Length 168cm. Mounted with TRP release plates and Cobra 8 telemark bindings. Ignore the hype that its a 70% off piste ski this ski on groomed slopes turns very similar to the 2005 Bandit B2’‘s, its a great ski to carve on and handles bumps pretty well considering the side cut and width. It does however excell in fresh powder conditions its only draw back lies in crudy off piste conditions were the ski lacks a little ‘‘Backbone’‘, in otherwords it tended to fold a little in the tip of the ski, not great when you need to crash through the ruts and crust. This is a great all round ski that would suit any competent intermediate and above, very easy to initiate in the turns and doesn’‘t hammer the legs. If you need something beefier go for this years B Squad (Not the ‘‘Pro’‘ unless you can handle it). After 26 years of skiing and testing it for over 90 days in the 2005/2006 season its one of the most pleasant and enjoyable skis to date, I’‘ll certainly be using these again this coming season along with its B Squad brother.

Bandits, the pioneering Freeride skis and World Champions six times running were designed with one mission in mind- to give you pure mountain fun in safety, whatever you want to do and whatever the conditions. Dedicated to mountain experts, these skis’‘ high float, high strength and technological innovations make them good on hardpack! These new skis in the spirit of Freeride are for all intermediate skiers who want to carve serenely off-trail and ride the pistes too. This is the Bandit revolution!

Introduced last season as the replacement for the immensely popular 2nd generation of the Bandit II, the B3’‘s are a touch wider, a little stiffer and ever popular. The thing that are like about these skis is that they are predictable. I know that if I put a customer on them when guiding then they are going to be able to handle any conditions thrown at them , no matter if it is perfect powder at the top and the most horrendous spring gloop a couple of thousand meters below. The downside of this is that they ar enot the most fun or inspiring ski ever made but if it is off-piste 80% and a lot of versatility and confidence that you’‘re after then this is one of, if not, the best ski on the market for the seasoned skier. The new X-Wing Tornado is also a very good alternative ski from the other French ski stable of Salomon but ever so slightly biased towards the piste. B3’‘s are bullet-proof and perfect for advanced skiers and above throughout the winter and in all conditions but they are not for piste skiing, they are definitely in the league of serious all-terrain vehicles. Think Land Rover rather than Hummer.