J2Ski Forum Posts and Replies by Trencher

In the dry mountain air, drying socks overnight after a rinse in a sink should not a problem. I've even changed to a clean pair of socks half way through the day. Makes life much warmer and more comfortable.

In my short skiing career I've owned about 15 pairs of skis and never noticed any differences within a pair (other than obvious damage to one ski). The one thing that might cause a difference is some variation in the wood cores, but a great deal of care is normally taken to match the wood in each pair. The flex of a ski does deteriorate with use and it might be possible that if ski were consistently used as left and right, the flex would take on some asymmetric properties. But would that be a good thing? I would guess that the ski would retain it's skiing qualities better if that loss of flex properties were symmetric through changing the side the ski is used on.

Some alpine race snowboards which are otherwise symmetric in outward appearance, have been made with an asymmetric flex pattern to work with the different application of pressure from heel side to toe side on a snowboard. I could see that there might be some advantage having a similar construction on skis, and I'm sure someone, somewhere is making them. Then of course there are those Dupraz skis with a different side cut radius on each side.

Dave Mac wrote:The other reason I was thinking of might be the variation in ski resistance, both vertical and torsional. The body accomodates and learns to one set up, but could not adapt to indeterminate variation.

The ski characteristics will change over time, particularly when one ski has been stressed or damaged.

I did have some Atomic GS skis that had some slight edge damage. You could skis them without noticing too much if the damaged edge was on outside of the outside ski.

I think there are very few reasons to have a left and right ski. The most valid reason is when there is canting or unequal lift under the bindings to accommodate an anatomical issue that needs more than boot fitting alone to correct. In this case, it would not be possible to ski with the ski switched.

Some top racers might have some asymmetric tuning going on that is beyond the needs of everyone else. A lot of older amateur racers will warm up with on with the left ski on the right side (and vice versa) to save the inside edges of the outside ski for the race.

Ski tech are required to identify the left and right skis for binding testing (the ski with the shop label on is the right ski normally).

Other than that, I don't think there are any reasons for the average skier to mark their skis. Modern ski technique uses both edges of the ski.

If you have any doubts about the bindings, you can take them to a ski tech for testing. Otherwise if they were set correctly before, there should be nothing to do.

You should sharpen your ski's edges and wax the bases. You can learn how to do it yourself, or find a ski store that will do it for you. If you only ski one week a year, it would take a few years to recoup the cost of tools and materials for doing it yourself.

More important is the side cut radius. That determines how the ski behaves more than length. At six you should be looking for about 5 to 8 metre radius skis. If she only skis occasionally shorter will speed learning and be more fun.

pavelski wrote:
Skiers should have three types of underwear for three range temperatures;
1. Heavy polar fleece "expedition type" units
2. Mid weight units for 0 to -15 c
3 light weight ( runners types) for -5 to +10 Spring skiing

and combine as needed.

Add a down quilted sweater/jacket, and a skiing/climbing outer shell and you have a combination for every every weather condition.

OldAndy wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:I think I am the youngest on here :wink:

Now that doesn't surprise me !
:roll:

They say youth is wasted on the young, (or was that France is wasted on the French).