Which Ski: Full Race or Prosumer Race?
Head World Cup Rebels i.GS M/W – FIS approved for World Cup… and mostly unobtainable
Head World Cup Rebels i.GS RD- FIS approved for Masters
Head World Cup Rebels i.GS – 18m radius, identical construction to RD models
Head i.Supershape Speed – may be the best choice for Nastar and beer league
A common dilemma for the Masters or recreational racer racer is the choice between a full race ski and a detuned model. It’s important to make an educated decision about which ski to buy. The choice should reflect your skiing background and experience, your current ability and technique, and the amount of training time that you have. Of course, there is a certain sense of pride and pleasure that one derives from having a World Cup race ski. However, the detuned models from most manufacturers are impressive skis that are fast and manageable and for many skiers produce faster times in a course than a full race ski. The detuned race ski of this year is, in many cases, a better ski than the full race ski from 3 seasons ago. You shouldn’t view the detuned race ski as being an inferior product. Rather, see it for what it is—a race ski that works somewhat differently than the full race version.
Before we describe the attributes of race skis, we should describe what constitutes fast race technique on modern skis. Only when we have a consistent picture in mind can we describe the attributes of race skis that make them more or less suited to your skiing ability. Racing on shaped skis can be condensed into a few steps:
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- tip the skis on edge above the gate (so that the skis are rolled onto their downhill edges)
- decamber the skis (bend them into an arc)
- balance on the skis and ride them through the arc of the turn around the gate
- slice along on the edges until it’s time to tilt the skis to the new set of edges for the upcoming turn.
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Speed is primarily maintained or created by choice of line, how cleanly you ride the edges and your ability to take the energy stored in the decambered ski and transfer it into speed along your line. In this pure carving scenario, the options you have to choose and stay on line are limited:
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- tilt the skis to a greater or lesser edge angle
- pressure the skis more or less to bend them into a tighter or more open arc
- shift your pressure fore and aft along the ski to bend it more at the tip or tail.
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Any skidding or twisting of the skis yields a loss of speed compared to the ideal, carved line.
Detuned Race Skis
Most detuned race skis, whether slalom or GS, are softer longitudinally and torsionally than their full race stable mates. This softer design provides several benefits. First, the skis will bend into an arc (decamber) more easily. The benefits to you: a clean carved arc at a slower speed, and less need to apply extra pressure to the skis through extension of the legs. Second, the softer longitudinal flex is more forgiving of inadvertent excursions in fore/aft balance. If you get a little too much pressure on the tips, the detuned race ski won’t bite too hard at the tip and bog down; if you get a little back, you won’t be left in the dust, feeling like “Cookie” on the runaway chuck wagon. Similarly, most of the detuned race skis are built to perform and carve well with your balance centered on the ski – you don’t need to work the tip and tail to get speed from the ski, so it’s much easier to stay in balance.
The softer torsional flex is more forgiving of imperfect edging efforts. If you overshoot or undershoot on tilting your edges, you’ll be on the wrong line. The torsionally softer ski will let you adjust that tilt angle without overreacting, breaking loose from the carve, or throwing you off balance. Importantly, if you sometimes skid your turns (watch yourself on video, and be honest), the torsionally softer detuned race ski will be much more predictable while it skids, giving you a chance to carve the next turn.
Full Race Skis
Most full race skis are longitudinally and torsionally stiffer than their detuned stable mates. This translates to more stability at speed, and stronger edge grip on really hard snow. For the adept racer who can already ski fast, carve, and stay on line and tighten his/her arcs without skidding, these are desirable characteristics. If you are skiing slower than the speeds for which these skis are designed, then it’s difficult to make them turn and carve. Without that speed, when you tip the ski on edge it doesn’t decamber. When the ski does not decamber enough to carve the arc you need, you must do something else to turn the ski, such as pushing hard, unweighting and pivoting, or twisting through the arc. Any of these actions will actually make you lose speed.
The flex pattern of the full race ski rewards the racer who can shift fore/aft balance along the length of the ski, pressuring the front of the ski only as needed to tighten the turn arc, pressuring the tail to load the ski, then releasing that pressure to create more speed along their path. The ability to modulate pressure quickly and subtly takes training and good balance. It’s a very fine line between pressuring the tail to make speed, and jetting the skis out from underneath you by getting too far back. If you just stay centered in your skiing, then many times the full race ski will be slower than the detuned ski – the full race ski requires the fore/aft pressure adjustments to be fast, while the detuned ski does not.
Which Ski for You?
The right ski for you is determined by your race speed, your ability to tilt and pressure the skis, and your ability to choose and adjust the line you take in a racecourse. The full race ski is going to reward the racer who has precise carving technique, who is accurate in the line s/he skis, and who already is skiing and racing fast. This skier can go faster on full race skis than on detuned skis, due to the stability and edge hold of the full race skis, and due to his/her own ability to carve, pressure, and balance. If you fall into one or more of the following categories, you’ll probably ski faster on a full race ski:
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- You raced on full race skis before the advent of shaped skis
- You raced Nor-Am
- You were a top-15 collegiate racer (Is anybody else feeling left out??)
- Your race times are within 10% of the fastest skier of your gender (overall, not age class)
- You are within 2 seconds of your age-class winner
- You will be able to train and ski on your skis regularly, not just at races
- You arc clean turns at race speed, on race terrain, without losing control, or progressively making bigger turns
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If you aren’t quite at that level yet, opt for the detuned ski. Though it may not have the cachet of the full race version, it’s much more likely to reward you with confidence and better results. It will help you to learn good technique, and it will be more forgiving along the way. Even if you are a racer in one of the above categories, you may ski faster and be more comfortable on a detuned race ski. The full race ski requires constant vigilance and good technique, while the detuned ski forgives the occasional mistake.
Try Before you Buy
Before you buy any ski, whether it’s a full race version or a detuned version, SL or GS, try to demo the ski. Try it in the minimum length allowed by the FIS regulations (or shorter, if you don’t ski the FIS length), and one length longer, and make race condition turns – speed, radius, pitch, and snow conditions. If you can try the ski in a training course, that’s even better. Skis from different manufacturers ski and feel very different, and it’s important to get one that works for you.
Good luck in your ski search. Choose wisely, and you’ll enjoy a better season!
Diana Rogers