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Gilson Soft Edge

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Flowbear
Posts: 339 - Karma: 828
So along with others, I'm sure, I always had this lame idea of a convex base for powder skiing but it always seemed like a niche that would only work on pow days. So obviously horizon tech and convex tech came to rise recently (can confirm, no noticeable difference while skiing pow) and now a newish company called Gilson has run with this convex idea and after having very interesting prototypes such as basically horizon tech but the whole length of the ski, they came up with the soft edge. Watch the following to get an idea. Basically just a weird trench effect that rises the edge up slightly from the base.

https://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/946706/Gilson-Skis---Get-Creative

They seemed to have escaped the use of these skis in powder, as it does absolutely nothing. But instead they've marketed it as a better carving and park experience. I'm interested to see what people who have ridden them think. Personally I think it just adds more ways to damage your equipment.

Some pros that i can see are; faster acceleration due to less friction, eliminate catching edges on snowboards only, smoother riding surface on rails.

Some potential cons; grinding away at not only your edge as per usual but also your base (I only see this being an issue on skis due to how features are ridden since we have more pressure on our edge when riding rails unlike snowboarders.), harder to learn on due to slipping out easier off your base.

I'm also skeptical of their claim that it creates a better carving experience unless the base were to act like a double edge thus gripping the snow better but it seems like there would be no difference in my mind. Let me know what you think.

**This thread was edited on Dec 3rd 2019 at 7:50:11pm
Dec 2 2019 4:36PM
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Bdoobz
Posts: 838 - Karma: 4,893
I get the idea and it does make sense to a certain degree. There's a few snowboard companies who have a similar thing going on - bataleon/lobster for sure.

One big con I can see is the tuning of the skis. Sure you can probably sharpen/wax by hand but if you take something like this to a standard shop their machines (especially base edge) will just eat the base without even contacting the edge. It makes the skis very hard to tune. Imagine trying to get a flat scraper to scrape that base?

That being said it's cool to see companies pushing the envelope a little bit and trying new/unconventional things.
Dec 2 2019 10:06PM
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Flowbear
Posts: 339 - Karma: 828
Yea I never thought about the tuning side of it that's definetly another issue. It is interesting to see that other board companies have played with this idea aswell. I can see it being more beneficial in a snowboard due to the large surface area and it could help heeps at resorts with alot of traversing for sure and in park with catching edges. Will be interesting to see what skiers think of this concept.

But yea your right it's great to see this type of progression and whether good or bad it will always lead to better equipment.
Dec 2 2019 10:29PM
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sbarlett
Posts: 882 - Karma: 4,255
Ridden their skis for a few seasons now, the design has changed a lot from the beginning for sure. Started out with the soft edge going the full length of the ski, which could make it a little tough getting an edge on an icy day. The all-mountain and park skis now have a totally flat base underfoot with the soft edge tapered in higher up on the tip/tail. You can get a grip on hardpack and still get that surfy feel carving in some snow. Pretty fun to ride.

As for tuning and waxing, you can still grind the base just fine, however you're just grinding the elevated part of the base. I haven't had a problem waxing them either although you have to scrape up against the soft edge as well.
Dec 2 2019 10:38PM
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Flowbear
Posts: 339 - Karma: 828
That's good to hear, having the soft edge underfoot would have made for some interesting issues. I feel like you probably wouldn't have to wax that elevated edge much since there wouldn't be much ski snow contact there anyways.
Dec 2 2019 11:24PM
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skrtfest
Posts: 32 - Karma: 72
Are you. talking about deep dish skis? If so surface has been doing that for a while I think?
Dec 3 2019 2:18PM
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Flowbear
Posts: 339 - Karma: 828
skrtfestAre you. talking about deep dish skis? If so surface has been doing that for a while I think?


Are they still doing it? They don't seem to advertise it on their website. But that's cool that's how I imagined it would be done just a super subtle convex base meant for predominantly powder skiing.

But no, Gilsons method is a little more out there then simply making the base bow out slightly left to right.
Dec 3 2019 3:02PM
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ASSholebomber22
Posts: 6597 - Karma: 69,818
sbarlettThe all-mountain and park skis now have a totally flat base underfoot with the soft edge tapered in higher up on the tip/tail. You can get a grip on hardpack and still get that surfy feel carving in some snow. Pretty fun to ride.

