Build your own skis!

<br><br>i'm open to ideas, so let's hear it from the community.  what skis do you like and why?  cough it up!

<br><br>Volkl G4...stiffness of a 2x4 and some sidecut makes for a sweet, super solid carve for a guy like me who over works the power factor needed to generate a turn. They'll also blow through anything with ease, and will float the mank due to their wide dimensions. In a nutshell, stiff flex, short, fat dimensions with some sidecut.<br><br>Backcountry downfall of the G4...they weigh a ton.<br><br>One hair-ball coughed up!<br>

thanks JibberD for your input! i've skied the G4s. i like them and they do plow! do you think it's the weight that makes them plow?

I have a pair of Atomic VARS mid fat with rental bindings and related to The old heli guides. These babies are heavy and do they ever bust through anything. weight is definetly the answer for skied out crud and mank.<br>Tandem tele with two skiers on one pair of 210cm is the answer for plowing furrows through anything. Empirical knowledge!<br>Robie<br>Docterate in Empirical studies

thanks JibberD for your input!  i've skied the G4s. i like them and they do plow!  do you think it's the weight that makes them plow?

<br><br>I'm not a scientist and I don't play one on TV... But I think it's mainly the stiffness of the skis that make them plow so well. I figure it's my girth combined with the force of gravity that is providing the plowing force. The ski (also boots and bindings) it seems, has to transmit my body weight and pressuring forces to the snow. I just think a stiffer ski does this more efficiently than a soft ski.<br><br>I would guess that the weight of the ski does play a small roll in plowing in that it may help cut down on ski deflection when it's unweighted. But again, I'm no scientist.<br><br>It seems to me, the holy grail of ski performance ski designers is to come up with a solid ski that doesn't weigh a ton. I look at the Atomic Beta series as an example of this approach.<br>

<br>... I figure it's my girth combined with the force of gravity that is providing the plowing force.  The ski (also boots and bindings) it seems, has to transmit my body weight and pressuring forces to the snow.  I just think a stiffer ski does this more efficiently than a soft ski.<br>

<br>interesting, and worth noting. also, considering my light-boyish weight, it brings to mind the classic collision problem between a VW Bug and an 18-wheeler. for me i guess a stiff and light ski is more effective at tossing me around in the crud. but who knows. it's probably more operator error than anything.<br><br>i wonder if there's some way to predict performance (e.g., crud busting power) in terms of skier's weight, ski stiffness and weight, density of snow and speed? but then again, i'm probably making this way toooooooo complicated.

Hey Kam - <br><br>You've got a wonderful site and you're doing some excellent work - Thanks. We met earlier in the year at Proski in Seattle when I was picking up some skins. I'm a Mechanical Engineer as well(and part time alpental ski patroler, very part time this year ) but feel my limited ski knowledge has come about mostly from experience.<br><br>I tend to like skis that are a bit softer and more forgiving, especially the tails - I'd rather push the skis around than have them "talk back". I think a slightly stiffer shovel and softer tail helps a ski do well in all sorts of soft snow - the softer tail sinks and kind of helps the shovelsplane without folding like a soft shoveled ski will. Lots of snowboards use this concept and it works well there too.<br><br>That said alot of my friends like the solid platform and feel of a much stiffer ski - but i think they tend to be a bit heavier than me. Also a stiffer ski might be better if you go shorter in length?<br><br>I also like a little more weight in the ski for lift skiing in variable snow but really don't like it for touring - so I personally would sacrifice the cadillac feel of a heavier ski if I'm skinning any significant amount.<br><br>