magazine's Archives

Crossing your tips can spell disaster for a skier, and back in the day of really long skis and questionable release values in bindings, it could mean a trip to the hospital with a serious lower leg injury. Parablack, a small Swiss company, was one of the leaders at the time in ski safety, manufacturing and selling a product that attached to the tops of your ski tips to keep them from crossing. They even came in seven colors! And check out that 180-day warranty!

Snowboards? In a Ski Magazine!?

Even in the early days, POWDER branched out into worlds adjacent to our own sport, featuring stories on kayaking, mountaineering, water sports, and even fielding advertisements for the then-nascent sport of snowboarding. Let's be real, Jake Burton looks like he's having a WHOLE lot of fun on his new toy, as does what I assume to be Sims founder Tom Sims on his "ski board." Does that thing have a keel?

Always Take Care of Your Body - PT Tools

The '70s were ostensibly a time of Eastern influence on American culture, with alternative medicines and healing practices entering mainstream American life. Of course, that didn't spare ski culture and POWDER magazine, as evidenced here by a classified ad from Vermont's own "GREAT EARTH HEALING, INC."

I use a foam roller pretty frequently to loosen up sore and tight muscles from skiing, biking, or just sitting at my desk writing about ski gear, so I can attest to the usefulness of a product like this. But making it out of wood? That sounds like it would take some getting used to. Turns out you can even still get one of these today.

Ski With a Broken Leg!

Injuries be damned. This device allowed you to ski with your leg in a cast. The Turtle Cast boot covered a foot or lower leg cast to allow the wearer to get through the remainder of the season post injury without skipping a beat.

Really Tall Ski Boots - Nordica's Polaris

Ski boot evolution has come a long way since the '80s, and I'm really glad that it has. Take a deep dive into that topic here. Most of today's boots are pretty amazing, though, largely thanks to learning from our past mistakes. Nordica has made some of the finest boots out there, but one definitely didn't catch on: the nearly knee-high Polaris boot from the early 1980s.

In an era of low-cuffed plastic boots, these were designed to offer extra support and control to skiers looking to drive their skis more aggressively. Maybe it was a bit too much?

Shock-Absorbing Ski Poles

Here's a product that I'd say falls right smack into the category of "completely unnecessary." Shock-absorbing ski poles? I know pole whacking is fun and all, but how aggressively were skiers pole planting back then? Also, take a look at that diagram, air and coil-sprung suspension inside your pole? That's next-level.

Shouldering Your Skis Wasn't Cool

There's the ongoing debate about the proper way to carry your skis, but this product advertised in the February 1980 issue of POWDER aimed to settle that once and for all. Forget shouldering your skis, just clip them into your trusty, lockable Ski Tote. Was ski theft such a big deal in the '80s that you had to keep your skis locked from your house to your car? According to these guys, it was.

Speed Is Everything - Speed Skiing Suits

The era of speed skiing is one that I'm pretty bummed ended when it did. I mean, come on, look at those helmets, those speed suits, and the length of those skis! Now that was cool, and I think we should bring it back. Take a read through the entire feature on speed skiing in POWDER's October 1982 issue.

A Pre-Strava Timing Device

Long before Strava, or any mobile device ski tracking app, skiers were already looking to see how long it took them to bomb down slopes. Hidden in the grip of your ski pole, the Ski Timer promised precision down to 1/100th of a second to make sure you knew that you were the fastest skier on the mountain.

50 Years and Running - Raichle Boots and Look Pivot Bindings

Not all things have changed over the years. In fact, I have a pair of more or less the exact same boot and binding in my garage right now. That Raichle Flexon boot? That's the exact mold used by Full Tilt boots and now K2 FL3X boots today. Also, take a look at the heelpiece of that Look binding? That's the original Look Pivot, a ski binding that's still around today (with more or less the exact same design).

This piece is part of POWDER's Summer of Ski Nostalgia content series. Stay tuned in daily for more nostalgic articles, and keep an eye out for the upcoming Summer of Ski Nostalgia badge to identify future content.

You can also view all of POWDER's summer nostalgia content here.

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