When heading to the ski slopes, most people know to pack the obvious – woollies, boots, skis and boards. But what about waterproof walkie

talkies to keep in touch with your kids on the slopes? Or a watch that's also a compass, barometer and ski chrono to time your descent?
Strap on your skis and get ready for the ride as we showcase this year's hottest skiing technology, guaranteed to make your skiing experience faster, safer and more enjoyable.

SPEED

There have been some exciting developments in skiing technology recently. Skis have bee modified to create the ultimate skiing experience.
Skiing has been made a lot simpler for beginners and advanced skiers alike with parabolic ski technology.
Parabolic skis, now called ‘shaped' or ‘carve' skis, work on the principle that if the shape of the ski has a large deflection (like a large arc) in the measurements from tip to waist to tail, then the turning radius of the ski will be enhanced.
 This means the larger the difference in measurement between the tip and waist, the smaller the smaller turning circle or radius of a ski. When the ski is pushed on the snow by a skier, the ski will flex and produce a turning circle.
Shaped or carve skis are a lot shorter than their predecessors. They allow beginners to experience the exhilaration of a pure carved turn. A few years ago, this was something only advanced skiers and racers could experience.
 

Rossignol Radical R11 Mutix $1749

Rossignol has come up with the Radical R11 Mutix skis, featuring customisable ski technology. What's different about the R11 Mutix is that it comes with two sets of interchangeable arms. Rossignol says this allows the skier to change the ski's behaviour by easily installing different size suspension arms at the front and the tail of the ski. The Short Radius Arms (SRA) produces a radius of 11 metres for fast slalom turns. The Long Radius Arms generate a radius turn of 15 metres, allowing you to make fast, long turns.

K2 T:Nine (Women's) Series Burnin Luv  $1349
Burnin Luv is a high performance all-mountain ski based on women-specific BioFlex core technology. BioFlex fuses fir and spruce to create a core which K2 says provides two key elements of a woman's ski: stability and forgiveness. The spruce in the tail of the ski provides the turn initiation and lightweight characteristic, while the fir underfoot provides control and stability.
Burnin Luv also features a combination of K2 MOD and MOD Monic technology. MOD basically functions as a shock absorber – it is a secondary core, independent of the wood core, which dampens vibrations without affecting overall ski flex.
MOD Monic is a module placed in the area where most vibrations occur and dampens them at the source. K2 has even tested MOD Monic at Boeing Labs, which found the Monic module reduces vibration by 20 percent where it affects high performance skiing the most.

Highgear Alterra $340

To keep track of your speed on your high performance, high-tech skis, check out the Highgear Alterra. This is a watch designed for vertical limits. It features the day, date, month, temperature and alarm, but it's also got a ski chrono for timing your speed of descent and barometer for changing environment conditions. It's also a compass and features a time chrono with 50 laps or 20 runs.

SAFETY

We at SmartHouse are a safe and sensible lot. Accordingly, we've also rounded up some of the latest technology to make your skiing experience safer and stress-free.

Walkie Talkies
Avoid losing contact with friends and family on the slopes by taking along a pair of walkie talkies.

Uniden UH041P $199

The UH041P comes with two UH041 UHF radios as well as a twin desktop charger. They have a range of up to 4km and feature 1W power (conventional UHF units have 500mW power). 
Uniden also promises 40 license-free channels, range extender capability and extended battery power with its long-life super switch.

Doro WT86 $79.95

Doro has a couple of nifty options. The first is your conventional two radio model, the new WT86, which features a range of 3 km, 40 channels, hands-free functionality and voice-activated transmission.

Doro WT89 $79.95

The second option is the new walkie talkie/pmr watch. This James Bond-like device claims to be splash-proof, and features a range of 3 km, 40 license-free channels, voice activation and hands-free functionality. It is also a watch and a stopwatch.

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GPS Tracking Systems
Avoid getting lost on runs and pistes with a handheld GPS tracking system.

