Over the years, the Karhu Jaks (female version is the Jil)have received numerous awards and raving reviews in magazines, blogs and forums. If you've been lucky enough to ski on them, then you know why. This year's version offers a top sheet of Titanal to help dampen the ski and provide more edge hold on the hard pack. I skied this ski with two different bindings. The first time I skied with the Hammerhead binding, and the second time I skied it with the Rottefella NTN binding. The ski handled much differently with each binding. I've never skied on a binding that is as stiff as the Rottefella NTN. It provides much, much more edge control that you can image. This binding really put the Karhu Jak to the test on the hard pack. It felt like I had the edge control of an alpine binding with a free heal setup. WOW.

PROS
Even without the beefy Rottefella NTN binding,(yes the Rottefella NTN is stiffer than the Hammerhead!) the Jak skied great. It holds an edge on the hard pack in both long and short radius turns. The Jak is light enough, and has enough bounce to get you quickly in and out of tight turns on the steeps. It rips up the crude and choppy powder, with no problem. You can really feel the damping when your tips are blasting through rough snow. The ski is wide enough to provide a great float through the powder. The Karhu Jak is one of the best all round telemark skis made. If you're looking, for resorts and backcountry, and all conditions, the Jak is your ski.

CONS
I'm being very picky here. With the Maple Core and Titanal sheet, the ski may be a bit heavy and stiff for the backcountry. Karhu offers a backcountry version of the Jak which I also reviewed.

Karhu Jak -- On Sale for $299.99 at backcountry.com

THE ONE TELEMARK SKI THAT CAN DO IT ALL