If you're going to rule the mountains, you'll need some throne-ready boards like the G3 Empire Carbon 115 Ski. It's a full-fledged pow ski built in G3's lightweight tradition, with a 115mm waist that's right in the big-mountain, deep-snow sweet spot and a fully rockered profile that's surfy, drifty, and guaranteed to put a big fat smile on your face. And, since it's G3, you can bet that the Empire's just about as light as they come; in fact, it weighs just over seven pounds per pair, making it 20% lighter than last year's Empire. That's comparable to the lightest powder skis on the market.Given the name, it shouldn't be surprising that the Empire's lightness is due primarily to its carbon construction. A sheet of triaxial carbon fiber is laid up on either side of the light and lively poplar and paulownia wood core, giving the Empire plenty of stiffness and torsional rigidity to keep things stable when you're hitting highway speeds. It also has two sheets of Titanal and burly ABS sidewalls to provide a backbone that lets the Empire handle variable conditions without breaking a sweat. All this gives it surprising effectiveness on hardpack, where the Rockwell C48 steel edges bite in and don't let go until you release the rockered tail. Each turn is smooth, consistent, and predictable, too, since the rockered profile smooths out bumps, floats through pow, and makes it easy to engage and disengage edges, letting you rally the Empire as hard as you want without worry. No wonder it's won awards from just about every ski-reviewing publication out there.

• Length: 170 cm, 175 cm, 180 cm, 185 cm, 190 cm
• Dimensions: 145 / 115 / 126 mm
• Turn Radius: 17 - 21 m
• Profile: full rocker
• Construction: Powerride (ABS sidewall)

Length: 170 cm, 175 cm, 180 cm, 185 cm, 190 cmG3