The TechTalk Landscape, and New Feature Requests

[Vitamin I]

THE SHORT VERSION:

1.) Please tell me the existing gear-talk/tech-talk features/content out there (across the whole Internet) that YOU deem to be maggot-worthy? (e.g. Blister Reviews, features/topics in the TGR “Tech Talk” forum, etc.)

2.) Please tell me which new features and improvements YOU would want in YOUR ideal GearTalk/TechTalk/SkiReview world---like if you could wave a magic wand and get everything you ever wanted, in precisely the way you wanted it. Dream big here.

3.) Feel free to vent frustrations, too.

Plus, I can search old threads to find people's previously expressed ideas about this stuff.

.

[Vitamin I]

THE LONG VERSION:

I want to build 2 new gear-related/TechTalk-related websites. One will selfishly do things “my way”, and focus on strictly quantitative TechTalk nerd stuff. That new website definitely invites new feature requests from you, but might reject many requests in order to uphold its narrow nerd vision and strict standards.

However, I will also help build a SECOND new website to enable features done “your way”, however maggots want, no strict standards. Instead of the second website delivering every single one of those features, maybe we could lobby other established players to make some of them happen (e.g. encourage new practices on TGR “Tech Talk” forum, or ask Blister to deliver stuff, etc.).

So, for Item III below, please POST ALL YOUR DREAMY FEATURE REQUESTS, no constraints—and maybe some will actually happen somewhere within the whole Landscape.

I.) CURRENT DEMAND

Some maggots have expressed dissatisfaction that:
- TGR’s “Tech Talk” forum has severe limitations, fewer ski review posts nowadays, etc.
- The free market isn’t providing every GearTalk/TechTalk feature you want.
- Blister never set out to provide a comprehensively exhaustive solution with every little feature we could possibly want.
- Etc.

II.) WHAT IS THE CURRENT LANDSCAPE OF WORTHY PLAYERS FOR SKIING GEAR-TALK/TECH-TALK?

1.) Which existing features and players out there do YOU deem to be maggot-worthy already?
TGR “Tech Talk” forum? Blister? SkiPass? Fri Flyt/SkiTest.com? SkiAlper? Pugski? Freeride.com? RASC.ru? Who??? And which specific features are worthy?
(Your answers will help me avoid duplicating what’s already out there.)

2.) About my upcoming NERDwebsite, initially for quantitative nerds only:
- Will strive to provide features focused on boring quantitative data/numbers/attributes/etc to empower nerds and machines to provide gear-related decision-support to non-nerd skiers.
- Recommendation engines will eventually rely on input data from non-nerd skers/community, too (but curated).
- Will encourage people to more fully discover their own personal preferences for ski performance attributes, and help them to match their performance preferences to gear decisions.
- This boring “all substance/no facade” NERDwebsite will selfishly set its own strict standards, won’t compromise, and will reject off-focus feature requests.

3.) About my upcoming LeftoverFeaturesWebsite, for all users, no standards, whatever you want:
- Will strive to provide requested features that get rejected by the rest of the Landscape.
- These features may optionally be “powered by” the high-quality database of the NERDwebsite.

III.) NEW FEATURE REQUESTS

1.) Which gear-related, TechTalk-related new features would you request?
Let’s dream big here, discuss, and design dreamy features. Even if we actually deliver only half the dreaminess, at least that’s still better than what we have now.

2.) For each of those new feature requests, which player out there would you prefer to be the one who delivers it?
My upcoming NERDwebsite? My upcoming LeftoverFeaturesWebsite? Or make it happen in the TGR “Tech Talk” forum? Or should we lobby Blister to provide it? Who???

.

[Vitamin I]

SUMMARY OF THIS THREAD'S IDEAS BELOW:

1.) New LeftoverFeaturesWebsite:
- Decrease the TGR “Tech Talk” forum's redundant inquiries, by providing externally hosted search into the TGR "Tech Talk" forum knowledge base, more idiot-proof discovery (maybe an index/FAQ's/TOC/etc.)
- Solve TGR “Tech Talk” forum's sticky Ski Review Index thread (abandoned 8 years go by PappaG), by providing externally hosted Index that is editable by ALL USERS, sort by alpha/newest/etc. (I think that's better than an alternate solution).
- Simple Resort-specific decision-support
- Community-driven Footbed decision-support
- Attempt R&D to develop an effective "DIY 3D-scan-powered virtual bootfitting" process.
- A marketplace for gear parts/odds&ends

2.) New NERDwebsite:
- Original features are listed here.
- Objectively quantify behavior of skis and boots (ski flex, torsional rigidity, boot flex, etc), at various temperatures.

