PortaSki Product Review

Brian Ripple

If you have skied with small children then you have undoubtedly lugged multiple pairs of skis, poles and boots quite a distance from your vehicle to the lodge. Sure, there’s always the option to drop everyone and everything off at the top, then go park, then go find your gear and family. There may be a better option called PortaSki.

Small enough to fit in your ski jacket pocket and weighing almost nothing, PortaSki can be used by both adults and children. PortaSki can be attached and detached to your skis and poles in under a minute, and it is designed to carry up to 70% of the weight of your equipment. This clever design works equally well on snow whether fresh or packed and even on dirt or gravel parking lots. The PortaSki appears to be a quality product that will be most useful for families skiing where there is a long walk to the lodges, lifts and hotels.

After using PortaSki for one day at Bridger Bowl I do not know why we did not have something like this many years ago when our first child was learning to ski.
If you are in a family that goes skiing a lot and you do not enjoy carrying your kids gear for them, PortaSki could be the solution you are looking for.
The two major downsides I see with the product are that even though the PortaSki is small, it is a little too big to comfortably keep in a pocket all day while skiing, so a boot bag or locker may be necessary while you ski. And second, that  the PortaSki will not work well with fat skis or skis with twin tips. It actually seems like the velcro straps are not long enough to go around them and hold them securely. Maybe a newer, wider model will be available soon, for old lazy powder skiers....

Over all I do recommend this product for families with smaller children that ski and can’t carry their own gear, or people who live where they have a long walk to the lifts from the parking lot and are looking for an easy way to get around.
For more information or to purchase a PortaSki for your family go to www.PortaSki.com 

This was made by