Thread: Upside down skis and cleats?! what is the world coming to?

Next thing you know some guy will be skiing on waterskis....

so Blizzard has the Flipcore. Arne Blackstrom dreamed it up. But the video gives no technical description other than it was built from the bottom to the top and it can stop real good. Anyone with any beta?
http://youtu.be/Dg6KtVb-Dyc

And Powder came yesterday. Had a little bit on DPS' new design with lateral concavity. Makes perfect sense to me given I spend all of my time on the edges of my skis (and on my hip). But they've got "cleats" to provide traction in less than blower conditions?

Awesomeness. All of it.

Originally Posted by Skirotica

Next thing you know some guy will be skiing on waterskis....

so Blizzard has the Flipcore. Arne Blackstrom dreamed it up. But the video gives no technical description other than it was built from the bottom to the top and it can stop real good. Anyone with any beta?
http://youtu.be/Dg6KtVb-Dyc

And Powder came yesterday. Had a little bit on DPS' new design with lateral concavity. Makes perfect sense to me given I spend all of my time on the edges of my skis (and on my hip). But they've got "cleats" to provide traction in less than blower conditions?

Awesomeness. All of it.

There is a bit of info out there on the flip core, but it is exactly that, a flipped core. Instead of reshaping the ski in a press to give it rocker, the core is 'upside down' so that the rocker is it's natural camber. I got to ski on the Cochise a little... very fun ski.

Isn't camber a product of the press too? So did they just make the mold with reverse camber? That's what it seems like. I don't get how the core itself is actually upside down. It seems same as the renegade or the newer gotama, not that that's a bad thing. All skis should be made like this, at least those of the freeride variety.

Jed
http://www.youtube.com/user/TecBlizz.../0/nF8mwhWb4PU
Doesn't really get into it..
a little from Clem
http://www.youtube.com/user/TecBlizz.../2/Dg6KtVb-Dyc
This does a little.. from
http://ispo-mediaservices.com/prj_15...2350.2.2222222

At the heart of the Blizzard Free Mountain Line is the new Flip Core Technology. The idea: the wood core of the ski is inserted upside-down, so that the downward-facing, convex side of the core creates a natural bend. This Natural Rocker-Shape is already built into the construction of the ski, not needing any additional re-pressing. The Rocker-Shape makes skiing in powder easier, as well as on the groomed slopes. The ski turns tangibly easier, making turn initiation easier for beginners as well as experienced skiers, making skiing for fun. Additionally, natural spring, light floating in powder and a smooth ride are the felt advantages of Blizzard’s new construction. Using bamboo wood in the core makes weight reduction and a previously-unheard-of stability and pressure- distribution possible at the same time. Flip Core Technology is available across the new Free Mountain line, which is designed for freeriders who demand the highest standard of performance, quality and design from their skis

Ah, so the thickness delta from midpoint to the tips in core creates the curve. Thanks.

Here's one of the better explanations I've come across for Flipcore, and it makes sense.

http://articles.starthaus.com/2011/0...ore-explained/

"Most skis have their camber and especially their rocker shaped via heat and pressure in the molding process. This creates the shape, but it also creates stress in the core which translates to uneven pressure distribution when the ski flexes. The Blizzard “Flipcore” skis take the opposite approach by using a core that is basically built upside down. The molding process then does not have to place stress into the core when the rocker is shaped. The effect is a more even pressure distribution from tip to tail. The result of the Flipcore technology is a group of skis with remarkably even flex characteristics and a flex pattern that marries perfectly with the sidecut and the rocker profiles."

Originally Posted by JRainey

Isn't camber a product of the press too? So did they just make the mold with reverse camber? That's what it seems like. I don't get how the core itself is actually upside down.

Thank you, thats exactly what i've been thinking about the flipcore. I'm sure works well be the theory behind it does sound lick a gimmick. Its not like the wood naturally cambers itself on previous skis.

Originally Posted by Wired2theT

Thank you, thats exactly what i've been thinking about the flipcore. I'm sure works well be the theory behind it does sound lick a gimmick. Its not like the wood naturally cambers itself on previous skis.

Think about a freshly profiled core. The bottom is flat and the top is thickest in the middle and tapers down towards both ends. Take that core and flip it. Now you have a rockered bottom surface without having to "press" it into that shape. Theory sounds pretty solid to me

I think flipcore is just marketing mumbo jumbo, but the cleats are awesome.

Springs don't necessarily work well in that configuration, no?
Kinda like a strung and unstrung recurve bow. Strung and flexed backward= No bueno

Originally Posted by doughboyshredder

I think flipcore is just marketing mumbo jumbo

Agreed. I tried the Cochise (IIRC; it was the one with the giant Texas longhorn graphic) on a pow day that happened to also be a multi-manufacturer demo day, and thought it was average at best. Demo guy didn't like that feedback much, but whatever -- I'm going to tell them if I liked their skis or not, and my reasons why.

None of the 2012 skis from the major companies really did anything for me. I went back to my well-used DPS Lotus 138s and enjoyed them more for the rest of the day.

Originally Posted by XtrPickels

Springs don't necessarily work well in that configuration, no?
Kinda like a strung and unstrung recurve bow. Strung and flexed backward= No bueno

Exactly my thoughts.

All seems pretty basic to me. How many other companies do flipcore now without the trademark? Several I would expect.

Anyway re. Powder issue, I think the avoidance of any love or even mention of PMGear kinda reeks...