.

[XXX-er]

Same shit gets asked over and over maybe a better way to direct the enquiring mind to that info ?

[Vitamin I]

Same shit gets asked over and over maybe a better way to direct the enquiring mind to that info ?

OK, I think you're referring to the TGR “Tech Talk” forum specifically.
Basically, provide more idiot-proof discovery & search into the TGR "Tech Talk" forum knowledge base, to reduce redundant inquiries. Good one.

.

[XXX-er]

OK, I think you're referring to the TGR “Tech Talk” forum specifically.
Basically, provide more idiot-proof discovery & search into the TGR "Tech Talk" forum knowledge base, to reduce redundant inquiries. Good one.

.

yeah as a technerd I find myself writing the same stuff over and over to help some fucking dentist

maybe more stickies or a forum of stickied things so instead of "tech talk jong" it would be "techtalk stickie you stupid fucking DDS"

[mall walker]

on here anyway, I am a big fan of the ski weight thread, the binding template thread, the AT boot flex thread, and a number of the item-specific threads (eg the vipec thread) ... not as useful imo are the yudge brand megathreads, mostly because by the time it gets to 30 or 40 pages, you really gonna sit there and read the whole thing? (the on3p thread, for example, is at 260 pages right now)

[Vitamin I]

yeah as a technerd I find myself writing the same stuff over and over to help some fucking dentist

maybe more stickies or a forum of stickied things so instead of "tech talk jong" it would be "techtalk stickie you stupid fucking DDS"

That might help. A sticky which tells the JONGs precisely how to 1) try search, 2) skim a short list of the most commonly repeated FAQ's (and each FAQ links to the thread that answers the question), and 3) skim a short Index of the best threads that answer the most commonly repeated questions.

on here anyway, I am a big fan of the ski weight thread, the binding template thread, the AT boot flex thread, and a number of the item-specific threads (eg the vipec thread) ... not as useful imo are the yudge brand megathreads, mostly because by the time it gets to 30 or 40 pages, you really gonna sit there and read the whole thing? (the on3p thread, for example, is at 260 pages right now)

Good feedback. The new website I want to build will not overlap with any of those, except the ski weight thread---I want to paste all those weight numbers into a database, and deliver more complete coverage for more ski models. If you still prefer the thread over what I end up building, then I suck. And YES, I agree it's difficult to figure out if your precise new topic has already been covered somewhere deep within a general megathread.

i believe there should be more discussion about where to find each resorts best *public* electric outlets and the elusive stairwell ski tech bench.

hahaha. I'll be searching in Crested Butte tonight.

.

[PNWbrit]

Will you be collaborating with the Grateful Dead?

Will my Ikon pass qualify me for a discount?

Eager to see the best red skis for 2019/20 review.

[Vitamin I]

Here are my own opinionated answers to the questions I asked you all:

1.) Please tell me the existing gear-talk/tech-talk features/content out there (across the whole Internet) that YOU deem to be maggot-worthy? (e.g. Blister Reviews, features/topics in the TGR “Tech Talk” forum, etc.)

To me, Blister nails it for Spectrum comparisons, ski weights, measured lengths, rocker profile photos, access to the newest skis, and just good ol' honesty and high standards—BUT those strengths are diminished by their limited coverage of ski models, because they seem to cover only the ski models they receive from ski brands for free.

To me, TGR “Tech Talk” forum is the best way to learn general knowledge about DIY gear maintenance/repair/customizations, find an individual guru who has had a personal experience to provide a solid answer to your specific one-off question, search for multiple opinions on mount position for a ski model, etc.—BUT there are severe functional limitations of the forum format, and so much room for improvement, etc.

To me, SkiPass & Evo (and sometimes Freeride.com) are decent for just Googling a ski model name to find a webpage dedicated to that ski model…like with intent to see basic specs, which topsheet graphics are for which year of the ski model, etc.—BUT I feel like someone should deliver a better & more comprehensively exhaustive “IMDb for ski models” with one webpage per ski model. Does any player out there already provide a worthy version of that?

To me, SkiAlper and Fri Flyt/SkiTest.com nail it for super-nerd specs for skis—BUT SkiAlper seems to cover only tiny skis, and no functionality operates on the spec values (no filter/sort/compare/search/etc.); and Fri Flyt/SkiTest.com website has limited features (nothing more than awkward search/navigation to one static webpage per ski model review), and uncharacteristically reports suspicious values for “Measured length”. (but NICE that SkiTest.com recently released all their paid premium content FOR FREE with new ads.)

