Gear Articles tagged ‘ski tuning’

Monday Q&A: Brakes, Boots, Armada, Skins and Helmets

By: Austin Holt | February 7th, 2011
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We trolled around our community and found a few unanswered questions to tackle for our regular Monday Q & A. Maybe we’ll help you out by answering a question you were curious about, or maybe you can chime in and add your experience to the conversation.


I’m planning on buying the 173 cm Shoguns. I have Salomon

I’m planning on buying the 173 cm Shoguns. I have Salomon Z12 bindings that were on my old X-Wings. I know the brakes are too narrow so if I buy some 100mm wide brakes will it fit on the 173cm (99mm waist) Shoguns? or will I have to get the 110mm?

By: kkamo1

Brake width is a common concern these days. Sizing up to 100mm brakes gives you 1mm of space at the side for the arms to swing down, which isn’t much, but you can easily give each of the arms a slight bend to get past the edges. Any shop worth its salt can give your brakes a little clearance when you take the bindings in to get mounted. 110mm brakes would give you more than enough clearance, although if you’re looking to lay your Shoguns over hard on groomers, they could cause a bit of drag. So go with the 100mm brakes, even if they need a bit o’ modification. Read More …

Get Your Skis Ready for the Season

By: staff | November 19th, 2010
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Last month we received a message in our inbox:

I’m hoping you’re going to do something like this and I’d be surprised if it didn’t come up before hand. This is the first year I’ll actually have a pair of nice skis that I want to get ready for the ski season and I was wondering if you’d have tips on what to do to “get them ready.”

- Adam

Apparently someone actually clicked the Contact Us link at the bottom of the sidebar. Usually we only get messages from SEO spammers and appendage-enhancing-pill-pushers. It was refreshing to get something from a reader.

So we thought we’d help Adam out. Read More …

Ski Edge Sharpening

By: JGW | February 3rd, 2010
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Decades ago, Mr. Young warned us that rust never snoozes. I’m pretty sure Neil was referring to ski edges. Snag-tears in your gloves and pants, and rust stains all over your matching kit: all nasty side effects of poorly maintained ski edges. Read More …

How to Fix Core Shots and Deep Scratches with P-Tex

By: JGW | February 3rd, 2010
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Sharks, demons, and other ski-hungry beasts lurk beneath the clement whiteness that we all ski on top of. Believe it. If you’ve yet to hear the tell-tale crunch of a ski-vs.-rock core shot, consider yourself blessed. Rocks, stumps, and other hard sub-snow nasties want to eat your skis bases, and if you aren’t wary, they’ll eat your ski right out from under you. Fortunately, we have some triage tips for when the ski-eaters pounce. Read More …

Best Way to Wax Your Skis

By: JGW | February 3rd, 2010
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Fresh wax smells better than incense any day—just one of many reasons why you should regularly wax your skis.

A well-waxed ski runs more smoothly on any and every snow surface than non-waxed ski.  While some novices may feel that a lack of waxing will help them from ‘going too fast,’ this is actually faulty logic. Read More …

How To Deburr Ski Edges

By: JGW | February 2nd, 2010
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Catching an edge on manky snow sucks. Deburring your ski edges smooths everything out when you’re making turns. Here are some easy steps to deburr your ski edges. Read More …

How to Detune Ski Tips and Tails

By: JGW | February 2nd, 2010
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Factory-fresh edges are magic underfoot, but let those tips and tail go untouched for long and you’re aiming to hook your way into edge-catch city and tip-dive town. Sharp, tuned edges are there to help you slow and control your descent on the mountain (and so you don’t die on East Coast ice). Thing is, while most of your ski is wrapped with a metal edge, you don’t actually use your entire tip-to-tail edge for control. In fact, the tips and tails of tuned and new skis often hook and catch on the snow, making for bad days on the mountain. Read More …