# 2012 Skis



## gozips (Mar 22, 2011)

I had the chance to try out a bunch of next year's skis last weekend - found some good stuff.  I'm curious...has anyone else tried the new K2 "Impact" ski?  I guess it's based on the Rictor, but with a wood core (but still skis as stiff).


----------



## thetrailboss (Mar 22, 2011)

Is K2 still using foam in its skis?


----------



## wa-loaf (Mar 22, 2011)

gozips said:


> I had the chance to try out a bunch of next year's skis last weekend - found some good stuff.  I'm curious...has anyone else tried the new K2 "Impact" ski?  I guess it's based on the Rictor, but with a wood core (but still skis as stiff).



The Richtor is a woodcore ski.



thetrailboss said:


> Is K2 still using foam in its skis?



I don't know if they've used it since the 80's.


----------



## marcski (Mar 22, 2011)

Aren't most manufacturers back to using mostly wood cores these days after all the Rossi debacle about 10 yrs ago?


----------



## thetrailboss (Mar 22, 2011)

I know that several manufacturers *may* use foam in their entry level skis and that Salomon did as recently as 5 years ago or so.


----------



## wa-loaf (Mar 22, 2011)

thetrailboss said:


> Salomon did as recently as 5 years ago or so.



Yeah, and they got a bad rap for it. They're back though with the Enduro! Not so sure about that BBR ...


----------



## thetrailboss (Mar 22, 2011)

It's the wood that makes it good.  

Anyone skied on a ski with bamboo or another non-traditional wood core?


----------



## gmcunni (Mar 22, 2011)

thetrailboss said:


> Anyone skied on a ski with bamboo or another non-traditional wood core?


no, but i do have a bamboo softball bat, the thing is awesome. bamboo is some hard freakin' wood!


----------



## thetrailboss (Mar 22, 2011)

gmcunni said:


> no, but i do have a bamboo softball bat, the thing is awesome. bamboo is some hard freakin' wood!


 
I know that bamboo grows faster than other kinds of wood, but I was a bit wary when I saw some skis this season with bamboo cores.


----------



## gmcunni (Mar 22, 2011)

thetrailboss said:


> I know that bamboo grows faster than other kinds of wood, but I was a bit wary when I saw some skis this season with bamboo cores.



i don't know jack about ski or bat construction but i was really shocked when i got this bat. the ball flies off it and goes 20+ yards further. i had a chart showing the properties of a few woods and metals and the bamboo was up there with metal in terms of "hardness". no idea how that translates to skiing, i'd think it would be a stiff ski.


----------



## Puck it (Mar 22, 2011)




----------



## wa-loaf (Mar 22, 2011)

Puck it said:


>



Wow, what a terrible chart.


----------



## gmcunni (Mar 22, 2011)

the info i found was - 


> A viable replacement for wood. Bamboo is one of the strongest building materials. Bamboo's tensile strength is 28,000 per square inch versus 23,000
> for steel.


----------



## Puck it (Mar 22, 2011)

wa-loaf said:


> Wow, what a terrible chart.


 

Better one, but it protected.

http://www.findanyfloor.com/hardwood/JankaHardnessRatings.xhtml


----------



## hammer (Mar 22, 2011)

gmcunni said:


> no, but i do have a bamboo softball bat, the thing is awesome. bamboo is some hard freakin' wood!


I took an Arnis (Filipino martial art using two bamboo sticks) class a number of years back.  Some of the drills we did involved a *lot* of hard hits between the sticks.  I did end up splitting one set of sticks but it took several weeks to do so.

I also have a bamboo floor in one room of my house.  It's not bulletproof (it does have a few dents) but I'd say that it's holding up at least as well as the oak floors I have.

BTW, I think bamboo is considered a grass and not a wood...but in any case it's pretty hard.


----------



## Puck it (Mar 22, 2011)

gmcunni said:


> the info i found was -


 
This is a good chart.

http://www-materials.eng.cam.ac.uk/mpsite/interactive_charts/strength-density/IEChart.html


----------



## Puck it (Mar 22, 2011)

gmcunni said:


> the info i found was -


 
Depends on the steel spec.  For some structural steels, it is equivalent.


----------



## thetrailboss (Mar 22, 2011)

hammer said:


> BTW, I think bamboo is considered a grass and not a wood...but in any case it's pretty hard.


 
Good catch. I think that is the case.

And IIRC I saw some Black Diamond skis on Steep and Cheap recently that were bamboo.


----------



## wa-loaf (Mar 22, 2011)

Puck it said:


> Better one, but it protected.
> 
> http://www.findanyfloor.com/hardwood/JankaHardnessRatings.xhtml



Brazillian Walnut would be some pretty stiff skis ...

I think the bamboo probably has a good combo of strength, flexibility and light weight. The weight certainly is an advantage for backcountry skiing.


----------



## wa-loaf (Mar 22, 2011)

So what else did you ski? Where did you ski them?


----------



## gozips (Mar 22, 2011)

wa-loaf said:


> So what else did you ski? Where did you ski them?



It was at Killington this weekend (season tune appreciation).  I tried a bunch of stuff...Atomic VF 82 (tried the 75 last year, thought it was pretty lively and fun...not as big a fan of the 82), Atomic Blackeye, Solomon Enduro (tried two different ones...loved the smaller waist), Dynastar Outland, Rossi Experience 88, and Nordica Fire Arrow 74 (another good one).  The K2 Impact was the one that really stood out for me...very stable on everything, very responsive.  The Enduro and Fire Arrow were close behind.  I'm considering pre-ordering the K2's - I can get $50 off if I do it this week.


----------



## wa-loaf (Mar 22, 2011)

gozips said:


> It was at Killington this weekend (season tune appreciation).  I tried a bunch of stuff...Atomic VF 82 (tried the 75 last year, thought it was pretty lively and fun...not as big a fan of the 82), Atomic Blackeye, Solomon Enduro (tried two different ones...loved the smaller waist), Dynastar Outland, Rossi Experience 88, and Nordica Fire Arrow 74 (another good one).  The K2 Impact was the one that really stood out for me...very stable on everything, very responsive.  The Enduro and Fire Arrow were close behind.  I'm considering pre-ordering the K2's - I can get $50 off if I do it this week.



Cool, I just did a similar demo: http://forums.alpinezone.com/showthread.php?t=92632

Did the same thing last year and liked the Enduro so much I just bought one.


----------