UPDATE 2022: SkiEssentials has more recently become a 2nd decent source for rocker profile photos (so Blister is no longer the only significant source for that). Plus, SkiEssentials also takes many close-up photos, for details of each little segment along the ski.

2.) Please tell me which new features and improvements YOU would want in YOUR ideal GearTalk/TechTalk/SkiReview world---like if you could wave a magic wand and get everything you ever wanted, in precisely the way you wanted it. Dream big here.

For the NERDwebsite:
My initial vision is to strive to deliver features like this (listed in reverse chronological order):

Stage5: Advanced recommendation engine for personalized decision-support:
- Forecast my favorite performing ski within this set of skis.
- Forecast my favorite mount position on this ski.
- Forecast my favorite length of this ski model.
- Etc.
- Advised User inputs actual outcome, to keep training the recommendation engine to minimize difference between forecasts and actual outcomes.

Stage4: Simple basic recommendations for personalized decision-support
- User inputs more data about self

Stage3: User compares/sorts/filters multiple skis by their specs and performance test results

Stage2: User inputs data about a ski, and about User’s own A/B performance test results.
- Admins curate User inputs for accuracy & copyright/ethics, and rate User credibility.
- User reports an existing data value as inaccurate/spam/copyrightViolation/etc.
- User votes for an empty data field to be filled, votes for 2 skis to be A/B tested.

Stage1: A nerdy, quantitative “IMDb for skis”—one page per ski model, with coverage NOT biased in favor of newness. (Somewhat redundant with SkiPass/Freeride.com/etc, but is a prerequisite for many other features.)
- Search, alphabetical index, etc.
- Maybe a 2nd page per ski for non-quantitative data like images, videos, external links, etc.
- User requests a new feature, reports a new bug, votes for which feature/bugfix gets delivered next.
- Some token fresh stuff, like dynamic lists (Top10 Recently Updated Ski Pages, Recently Added Skis, Most Viewed Skis, Recent features/bugfixes, etc.), maybe a different featured Gear Video clip each week, etc.
- User inputs data about personal opinion ratings of skis he/she has ridden, etc.

.

[Core Shot]

I recall ttips having a ski review forum, separate from general douchebaggery

Maybe that would help tgr? E.g. have 2 tech sections

[Vitamin I]

Will you be collaborating with the Grateful Dead?

Will my Ikon pass qualify me for a discount?

Eager to see the best red skis for 2019/20 review.

Stage6: Create a human clone from Jerry's remains. Then all A/B Testing performed by Jerry's clone.

No Ikon discount, but if any money is made, you can be the 2nd sponsored pro athlete (I'm first).

Q: "Alexa, are red skis better than other skis?"
A: "The Soul 7 is the pinnacle of ski design and performance."

.

[Vitamin I]

I recall ttips having a ski review forum, separate from general douchebaggery

Maybe that would help tgr? E.g. have 2 tech sections

Good proposal. A clean section within TGR Forums just for reviews. I don't have a strong opinion on that, but let's see if enough people here think that's an improvement worth making. Here's how ttips did it back in 2011, with "Community Ski Reviews":

[LeoK]

I love TechTalk as it is. I love getting lost into details and neardery that I will never understand and I love how just a little wordplay can degenerate a thread to the most comical mess over 10 pages and when it eventually goes full circle and come back on topic...

Please dont clean it up too much. It might lose some charm!

For new webpages I don't really know. There is already a lot out there but I found that e.g. on blister (not paying, so just free stuff) I give more credit to the reviewers who already liked some skis I like -> I guess this model of getting a lot of data and than you figure what you are looking for (e.g. running length, weight, material, width, sidecut, chamber) and be able to filter skis by that would be nice. And also something like: People who liked thoses skis also liked...

Also again thank you so much everybody who helped out in the swiss cheese section. Those insides are only to be found here and super valuable to some jongs like me.

[reckless toboggan]

Praxis Rx

[LC]

One-line reviews. Earlyups did it great one year.

[Conundrum]

#bringbacktags

[Vitamin I]

I love TechTalk as it is. ...
Please dont clean it up too much. It might lose some charm!

I pretty much agree with that (referring specifically to TGR "Tech Talk" forum). That's why I'm thinking that new websites are the appropriate place to deliver any big changes.

For new webpages I don't really know. There is already a lot out there but I found that e.g. on blister (not paying, so just free stuff) I give more credit to the reviewers who already liked some skis I like -> I guess this model of getting a lot of data and than you figure what you are looking for (e.g. running length, weight, material, width, sidecut, chamber) and be able to filter skis by that would be nice. And also something like: People who liked thoses skis also liked...

