V-Werks Katanas Delamination and Edge Compression Repair

[Bragelonne]

I just wish to get some tips on what's the best way to fix this delamitation of the carbon top-sheet of my Katanas and this slight edge compression.

I'm guessing good old epoxy will do the job for the delamination, even if it's carbon, but I'm unsure about that slight edge compression.

I'm still puzzled by how I managed to do this damage, considering there's minimal signs of impact on the base. It looks like I stood still on a pointy rock with all my weight for a long time, and I sure have better thing to do on my skis then that.

I did read the PSA: REPAIR YOU OWN FUCKING EDGE COMPRESSION thread and I wonder if it's worth going the trouble for a light edge compression; but then again that compression is really pissing me off.



And there's very minimal damage on the base:



This pic gives a better idea of the extent of the edge compression:



...and why the fuck are all the pics attached up-side down ?

[DropCliffsNotBombs]

I like Volkls, but those V-Werks are built WEAK! The most fragile ski out there right now.
Even if you fix it, they'll break just like that again. And again,...

[Bragelonne]

Yeah, durability is an issue with these skis.

I fixed the delamination with epoxy, let it cure for 2 days and tried them out today; it seems to hold so far.

It's fixing the edge compression that puzzles me.

[swerve]

I wouldn't worry about the edge compression. You're probably not skiing too much firm snow with these. If you're worried, put that as your outside edge.

[Bragelonne]

I wouldn't worry about the edge compression. You're probably not skiing too much firm snow with these. If you're worried, put that as your outside edge.

They' re actually seeing more firm, crud and hardpack than soft pow this season. Here's the context: They are my only skis, beside an old pair of Line Prophet that I keep as a backup in May when there's more grass, roots and rocks to ski than snow. I went for the big mountain/slackcountry one-quiver set up: Katanas, King pins, Tecnica Cochise. I rode so far about 100 days over 2 seasons with this setup and had issues with every single piece of gear (as mentioned here, a delamination and edge compression on the Katanas; I reported earlier in another thread the stock-in-walk-mode issues and permeability of the Cochise, and a walk mode eventually just completely broke; and, I reported as many others a pin shearing on the King pins). I had to sell a kidney for that gear thinking I would get performance, but I underestimated how terrible shit the durability is, on all of it.

Had to get this off my chest.

That being said, I'll keep using it as the outside edge unless I find a very good tech; I think fixing it myself is above my limited skillset in terms of ski repair.

Anyone knows a very talented tech in Whistler (i.e. someone that is not a 20 yo aussie?)

[rod9301]

I have the same ski, and I don't find it fragile at all.

A friend has this so and has about 400 days, all resort skin at squaw.

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[cmcrawfo]

I have the same ski, and I don't find it fragile at all.

A friend has this so and has about 400 days, all resort skin at squaw.

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Sounds like you and your buddy ski like a bunch of pussies.

[spanky]

Not a V-werks Katana, but I’m also not at all impressed with the sidewall durability of my first gen Volkl 100eights. Barely a mark on the base material resulted in two very minor sidewall compressions but did result in edge/base delam in both and also a “top sheet” delam in the second.

Pictures to follow.

[MTN_BIKER]

My buddy has the V-WERKS BMT 109. About a month ago while skinning he had an awkward forward fall and did a slow motion roll over a small rock. The rock punched a hole in the sidewall right under the toe piece and caused a similar, but smaller delamination and bent edge. A couple ski techs said they could attempt a repair but it would fail at some point. He bought a new pair of BMT's

[I've seen black diamonds!]

400 days, all resort skin at squaw.

WTF? Resort skiing or skinning?

