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by
Bill Jones, Ski
Instructor CSW #20: "New shaped skis are just a fad; the fad won't last." There have been so many fads in skiing that it is easy to understand why many thought shaped skis were just another one. Experience shows the shaped skis are not a fad, however. They are common today and so prevalent that the earlier-era models are the ones that stand out. A curious situation has developed, however. Beginner and intermediate skiers almost universally are on shaped skis. One sees more upper-level skiers--especially older ones--on earlier-era skis, although still a much lesser number than is on shaped skis even in this group. This situation is curious because it is these older-model upper level skiers who could most benefit from the shaped skis if they would only invest a few hours learning how to use them. They would add carving to their skill package, find turns easier to make, and generally improve their skiing enjoyment. On the other hand--and here you have a personal observation--beginner skiers are often challenged by the shaped skis. Beginners find skidding a ski very useful in controlling speed, yet the shaped skis tend to go up on their edges and to carve around the turns with more speed than the beginners can handle. So be it. The industry's rental shops have switched over to shaped skis and that is all that is available. Beginners and we instructors are left to deal with this issue. And of course most beginners don't know any better, but this instructor taught beginners before there were shaped skis as well as now, and so has his opinion based on that experience. Meanwhile the beginners, believing that shaped skis are best, want them. An argument can be made that using shaped skis at first then avoids the problem of then adjusting the shaped skis as skill levels improve. A good experiment would be to try out groups in various combinations of ski styles and measure these aspects. Probably won't happen. main CSW page
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