Ski boots have grown more inviting, skis more versatile and bindings safer for the new season. And "systems" - matched suites of boot, ski and binding - are now available for all skill levels. That's the news from the ski equipment makers, according to SnowSports Industries America (SIA), the national, not-for-profit trade association that represents ski, snowboard and other winter sport-oriented companies. In a highly competitive market, wintersport factories are scrambling to make buying decisions easier.

One way is with ski-binding and ski-boot-binding systems, built to be sold together, rather like matched stereo components. Major brands like Atomic, Head/Tyrolia, Nordica, Rossignol, Salomon and Völkl/Marker, have engineered entire suites of equipment to match in the ski shop and on the slopes. Find a boot that fits and flexes comfortably, and the matching ski and boot will work perfectly with it. That, at least, is the plan.

Over the past decade, ski makers have experimented with a wild variety of shapes, from super-fat powder skis to ultra-radical slalom skis. Fat skis, which float easily on the surface of deep West Coast powder, typically measure about 90 millimeters (about 3.5 inches) across the waist (the narrowest part of the ski, under the foot), but these skis feel heavy, awkward and tiring on hard East Coast snow. Skis designed to hold an aggressive edge on ice, and to turn with agility in moguls, are usually only about 65mm (2.5 inches) across the waist, and they sink straight to the bottom in any kind of deep snow.

A happy medium emerges next year, as most factories focus on very versatile all-terrain skis. The consensus: the skier who wants one pair of do-everything skis will be happy with a moderate 68mm to 70mm waist width - about 2.75 inches wide. Nearly every ski factory will introduce new models at this width.

Ski Highlights for Winter 2002-03:

Atomic: Atomic's Ride series R10, exactly 70mm at the waist, is billed as an all-mountain ski for advanced and expert skiers. At moderate prices, the factory introduces the new e:Zone group - the 70mm e:9 for good skiers, and the 72mm e:7 and e:5 for intermediate skiers and athletic beginners.

Blizzard: Blizzard's premium 70mm all-mountain ski is the Sigma K7.0, with its unique double-ribbed shape designed to apply pressure to the ski edges. But the entire series of Epic models, aimed at intermediate and advanced skiers, uses the same versatile 70mm shape, and the Sigma 6.8 - also for intermediates - is just a bit more svelte, at 68mm.

Dynastar: Dynastar builds moderate-width skis for all ability levels. For experts, the Intuitiv series offers a choice of 71mm, 69mm and 68mm waists. For intermediates, the Cross 8 and Cross 9 are built on a 70mm platform. All these skis use the factory's unique Autodrive construction, marrying a torsionally forgiving "cap" forebody with a torsionally stiff sidewall tail. Price-conscious intermediate skiers should look at the Agyl group, most of which use a 68mm waist.

Elan: Elan's new Mantis all-mountain group is right on the money at 70mm (with the exception of a widebody Mantis 777 for powderhounds). And a new group of Whisper skis for women - lighter and softer in flex - come in at 71mm and 68mm.

Fischer: Fischer considers that its new Sceneo short all-mountain skis are the most versatile the company has ever built - and for experts down to beginners, they use waists of 68mm to 71mm. Most of these skis are built on lightweight cores using air channels or superlight carbon fiber materials adopted from Fischer's aerospace division, which builds airframe parts for almost every major jet plane factory in the Western world.

Head: Head, which started the modern ski boom with its original black Standard, now builds an astonishing variety of innovative shapes. The skier looking for versatile all-snow performance should head for the new Monster group, and specifically for the M.70 70mm skis, aimed at advanced and expert skiers. A similar shape is available for intermediates with the Cyber C90 model.

K2: With the exception of a few fat powder skis, K2 uses the 68mm and 70mm widths almost throughout the line: on the Axis and Axis X for advanced and expert skiers, on the entire Escape series of all-mountain skis and on four of the five "Title Nine" or T:nine performance skis for women.

Kneissl: Kneissl's all-new Rail all-mountain skis are standardized on a 69mm waist, except for the experts-only Rail Scandium, at 72mm.

Nordica: Nordica makes it easy: almost all the ski model names contain the waist width. The most versatile skis in the line are the Beast 72 (for intermediates), the W 70 (for advanced and expert skiers). and the W 71 (for beginners and intermediates).

Rossignol: Rossignol's popular Bandit X was a leader last year, and set the style for versatile 70mm waists. For next year, it's joined by a group of all-mountain Carving series skis: the Cobra (for men and women) and Saphir Snow (for women) measure 68mm. For aggressive young experts, the versatile ride will be the RPM 17000, at 70mm. Newer skiers, learning to carve their turns, should look at the 69mm Axium and Axium L.

Salomon: Salomon's best-selling skis, the X-Scream series, happen to measure in at 68mm. A new Scream 10 Pilot - designed to work only with Salomon's Pilot bindings - rides a bit higher in the snow at 70mm. All the Verse models, aimed at newer skiers, are 71mm or 72mm across the waist, for easier balancing.

Volant: Volant's steel skis are best known for handling easily in heavy, wet and broken snow - the difficult conditions experienced skiers call "crud." Five models seem customized for the skier who plans to migrate in and out of crud: the Genesis, at 69mm, the Gravity 71 and Gravity 68; and, for women, the Vertex 71 and Vertex 68.

Völkl: Völkl's most versatile all-mountain models fall in the Vertigo group, aimed at intermediate to expert skiers who expect one pair of skis to handle all kinds of snow. All the Vertigos - except the G4 powder ski - use 70mm or 71mm waists. The Vertigo Motion (sold with a Marker Motion binding) and Vertigo G3 are for advanced and expert skiers; the G2 is for intermediate and advanced skiers; and the G1 is aimed at intermediates.

— Posted by Ari Cheren, MountainZone.com Gear Editor