[KillerMonkey]

They' re actually seeing more firm, crud and hardpack than soft pow this season. Here's the context: They are my only skis, beside an old pair of Line Prophet that I keep as a backup in May when there's more grass, roots and rocks to ski than snow. I went for the big mountain/slackcountry one-quiver set up: Katanas, King pins, Tecnica Cochise. I rode so far about 100 days over 2 seasons with this setup and had issues with every single piece of gear (as mentioned here, a delamination and edge compression on the Katanas; I reported earlier in another thread the stock-in-walk-mode issues and permeability of the Cochise, and a walk mode eventually just completely broke; and, I reported as many others a pin shearing on the King pins). I had to sell a kidney for that gear thinking I would get performance, but I underestimated how terrible shit the durability is, on all of it.

Had to get this off my chest.

Sounds like to me you blew your load on the most delicate and expensive first year tech available. If you're skiing 100+ days a season, I don't understand why you didn't spring for a more tried and true durable set up.

[rod9301]

WTF? Resort skiing or skinning?

Skin means skiing, Google keeps correcting me, obviously knows better than me what I want to say.

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using TGR Forums mobile app

[Bragelonne]

My buddy has the V-WERKS BMT 109. About a month ago while skinning he had an awkward forward fall and did a slow motion roll over a small rock. The rock punched a hole in the sidewall right under the toe piece and caused a similar, but smaller delamination and bent edge. A couple ski techs said they could attempt a repair but it would fail at some point. He bought a new pair of BMT's

Thanks for that insight. I guess I'll just have to live with that compression unless I find some seriously skilled tech that can make miracles.

Sounds like to me you blew your load on the most delicate and expensive first year tech available. If you're skiing 100+ days a season, I don't understand why you didn't spring for a more tried and true durable set up.

"First year tech" ? WTF ? All this gear is from the 2016-2017 gen. The Katanas were already on the market for 3 years (first gen are the 2014-2015, they remained unchanged but the paint job), the King pins are 2nd gen, and the Cochise have been around for years. I read all serious reviews and everything seemed to be just as advertised: i.e. a one-quiver setup strong enough for resort and light enough for 1-day backcountry trip. Enlighten me on what could have been a "more tried and true durable set up" that would fulfill this.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

Enlighten me on what could have been a "more tried and true durable set up" that would fulfill this.

Skis with real sidewalls that aren't wafer thin? I've heard of several BMT 122 delams. Not so much with the others. But they sure look fragile, whether that's actually the case or not.

[lazyasian]

I read all serious reviews and everything seemed to be just as advertised: i.e. a one-quiver setup strong enough for resort and light enough for 1-day backcountry trip. Enlighten me on what could have been a "more tried and true durable set up" that would fulfill this.

I’ve delammed my V-Werks Katanas several times when I think a different Ski would’ve held up. When I brought them to a shop I was told both times that they’ve seen several similar issues with Katanas. I’m not a big enough gear geek to know if anything on the market fulfills your criteria, but I will say that I’m going to be skiing my Katanas only in the backcountry going forwards - I think they’re just too fragile to be a resort ski for anyone who skis somewhat aggressively and gets in a good number of days a season.

[Bragelonne]

I’ve delammed my V-Werks Katanas several times when I think a different Ski would’ve held up. When I brought them to a shop I was told both times that they’ve seen several similar issues with Katanas. I’m not a big enough gear geek to know if anything on the market fulfills your criteria, but I will say that I’m going to be skiing my Katanas only in the backcountry going forwards - I think they’re just too fragile to be a resort ski for anyone who skis somewhat aggressively and gets in a good number of days a season.

Thanks for your input; I have a few questions:

-What type of epoxy did you use to fix you delams ? is it holding well so far ? I used good old JB Weld and I'm unsure about long term hold on that delaminated carbon sheet.

-Did you notice any edge compression ? even if you didn't hit anything hard ?

-Do you have kingpins mounted on your Katanas ? if yes, did you notice any small "lump" on the ski base right under the screws of the toe piece. I had two kingpins toe piece failure - not due to hard impact - but I'm pretty sure these lumps on the base are unrelated. It's weird: it seems like under the weight of daily skiing the screws of the toe pieces are pushing all the way down through the ski base ?

