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  • (rhythmic music)

  • - Hello, welcome to Kunstadt Sports.

  • My name is Peter Kunstadt,

  • and we are here today to give you

  • an overview of skis and bindings.

  • At Kunstadt Sports all our employees are athletes,

  • and many employees are ski racers.

  • Here with me is Zoë Newell who is an excellent ski racer.

  • A great person except for the days

  • when she beats me in a race.

  • - Today we're going to be telling you

  • a little bit about how to select skis for

  • your individual abilities as well as

  • show you the difference between

  • recreational skis, performance skis, and racing skis.

  • Before we get started we need to go over

  • a few concepts that'll help you understand

  • the geometry of modern skis.

  • First we have our ski length,

  • that is the measurement from your full tip to tail.

  • Next is your running length which is

  • the point where the ski actually

  • initiates contact with the snow.

  • Next is our tip width

  • which is the width of the tip.

  • Next is the waist width which is

  • the width of your waist of your ski.

  • And finally the tail width,

  • which is the width of the tail of the ski.

  • These numbers are extremely important on the ski

  • because it helps determine the radius of the ski.

  • - Over a decade ago the concept of

  • a parabolic ski was introduced and that was

  • definitely a revolution in ski design.

  • The parabolic shape basically means

  • that the edge of the ski is made in the shape of a parabola.

  • And that in turn means that when a ski is flexed,

  • in the flexed position the edge creates

  • a regular radius or a continuous radius.

  • And that radius is then defined

  • by the length of the ski, by the tip,

  • the waist, and the tail width.

  • - Another important concept in determining ski geometry

  • is the camber and rocker.

  • The simplest way to explain camber

  • is if you were to take a piece of string

  • from your tip of your ski to your tail

  • and measure the distance between the string

  • and the center of the ski,

  • will determine the amount of camber in the ski.

  • Another way to fully understand camber of the ski

  • is with this demonstration.

  • As you can see that both the tip and the tail

  • are in contact with the floor and the center is not.

  • The distance between the floor and the ski

  • is your camber in the center.

  • - The rocker, also known as reverse camber,

  • is as the name suggests,

  • the opposite of the camber.

  • The tip, instead of being bent down is bent up

  • ever so slightly.

  • It's very hard to demonstrate on the type of skis

  • that we have in our stock.

  • The tip is lifted up to ease initiation of turns.

  • - [Zoë] We are now going to move on

  • to specific categories of skis.

  • These include recreational, performance,

  • racing, and speciality skis.

  • - Here are some examples of recreational skis.

  • So what a recreational ski has

  • is generally light weight, a short radius,

  • and these skis are generally soft

  • for easy operation, for easy skiing.

  • Of course the price you pay

  • is a little reduced performance

  • but there is definite comfort

  • in skiing on a recreational ski.

  • - Our next category is performance skis.

  • Performance skis are generally stiffer.

  • As well as they come usually in

  • a variety of different radiuses,

  • depending on your skier performance as well as ability.

  • They also come with a few more technologies

  • compared to more of your recreational ski.

  • Peter here will go over a few of the technologies

  • in the Elan and Fischer skis.

  • - Thank you Zoë.

  • Fischer came a few years ago

  • with the concept of a progressive ski.

  • The edge design is exactly what that name suggests.

  • The edge is progressive.

  • It is not a constant radius.

  • There is a variety of radii in that ski

  • to ease initiation

  • and to have the ski feel

  • like a cruising ski at high speeds as well.

  • So it's a very good combination

  • of easy initiation, easy turning,

  • and high speed performance

  • when that is required.

  • On the other hand, Elan came up with

  • a very innovative combination

  • of shapes of edges

  • and they call it Amphibio.

  • The concept in Amphibio is that

  • the active edge on the ski is cambered

  • like a regular performance ski,

  • and it feels just exactly like a performance ski.

  • On the other hand though the outside edge,

  • and now we have introduced a right ski and a left ski

  • because we have to maintain an inside edge

  • and a separate outside edge.

  • The outside edge is rockered ever so slightly

  • which makes for very, very easy initiation

  • and also the feeling or the phenomenon

  • of catching an edge is a thing of history.

  • Catching an edge basically means

  • that the skier stepped on the wrong ski

  • in a turn.

  • And the wrong ski, theoretically wrong ski,

  • does not have that edge to catch

  • because it's rockered away.

  • So this is a very, very user-friendly ski,

  • easy to initiate, easy to work with

  • and still offering a very high performance.

  • And last but not least, here is Atomic's Doubledeck.

  • The concept of a Doubledeck here is

  • that they added a piece of plastic on top of the ski

  • that's attached to the ski loosely with elastomer.

  • And what's interesting about it is

  • that this elastomer gets engaged

  • only when a ski is flexed.

  • So as the ski is flexing, as the flex increases,

  • the stiffness of the ski increases as well.

