The Best 2026 Ski Gear for Powder Skiing

The lightest option in BCA’s avy airbag family, the Float E2-15 weighs in at just 5. 8 pounds and combines proven safety with an ultra-compact design. With Alpride’s E2 supercapacitor, the airbag system is battery powered, charged via USB-C cable and very travel-friendly. With just 15 liters of storage, it’s not meant for big backcountry days but has everything you need for cat, heli and strike missions: fleece-lined goggle pocket, avy tool storage, helmet sling, hydration/radio sleeves and more.

The Heater Gauntlet is the best on the spectrum of warmth for skiers who still get after it on the coldest days and refuse to let their fingers freeze. The back of the hand and cuff use Flextron 4-way stretch fabric with polyamide and spandex for weatherproofing and breathability. A hydrophobic-treated goat leather palm bolsters the glove’s grip and durability. Inside, maneuverable, quick drying G-Loft insulation and a microfleece lining keep hands warm and dry, but the serious warmth stems from the integrated heating loops along the fingers and thumb in the liner. Juiced with a 4000 mAh USB rechargeable and replaceable battery, the gloves deliver low, medium and high settings to choose from, and offer up to 10 hours of electric warmth on the low setting.

Building on the brand’s freeride family of Unleashed skis, Nordica unveils the powder-eating machine 120 for 2026. Although these boats look massive underfoot, the maneuverability and snappy response time left our testers reeling with pure powder joy. The shape of the Unleashed 120 is reminiscent of Atomic’s Bent Chetler 120, but a Nordica build means there’s a bit more muscle, or should we say metal, under the hood.

The PowSlayer combo has been in the Patagonia lineup for well over a decade now, and we think we know why: it’s a damn good kit. Designed with Patagonia’s stable of athletes, it returns with top-tier Gore-Tex Pro fabric—upgrading the durability factor for skiers who are constantly brushing up against the elements in the backcountry.

The newly designed Preview goggle features Smith’s BirdsEye Vision, which means the bottom of the lens curves down and in toward your face for a 25-percent increase of the overall field of view when compared to Smith’s standard spherical lenses. You won’t find a lens-change system here as the goggle features a fixed lens with ChromaPop, which filters light to deliver better definition, clarity and more natural color recognition. This medium-fitting goggle also features an anti-fog treatment, triple-layer face foam to wick moisture and an ultra-wide, silicone-backed adjustable strap.

Tecnica has delivered a comprehensive upgrade to one of the most beloved ski boots on the market. Distinguished by its signature, bright orange colorway, the Mach1 LV 130 has earned a devoted following for its impressive performance and a low-volume fit that delivers incredible power. However, this performance has only been accessible to skiers with a very specific foot shape. The new generation sets out to broaden this boot’s appeal, with a redesigned cuff and shell connection system, alongside fit improvements.