Once upon a time, not so many years ago, skis were narrow, long and relatively straight. Then two things happened. Snowboarding came along, and suddenly no one wanted to take up skiing any more; and technology made newer, stiffer composite material possible at low cost.

 Suddenly skis come in almost any shape but long and straight. Carving skis.  Shaped skis.  Super-sidecut skis.  Parabolics.  Hourglass skis. What's the difference? Is it all just hype or can these new ski shapes really change the way you ski? Can everyone now buy their way into the world of carving?

  

What is carving?

 Simply put, a skier carves when his or her ski turns without skidding. To achieve it, you have to put your ski on edge, pressure it to bend it into a curve, and then steer carefully so the radius of the turn exactly matches that of your ski.

 Sounds simple? It isn't. Or at least it wasn't until carving skis came along.

  

Carving Skis 

 Conventional skis are stiff. They had to be because with older materials, when you put a soft ski on an edge, it would twist along its axis and lose its grip, particularly on ice. Carving skis are much softer. By using modern materials, they can resist twisting while being much easier to flex.

 The original parabolic skis were introduced by Elan a few years ago.  They were very much shorter than conventional skis and had a very exaggerated sidecut (the difference between the skis width at tip/tail, and under the foot). Fortunately for the skiing public, the idea caught on, and pretty soon every manufacturer had introduced their own range. Unfortunately, each of them felt the need to come up with their own name for the same concept.

 Describing them as "carving" skis is actually something of a misnomer.  You'd be forgiven for thinking that it means these skis will carve, and conventional skis won't. All alpine skis, with the possible exception of the special ones used for the "flying K", will carve if skied appropriately.  Similarly all skis are "shaped" - the concept of the waist being narrower than the tip and the tail isn't new either.  Perhaps "super-sidecut" is the best description as it most accurately conveys the idea that these skis have a greater sidecut than normal skis.

Not all shaped skis are quite the same shape. Just because you've tried one carving ski doesn't mean you've tried them all.  In general the shallower the sidecut (the more like a conventional ski it is) the more versatile a ski will be, but the more skill will be required to get the best from it.  The deeper the sidecut, the easier it will be initiate turns and get the ski to carve, but the more the ski will have a preferred, usually very short, turn radius.

  

Carving Ski Technique

 Contrary to some of the hype which has grown up around the so-called "carving" skis, just making turns on them doesn't automatically mean you're carving.

 Unfortunately, you still need good technique. It's still the skier who gives the instructions and the ski which responds, not vice versa.  So ask the wrong question and it's no surprise if the ski gives the wrong answer.  If you can carve a turn on a conventional ski, you can carve on a shaped ski.  If you can't carve on a conventional ski, there's no miracle guarantee that you'll instantly be able to carve by switching to shaped skis.

 But it's not all bad news.  "Carving" skis haven't changed all the laws of physics - we're still in essence playing with gravity, so it's not back to square one.  The basic building blocks of good technique haven't changed.  We still need to balance over our skis, put them edge, apply pressure to them and steer them.  All that has really changed is the blend of these basic skills, and a slight change in the timing with which they should be applied. 

 Good technique for carving skis requires the skier to make much more use of lateral (side to side) movements than of vertical (up-down) and rotary (turning) motions.  You need to put the ski on its edge early in the turn and stand against it.  With a little patience the ski should start to turn for you.  There's no need to turn your feet to make the skis start turning.  Once you begin to get the feel, you'll be well on the way to discovering the carving sensations which until recently were the exclusive preserve of the expert skier.

 Experts love super-sidecut skis because they reward the application of good technique with such smooth, powerful, effortless turns. But now, with the new shaped skis, even a "stuck-in-a-rut" intermediate has the chance to experience that elusive carving feeling.

  Buying

Buying a new pair of skis can be a bit like a treasure hunt - the clues are there but you need to interpret them correctly to get to the gold.  Flip through a few early season ski magazines and it'll seem that every ski company claims to have what's 'best' for you.  But with so many contradictory "clues" which do you believe? 