Magellan eXplorist 210 $440

Back in 1989, Magellan claimed to have introduced the first consumer handheld GPS. One of the company's more rugged handhelds is the eXplorist 210. It comes with 22 MB of memory, which means storage of up to 380 points of interest and 500 way points, 150 route files with 20 routes and 150 track logs with 2000 track points per log.
Built in to this device is an Australia base map featuring highways, main roads, parks, coastline, waterways, airstrips and more. Magellan says it's waterproof to IPX-7 and features rubber-armoured casing for added protection.

Uniden GPS 205 $369

This GPS is a 1W unit and Uniden claims a range of up to 6km. Covergence is the name of the game as it also functions as a walkie talkie with 40UHF channels. Uniden says this device offers the added safety feature of being able to send and receive precise position data to other Uniden GPS or UHF devices. Now there are no excuses for getting lost on a run.

Mobile phone

Nokia 5500 Sport $579

Nokia has a phone designed for the adventurous coming up later this year. The Nokia 5500 Sport features a water-resistant stainless steel body, with an inbuilt MP3 player, FM radio and 2 megapixel camera. It allows for one-key switching between music, phone and sports mode and features Text To Speech, which reads out SMS for you.

SATISFACTION

Now that we've covered all the skiing essentials, we can get into the really fun stuff. This drool-worthy high-tech ski gear is all about satisfaction.

Smart Wear

Audex Bluetooth Jacket $869

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For the ultimate technophile-skier, Burton and Motorola have teamed up to create a Bluetooth-enabled snow jacket. This allows you to link your mobile or your iPod with an embedded system, which is controlled via a module built into your sleeve. Talk on the phone using the wind-resistant microphone built into your collar and listen to the music via headphones in the hood or through a separate helmet or beanie. Forget fiddling around with wires and buttons – just put on the jacket, pump up the volume and set off in style.

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Audex Bluetooth Helmet/Beanie $TBA

Other smartwear on the Burton/Moto menu is the Audex Bluetooth helmet and the Audex Bluetooth Beanie. These babies keep you wirelessly connected to your phone or your iPod. When winter is over, you can even separate the module from the helmet or beanie and use it as a regular headset.

Digicams

Don't forget to bring along a waterproof digital camera to capture any moments of glory on the slopes. There are few options currently available.

Ricoh Caplio 500G $1099

Ricoh's latest offering is resistant to water, dust and shock, and it is wide-angle and eight-megapixels. According to the manufacturer, the new Caplio is not afraid to play rough, wet and dirty as it can withstand falls from up to 1m, take photos in the snow or rain, or underwater at depths of up to 1m.
Ricoh says this camera's 1.2 second start-up time and 0.10 second focus and shoot time means it is specifically designed to capture all the high-speed action of outdoor adventures. 
 

Panasonic DMC-TZ1 $659 MCTZ1E $499

Panasonic's DMC-TZ1 is a five megapixel digital camera with 10x optical zoom. It features the option of a specially made marine case (MCTZ1E), making the camera waterproof up to 40m.

Sony MPKNA (Cyber-shot range) $349 SPKHCB (Handycam range) $459

Sony also has a range of waterproof camera housing for both its digital still Cyber-shot camera and Handycam ranges. Sony claims its marine cases are splash-proof and water-resistant at up to two metres.

Headphones

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Sennheiser LX 70 Sport $70

These water-resistant flexi-headphones have a single-sided cable attachment and come with ear adapters, a cable clip and a case. Sennheiser claims they are humidity-resistant and can tolerate temperature conditions as low as -10 degrees.

H2O Audio SV-iP4G $280

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This is actually a waterproof housing for Apple iPod 4G, which includes waterproof headphones with silicone earplugs. H20 claims this unit (including the headphones) is submersible up to 3m, while a "Commander Scroll Wheel" on the housing allows you to use the iPod click wheel in the water or while wearing gloves.

So there you have it – all the gear you need to help you maximise your skiing experience this winter. So no excuses – get out there and start carving!