  • And so the ski actually responds

  • to the temperament and the style

  • and the power of the skier.

  • So the ski changes from an easy ski to a stiff ski

  • as the skier

  • increases pressure.

  • - Our next category are race skis.

  • Race skis are the simplest ski on the market today.

  • They have a sandwich construction,

  • basically meaning two sheets of metal

  • and a full wood core stacked on top of each other

  • with a very simple, stiff riser plate on top.

  • Race skis generally are constructed with a full side wall

  • as well as improved base material

  • to make the skis go faster on ice.

  • Our last category is specialty skis.

  • Specialty skis are made up of a variety

  • of different types of skis.

  • First we have a twin-tip, which is what Peter is holding.

  • A twin-tip is usually used in a park

  • or if people want to ski backwards,

  • they have a tip at the tip as well as

  • a tip at the rear for easy backwards skiing.

  • - Ideal for people who don't know

  • which way is forward and which way is backward.

  • - Next is junior skis.

  • Junior skis are generally 70-130 centimeters.

  • They are soft, usually about the softest ski on the market.

  • Easy for turning and easy to learn how.

  • Generally for most junior skis

  • they all have pretty cool graphics as well

  • to make it fun for the kids.

  • Our next category is women-specific skis.

  • Women-specific skis again are usually

  • have better graphics, kind of zoned in for a woman skier.

  • As well as they are sometimes softer

  • for easy turning and easy skiing.

  • As well as the biggest difference between

  • a women-specific ski is going to be the binding

  • is generally moved up

  • ahead on the ski about a centimeter

  • for a little bit better balance points for a woman.

  • - There are many other specialty skis

  • that we are not going to specifics into here.

  • But there are for instance mogul skis

  • that are built softer

  • without any carving shape.

  • And they are soft so that the tips

  • don't hit into the moguls.

  • They're easier to maneuver in moguls,

  • they're usually short and narrow.

  • The other extreme are powder skis

  • that are extremely wide,

  • over 100 millimeters often wide,

  • and very frequently they are rockered for easy turning.

  • And of course in a powder situation

  • there is no need for carving,

  • and so these skis are not made to carve,

  • they are made to float nicely in deep snow.

  • And there are many other specialty skis

  • that we don't mention.

  • - Another very important factor when choosing

  • a ski for you is the ski length.

  • Ski length is very important in determining

  • how the ski is going to perform on the snow.

  • Generally a ski with a radius of 14 or smaller

  • will be a length to about your nose,

  • as seen here with Peter here.

  • With a radius of 14 and under,

  • it's a very small radius meaning

  • very small turns on the hill.

  • Having a shorter ski is a lot easier

  • for you to be able to maneuver around your turns.

  • A ski with a radius bigger than 14,

  • you usually want to go about around your

  • height of your head.

  • This means your radius is a lot bigger,

  • meaning longer turns.

  • You need a longer ski to be able to

  • support your entire turn.

  • Mostly for kids and beginner skis

  • it's always good to have a ski around

  • nose length and shorter.

  • Makes it a lot easier for maneuvering

  • as well as easier to learn

  • how to ski on the snow.

  • - The introduction of carving ski made it necessary

  • to lift the ski boot off the ski

  • to a certain degree in order to avoid

  • the boot touching the snow

  • when the ski is carving to an extreme point.

  • This is achieved generally either by a riser

  • that is added to the ski like here,

  • or a combination of a riser and a binding

  • that has a riser built in it as well.

  • Practically all ski manufacturers

  • introduced integrated binding systems.

  • The advantage of an integrated binding system

  • obviously first of all is that the binding

  • works with the ski specifically and ideally.

  • Of course the disadvantage to the user is

  • that they lost the freedom to choose

  • what type of binding would they select

  • after they've selected their ski.

  • Another concept that became necessary

  • with the introduction of carving skis

  • is the floating binding.

  • It is necessary because of the decreased

  • length of the ski for the whole length

  • of the ski to be functional.

  • And that is achieved by allowing the binding to float.

  • In this particular case the toe is floating

  • freely in the rail and so is the heel,

  • floating freely in the rail.

  • And the binding actually is attached to the ski

  • in the center.

  • So as the ski flexes both the toe and the heel

  • freely float on the ski,

  • thus letting the ski function completely

  • over the whole length of its edge.

  • Now that you have selected your skis and bindings,

  • it's time to select your boots.

  • There is a follow-up video on boot selection.

  • When you have selected your boots, skis, and bindings,

  • then it's time to get your binding

  • adjusted to your boots by a professional technician.

  • Here at Kunstadt Sports, all our technicians

  • are licensed and highly professional.

  • - If you're still in doubt

  • please check out our website,

  • www.kunstadt.com

  • for local on-snow demo days

  • where you can try out our skis

  • and see which one works best for you.

(rhythmic music)

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