  Turn to the ski reviews in those same magazines and you'll surely find the map marked with an "X" which will tell you that elusive answer.  Well, maybe not.  Ski testing is a subjective business - what suits one person, in the conditions which happen to be prevailing on the day of a test may not suit another person on another day.  Some magazines use expert skiers to test skis that are aimed at intermediates, so their views and experiences can't be guaranteed to match yours.  Still the information can be valuable in that it provides a direct, and hopefully unbiased, comparison between models.  If you try to read the reviews in several different magazines you will often find that it is possible to detect a consensus of opinion about a particular ski.

 So, confronted by an apparently endless line-up of skis to choose from, how exactly do you narrow the choice down to the point where you do end up with the skis that are best for you?

Some questions

 Start by asking yourself some questions:

 -               What kind of terrain do you mostly ski on? 

-               What type of conditions do you usually ski in?

-               Do you want to ski mostly on piste, off-piste, or a mixture of both?

-               How often do you ski?

-               How good a skier are you (be honest!)?

-               How aggressive a skier are you?

-               What kind of turns do you make?

-               How fast do you like skiing?

The answers to these should help you to start narrowing down the choice.  A good ski shop will have knowledgeable staff who will be able to make recommendations based on the answers to your questions - but be careful of assuming that a lot of "techno-babble" is evidence that they know what they're talking about - they could just be quoting the manufacturer's literature.  If they have actually skied the skis they are trying to sell you they will be able to describe the way they ski, not just the way they are made...

  

Some answers

 Now, it is time to think about which ski length is right for you.  Once there were fairly simple formulae which given your height, weight and level of skiing would reliably tell you what length ski you would need.  The advent of the new carving skis - which are now just about the only type of skis you can buy - changed all that.  You need to ski them shorter we were told.  Everyone seemed to agree on that, but that's about all they did agree on.  10cm shorter?  25cm shorter?  Who should you believe?   And shorter than what? 

 Today, it's generally recommended that for most skis most people should have skis around their height.  Maybe 10cm shorter for beginners, and 5-10cm longer for advanced and expert skiers.  The more radical the sidecut on a ski, the shorter you should ski it: some models of slalom race skis do not come any longer than 178cm - and that's for the world cup racers!  If in doubt ask the shop you are going to be buying from for advice.

 Having eliminated some of the non-starters - those skis which are just not made for your skiing style - and homed in on the right length, how do you make that all-important final choice?

  

Making your final choice

 If you get the chance it is wise to try before you buy.  You would not buy a car without taking it for a test drive would you?  But many people buy skis straight off the rack, with only the knowledge gained from magazine reviews or the experiences of friends to go on.  "Demo" sessions take place at many dry ski slopes in the UK during the autumn - ask your local slope for details. Out in the resort all good ski shops should let you use a pair of "demo" skis, and refund at least part of the hire fee if you buy your skis from them. Having tried a ski, should you decide that you do not like them after all, all you will have lost is the rental fee.

 Not convinced by your first demo? Most manufacturers have skis to suit most skiers: so if you've tried a ski from manufacturer A, ask the shop about whether manufacturer B has a similar ski and give it a try.  Some skiers spend all their holiday swapping and changing skis, supposedly looking for that ultimate ski, and yet never come to a decision.  They may have a point: they're always skiing the latest and greatest but they do have to pay for the privilege every time!

 If funds are tight, you might get a good deal with some ex-demo skis, or some old stock left over from the previous season which is going cheap.  These can be good deals, but make sure you know what you are getting.  It is often a good sign if the same ski is on sale this year as well (with slightly different graphics). A good ski last season is still a good ski this season - especially if it is half the price!

 Do not let choosing skis overwhelm you - it may seem more like a minefield than a treasure island at times, but by allowing yourself plenty of time, and asking a lot of questions you'll find that pot of gold in the end.  And while you are at it, do not forget to have fun - that is what this sport is about in the first place

 

 

 

 

 

 

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