And a word on the ever elusive "one-quiver-setup":
With close to a 100 days over 2 seasons with the Katanas (bought my entire setup Katanas/Kingpins/Tecnica Cochise in Jan 2017), I agree with your assessment: the Katanas don't seem to have the durability for daily resort skiing. It's very unfortunate, because they are by far the fastest, most fun and versatile skis I have ever ridden. They can do anything and everything in any snow conditions; sure you can try short turn on grooms with them but they'll get off your feet, speed straight shot down the mountain and go grab a beer waiting for your slow ass. To me they're that great; it's really a downer that they're so fragile. The old Katanas (the old heavy metal Katanas) were just as great as the v-werks, but way too heavy to tour with, at least not for a guy my size (5'11', 170lbs). Sure, Andrew the Giant could tour with Dukes or Barons mounted on old Katanas, but not me.

Therefore, I have strong buyers remorse. I bought this gear to the best of my knowledge with the available information at the time; and it seems like the right choice both financially (it's an expensive setup, but still cheaper than two good dedicated setups for the resort and the backcountry), and for my living space (vanlife/ moving a lot/small shared flat); all that to say that I'm coming to the same conclusion as you do: there doesn't seem to be anything on the market right now that fulfill my needs for a single pair of skis, bindings and boots that will perform as well inbound and in the backcountry. Anyway, I sure can't afford any other gear for a while, so I have to learn to fix it ! Because looking as it goes so far, it sure will keep breaking.

[ACH]

I've got well over 100 days on a pair of BMT 109's, they've seen a broad range of conditions and they are far from fragile. All equipment has a failure rate, these are no worse than any other ski in their class.

[lazyasian]

Thanks for your input; I have a few questions:

-What type of epoxy did you use to fix you delams ? is it holding well so far ? I used good old JB Weld and I'm unsure about long term hold on that delaminated carbon sheet.

-Did you notice any edge compression ? even if you didn't hit anything hard ?

-Do you have kingpins mounted on your Katanas ? if yes, did you notice any small "lump" on the ski base right under the screws of the toe piece. I had two kingpins toe piece failure - not due to hard impact - but I'm pretty sure these lumps on the base are unrelated. It's weird: it seems like under the weight of daily skiing the screws of the toe pieces are pushing all the way down through the ski base

Not gonna have particularly useful answers for you here unfortunately...

-Got the delam fixed in a shop. It was big (heel to past the toe) and beyond my skills. I just wanted to be able to limp through the season on them, but so far they’ve held up really well. Wish I knew exactly what they’d used!

-Did have an edge compression before, but that was after hitting a rock. No edge compression with this last delam.

-I’ve got Ions on them. No lump noticed though!

[Bragelonne]

Not gonna have particularly useful answers for you here unfortunately...

-Got the delam fixed in a shop. It was big (heel to past the toe) and beyond my skills. I just wanted to be able to limp through the season on them, but so far they’ve held up really well. Wish I knew exactly what they’d used!

-Did have an edge compression before, but that was after hitting a rock. No edge compression with this last delam.

-I’ve got Ions on them. No lump noticed though!

Thank you for your reply; so far the JB epoxy seems to be holding and I hope a good stone grind may fix those lumps. I'll ride with that compression unless I come across some wizard tech in Whis that can fix it. Cheers.

[raueda1]

Not a V-werks Katana, but I’m also not at all impressed with the sidewall durability of my first gen Volkl 100eights. Barely a mark on the base material resulted in two very minor sidewall compressions but did result in edge/base delam in both and also a “top sheet” delam in the second.

Pictures to follow.

You're not the only one, same happened to me. My 100eights literally fell apart after about 80 days. It was a tough 80 days, but still. Volkl had some kind of major delam problem with them. Christy sports at Snowbird sent back 3 pairs for warrentee replacement, including mine. Multiply that by a zillion other shops doing the same thing and it's a lot of bad skis. Supposedly they know what the problem was and this year's skis will be good. Time will tell.