It looks like you are using an ad blocker. That's okay. Who doesn't? But without advertising revenue, we can't keep making this site awesome. Click the link below for instructions on disabling adblock.
Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post.
Register to become a member today!
So I've been skiing for a while and I feel like this is something that I should know more about. But how do different wood cores affect the characteristics of a ski? like what's the difference between aspen and poplar?
The core affects the flex, pop, and dampness of a ski. That being said, the shape, weight, and reinforcement layers (fiberglass and/or carbon + maybe titanal as well) also play a large role and can obfuscate what makes a ski feel the way it does.
The general consensus seems to be maple is chargy, poplar is poppy, foam is lifeless, and bamboo is damp, but good luck getting any real data or reliable direct comparisons. All most ski companies will usually tell you marketing BS
**This post was edited on May 5th 2022 at 12:43:51pm
How deep Into the weeds do you wanna go OP?
You can get a surface level explanations from general sites and or the manufacturers page,
Or you could get into 3-D structural analysis of skis and their various construction methods...
**This post was edited on May 5th 2022 at 12:54:41pm
I really want to dive deep into this. I understand how other laminates like carbon and metal affect a ski but I'm really lost on how the wood core itself affects it
Eli.braun98I really want to dive deep into this. I understand how other laminates like carbon and metal affect a ski but I'm really lost on how the wood core itself affects it
Google big words like:
"Structural analysis ski"
"Wood ski manufacturing"
"Photoelastic stress analysis ski construction"
Google Scholar might have some quality primary sources if you want to get into various wood/composite analysis, the site I linked earlier also might be a good foundation for research.
- http://www.wood-database.com/yellow-poplar/
**This post was edited on May 5th 2022 at 1:35:45pm
QuaggyHow deep Into the weeds do you wanna go OP?
You can get a surface level explanations from general sites and or the manufacturers page,
Or you could get into 3-D structural analysis of skis and their various construction methods...
**This post was edited on May 5th 2022 at 12:54:41pm
yoooo s/o for linking this, never seen this analysis before. Hate to say it, but I have to immediately question this because they called fiberglass isotropic (chopped is, directional weaves are not), and similarly used a unrealistic uniform thickness of the ski.
Eli.braun98I really want to dive deep into this. I understand how other laminates like carbon and metal affect a ski but I'm really lost on how the wood core itself affects it
If you really want a deep dive into ski materials, I think you should read up on vibrations. Read Glenne and Foss's paper on vibrations: http://www.sandv.com/downloads/0712foss.pdf
And Gosselin, Truong and Desbien's 2020 paper "Comparative Study of Ski Damping Technologies by Accelerance Maps" is also definitely worth a read (can't link, its a pdf, but should be able to find on google pretty easily).
Also interesting IMO, damping of composites isn't easy to calculate and is complicated. Here's an interesting recent paper on fiber resin ratio and laying angle and how it effects damping: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-97933-w
In general, on snow and lab tests don't agree very well and materials often don't do what people say they do. I don't mean to be condescending but I think most people, including many ski manufacturers, don't fully understand the materials they work with and how they affect the skis as well as they say they do
skiP.E.I.Aspen and poplar are the same wood. Two names for the same tree.
yeah no,
So to conclude Aspen is technically a harder wood when compared to Poplar! Since Poplar is a hard wood but it is not used a lot for commercial use as in for furniture and while Aspen is also a soft hardwood it is still a harder wood as compared to Poplar.
skiP.E.I.Aspen and poplar are the same wood. Two names for the same tree.
Populus is the genus containing multiple species, including white poplar and aspen which are different species. Ironically yellow poplar, which is usually just sold as "poplar" in the US, is in a different genus
