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Every year, we test the season’s best skis and snowboards. But as my colleague��Joe Jackson pointed out, you don’t need fancy and expensive equipment to enjoy snow, gravity, and tears in your eyes from charging down a hill. This year, we decided to test a handful of options available at stores you can find anywhere.��Kids would arguably make the best testers, but they weren’t old enough for the “beer test” portion of this review. So we wrangled six adults, grabbed��a case��of Bavarian-style lager, and carpooled to the local hill.

The Test

Six testers each rode five sleds and��recorded��their thoughts on scorecards, measuring��maneuverability, speed, and shock absorption. We also awarded style points��and judged how much spillage��occurred��from a full,��freshly cracked��beer as we slid down the course. (The more beer left in the can,��the better.)��Each tester scored��the��five categories��from one to five, for a combined total of up to 30 points��per category and��a potential grand total of 150 points for each sled.

Flexible Flyer 3-Inch Multicolored ($27 for 3-pack)

Steering/Carving: 5/30
Speed: 23/30
Shock Absorption: 0/30
Style Points: 10.5/30
Beer Test: 17.5/30
Total Score: 56/150

Best For: Speeding on a budget

One tester’s note captures the feeling of riding : “PAINFUL.” Another noted it was the “most painful,” while a third wrote,��“Broke my sunglasses.” Beyond our scribble, when we��look to the scorecards, this simple piece of plastic received a whopping zero points for shock absorption. Our backs, still��sore weeks later, vouch for this rating. Beyond these blemishes, the three-inch model excelled in the speed department;��it was the second-fastest of the bunch. If you want to ride the mechanical bull equivalent of a sled—for less than ten��bucks—you can’t go wrong with this bad boy.

Flexible Flyer Snow Boat ($33)

Steering/Carving: 9/30
Speed: 22/30
Shock Absorption: 12/30
Style Points: 21.5/30
Beer Test: 12/30
Total Score: 76.5/150

Best For:��Two-person riding

We felt largely confident as we sat in the ��at the top of the hill. The reins, four handles, and spacious interior suggested it was easy to steer. Reader, we were mistaken. The reins posed more of a safety hazard on fast, bumpy terrain.��“I thought I was going to break my ankle when the rope got tangled around my foot,” our guinea pig wrote after a quick lap. Quick, indeed: the Snow Boat was third fastest in the test, narrowly beat out by the three-inch dish model.��But the Snow Boat missed the mark on durability. The plastic handles broke��after only a few runs. If it had any redeeming qualities besides speed, it was that it could fit two adults comfortably.

Big Mouth Snow Tube ($16)

Steering/Carving: 4/30
Speed: 18/30
Shock Absorption: 13/30
Style Points: 28/30
Beer Test: 18/30
Total Score: 81/150

Best For:��Packing and spontaneous sled trips

Testers were immediately transported to Candy Land as we rode the peppermint model of the . It ranked dead last in the carving category, tallying just four points. But some riders enjoyed that—riding the Snow Tube was akin to a lazy river float, but faster. One wrote that it provided��solid��grip with handles,��while another said it offered “good slipperiness!” It won more��style points than any other sled, with a near-perfect score of 28. We liked that it was inflatable and thus packable. If you want fate to decide your path in a chaotic slide down the mountain, the Snow Tube is your steed. Just make sure it’s inflated to “max capash,”��one rider noted.

Runner Up: Stallion Sport RYDR 50-Inch T4 ($45)

Steering/Carving: 14/30
Speed: 28/30
Shock Absorption: 14.5/30
Style Points: 18/30
Beer Test: 12/30
Total Score: 86.5/150

Best For:��Sending it as fast as possible

You will need goggles for this . It broke our radar guns, tallying a category-winning 28 points for speed. The waxy plastic bottom lent it glide��and sent our testers farther down the slalom than any other model. “Favorite!” one test driver��recorded. “Distance is really good!” another wrote. Because it was average elsewhere, the Stallion��was our test’s runner-up despite its speed.��We agreed this is a fair all-around option, but it’s possible to get cheaper models that excel in the desired categories. This Stallion might be a one-trick pony, but it’s a fast one.

Winner: Airhead Scoot Snow Scooter ($27)

Steering/Carving: 24/30
Speed: 12.5/30
Shock Absorption: 11.5/30
Style Points: 26/30
Beer Test: 25/30
Total Score: 99/150

Best For: Pure control

We were initially skeptical of that looks more like a Fisher-Price toy than a sled. But after a few runs, it won us over with its impeccable control.��It was the best carver in the test, and riders noted that��its tall handle offered the ability to steer. It was the board-style orientation that gave it a unique edge on the competition. Testers were able to ride the Airhead sitting down or standing up. One tester noted that it��“got sendy!” after eating it on a run. By some criteria, like shock absorption, this scooter was polarizing: one��awarded it four points, while another felt it was worthy of zero. The same goes for speed: some ranked it one out of five, while others gave it a four, perhaps because testers rode the Scooter in different stances. But we could all agree on its superb performance in the beer test. One rider exclaimed there was��“zero spillage” after taking a newly opened lager down the hill. For those reasons, the Airhead was worthy of the top spot in our test.