That's interesting because originally didn't they market the soft edge underfoot in order to save your edges on rails? Could be wrong. @GilsonSkis your time to shine fellas peeps are talkin bout your products
Dec 3 2019 3:29PM
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Flowbear
Posts: 339 - Karma: 828
BiffbarfThat's interesting because originally didn't they market the soft edge underfoot in order to save your edges on rails? Could be wrong. @GilsonSkis your time to shine fellas peeps are talkin bout your products


Yea that's what it seems like from their current info vids. Maybe their website isn't up to date who knows.
Dec 3 2019 3:46PM
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GilsonSkis
Posts: 738 - Karma: 9,715
Yes. Originally all the skis were soft edge all around. Having less edge impact on rails was a major benefit. But after much prototyping. The trade off for slightly less edge control on rails and hard pack snow didn’t seem worth it. So we found a happy medium getting the best of both worlds. The park skis have soft edge on tips and tails for butters. The all mountains have soft edge up to underfoot. And the pow skis are full soft edge. We’ve been working hard to get our skis to a place we are proud of. Durability, weight, and performance have already improved drastically. We will continue to work on improving and prototyping. We are a small grassroots company so we appreciate patience and support while we learn and grow.
BiffbarfThat's interesting because originally didn't they market the soft edge underfoot in order to save your edges on rails? Could be wrong. @GilsonSkis your time to shine fellas peeps are talkin bout your products
Dec 3 2019 4:23PM
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JoshWong
Posts: 2823 - Karma: 20,539
I started riding for Gilson middle of last winter. I helped prototype the new fusions. They’ve really impressed me as a company. They’ve been incredibly open to input and willing to make changes. They valued my opinions.

The difference between the first skis from them I rode and the latest is night and day.
The first pair felt like what I would expect a homemade ski to feel like. The latest pair holds its own to any other ski on the market.

On top of immediately involving me in the company. They’ve been incredibly supportive to me. I’ve ridden for a couple major brands before and never experienced this before. They flew me to PA from CO to check out the factory/farm. They’ve helped me with season pass’s. They’re really putting back into the ski community.

This winter they even partnered with a local PA organization that helps kids who might not be able to afford to ski. With this program Gilson donated 100 pairs of skis and snowboards to be given away to kids.

So even if you hate their product. Or don’t like something about them. The people behind Gilson are good people. Who are giving back to the community and ski culture in the first few years of being around more then I’ve ever seen.
Dec 3 2019 5:17PM
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AngryGramps
Posts: 243 - Karma: 707
JoshWongI started riding for Gilson middle of last winter. I helped prototype the new fusions. They’ve really impressed me as a company. They’ve been incredibly open to input and willing to make changes. They valued my opinions.

The difference between the first skis from them I rode and the latest is night and day.
The first pair felt like what I would expect a homemade ski to feel like. The latest pair holds its own to any other ski on the market.

On top of immediately involving me in the company. They’ve been incredibly supportive to me. I’ve ridden for a couple major brands before and never experienced this before. They flew me to PA from CO to check out the factory/farm. They’ve helped me with season pass’s. They’re really putting back into the ski community.

This winter they even partnered with a local PA organization that helps kids who might not be able to afford to ski. With this program Gilson donated 100 pairs of skis and snowboards to be given away to kids.

So even if you hate their product. Or don’t like something about them. The people behind Gilson are good people. Who are giving back to the community and ski culture in the first few years of being around more then I’ve ever seen.


This is why its so important to support core brands. they do RAD SHIT like this, hook up a NS OG, listen to their athletes and truly develop their product beyond just switching to a new graphic that looks like "those bird skis". They helped out with 100 pairs of skis to those just starting out who cant afford it, they share the love of the sport!! What ski company out there (even the huge ones) does that? none. thats how many. @GilsonSkis ya'll should really be proud of the way you run things. i've done some work with you guys through my job before and have always been impressed by their professionalism, outlook and openness to new things. breath of fresh air to have a company that is about the sport, not just the marketing
Dec 4 2019 11:13AM
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