Core talk

Most soft skis dont have any metal in them. The metal just changes how skis feel. Mostly makes them stiffer, more powerful etc

For the most part, plastics are there to help protect the ski, not play a huge role in performance. These are the sidewall and topsheet, and technically the base as well but that does play a performance role (how well it glides).

Wood naturally resonates easily, which is part of why guitars and clarinets are made of wood. When it flexes, it will rebound and continue flexing in the opposite direction, and back. Over and over until it's been damped out by resistive forces, which can come from composite layers and metals. The bases and topsheets help with this a little bit, which is why a vishnu wet won't just vibrate forever if you pull up and release the tip. But it will resonate briefly. A volkl racetiger with tons of material components will be very overdamped and might rebound once.

Obviously different woods have different behaviors and this is why there are different cores for different kinds of skis as well. Some naturally damp themselves better or are far more durable and can contain a lot of energy. Others are a lot lighter in weight but might sacrifice some durability. Adding composites like carbon fiber stringers and triaxial fiberglass exist to iron out some of the compromises that must be made with a certain core profile without adding that much extra bulk (at the cost of $$)

**This post was edited on May 7th 2021 at 12:10:19pm

ReturnToMonkeyFor the most part, plastics are there to help protect the ski, not play a huge role in performance. These are the sidewall and topsheet, and technically the base as well but that does play a performance role (how well it glides).

Wood naturally resonates easily, which is part of why guitars and clarinets are made of wood. When it flexes, it will rebound and continue flexing in the opposite direction, and back. Over and over until it's been damped out by resistive forces, which can come from composite layers and metals. The bases and topsheets help with this a little bit, which is why a vishnu wet won't just vibrate forever if you pull up and release the tip. But it will resonate briefly. A volkl racetiger with tons of material components will be very overdamped and might rebound once.

Obviously different woods have different behaviors and this is why there are different cores for different kinds of skis as well. Some naturally damp themselves better or are far more durable and can contain a lot of energy. Others are a lot lighter in weight but might sacrifice some durability. Adding composites like carbon fiber stringers and triaxial fiberglass exist to iron out some of the compromises that must be made with a certain core profile without adding that much extra bulk (at the cost of $$)

**This post was edited on May 7th 2021 at 12:10:19pm

ooga booga engineering major

talking about ski cores is very core

Lots of questions. If you are seriously interested in ski construction check out the ski builder's forum, lots of information over there from both pros and amateurs. If you want to understand why certain wood species are used in certain ways I recommend you read "Understanding Wood", it's a great read with lots of information. Metal is added for stiffness and dampness at the cost of weight, carbon fiber and fiberglass are added for stiffness and are weight saving at the cost of dampness (more so carbon fiber, and in high quantities). The composites are needed at a minimum for torsional rigidity as a modern ski core alone has very little. Softer skis typically have less material and/ or a core of different thickness or materials.

No No No

yavoneMost soft skis dont have any metal in them. The metal just changes how skis feel. Mostly makes them stiffer, more powerful etc

The metals so you can cut a muthafucka

Core: vishnu, ON3P, Moment, Armada

Not Core: Blizzard, Nordica, Rossi

Op you want some afterbangs? Woooood

PoikenzI recommend you read "Understanding Wood", it's a great read with lots of information

Little throwback here, hope this helps

on3p are full bamboo and they feel very different than other skis I've been on, very springy and powerful but also unforgiving

vishnus are poplar/bamboo, the flex pattern is so different it's a little hard for me to compare

my 4frnts are full poplar I think, pretty damp, a lot more forgiving than my on3ps. jetskis and a lot of factions are also poplar, idk if I would like that in a skinny flexy park ski

lots of skis I've had in the past have had maple cores like lines, HGs were also maple. maple is pretty stiff and damp, not very lively, but it "breaks in" really nicely if it's a stiff ski to begin with. old broken in HGs looked fun af

skis 3 feet above your head

r00kieCore: vishnu, ON3P, Moment, Armada

Not Core: Blizzard, Nordica, Rossi

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