Yeah, the feature of "People who liked those skis also liked [this other ski]" would be part of "Simple basic recommendations" in Stage4 of the NERDwebsite described at this post. For Stage5 "Advanced recommendation engine", I'm thinking more like full-on Netflix Prize approach, smartly blending multiple models and see which model ends up getting weighted the most.

[PNWbrit]

I'm thinking more like full-on Netflix Prize approach.

How close to approaching their $1m prize are you thinking of?

[Vitamin I]

How close to approaching their $1m prize are you thinking of?

hahaha. I don't mean offering a prize for others to do the work. I mean I apply the lessons learned by mankind during the Netflix Prize competition.

.

[Gaperious Basterd]

I'd like a service that takes a 3D generated model of your feet (based on a smartphone app) and searches an entire database of ski boot internal shell 3D images and generates a list with "%fit," and also lets you select a boot and then the AI tells you where and how much to punch the boot.

With today's technology that should be simple. If you have cash investment, you can purchase two of every model of ski boot (or you can just order all of them online, take your measurements, and return them). Have a section of your website with AI bootfitting.

Even if you can't go quite that far, still consider cataloging user 3D feet with their other objective stats/data to correlate with their boot, what specific work needed to be done on it, and how the fit is (as well as boots "out of the box" which didn't work, and why).

Also there should be a section of the site dedicated to footbeds. You should allow users to post pictures of their feet on flat ground and on their footbed to give people an idea of the level of support (or lack thereof) afforded by various aftermarket pre-fabricated and custom footbeds.

You might also consider consulting with/contracting a company to develop analytical instruments to objectively quantify behavior of skis and boots (flex, torsional rigidity, boot flex, etc), at room temperature and at various temperatures.

If you generate enough data, you can develop partnerships with custom ski and boot companies (Praxis, Wagner, Strolz, Dodge, etc) to send data to them to build you a perfect custom ski that is the correct length/width/stiffness/sidecut/etc.

[Gaperious Basterd]

Are you TGR's web developer, or do you want to start your own website?

If it is the latter, you may not get many helpful replies, because people don't generally like to share their intellectual property with people for free.

But if you are TGR's web developer, then explicitly represet yourself as such, and people may be more willing to offer some constructive advice since it will affect their experience here.

[JayPowHound]

on here anyway, I am a big fan of the ski weight thread, the binding template thread, the AT boot flex thread, and a number of the item-specific threads (eg the vipec thread) ... not as useful imo are the yudge brand megathreads, mostly because by the time it gets to 30 or 40 pages, you really gonna sit there and read the whole thing? (the on3p thread, for example, is at 260 pages right now)

I would say the solly 957/997/900/916 thread is an exception. It's extensive, but super valuable

[Gaperious Basterd]

I would say the solly 957/997/900/916 thread is an exception. It's extensive, but super valuable

I think the OP is saying that the physical medium of a internet forum with "posts" and "pages" (in many threads numbering in the hundreds) is an impractical way to get to the important information. Many "threads" are interspersed with side conversations and sub-conversations, yet appears in a linear drop-down fashion.

Forums were really cool and progressive I think in like 1997?

[swissiphic]

I'd like a service that takes a 3D generated model of your feet (based on a smartphone app) and searches an entire database of ski boot internal shell 3D images and generates a list with "%fit," and also lets you select a boot and then the AI tells you where and how much to punch the boot.

With today's technology that should be simple. If you have cash investment, you can purchase two of every model of ski boot (or you can just order all of them online, take your measurements, and return them). Have a section of your website with AI bootfitting.

Even if you can't go quite that far, still consider cataloging user 3D feet with their other objective stats/data to correlate with their boot, what specific work needed to be done on it, and how the fit is (as well as boots "out of the box" which didn't work, and why).

Also there should be a section of the site dedicated to footbeds. You should allow users to post pictures of their feet on flat ground and on their footbed to give people an idea of the level of support (or lack thereof) afforded by various aftermarket pre-fabricated and custom footbeds.

You might also consider consulting with/contracting a company to develop analytical instruments to objectively quantify behavior of skis and boots (flex, torsional rigidity, boot flex, etc), at room temperature and at various temperatures.

If you generate enough data, you can develop partnerships with custom ski and boot companies (Praxis, Wagner, Strolz, Dodge, etc) to send data to them to build you a perfect custom ski that is the correct length/width/stiffness/sidecut/etc.

I had a discussion on a related topic about a month ago. Was with a guy in the tech industry with some specific knowledge on the shoe industry. Executive summary is we're not there yet. Apparently attempts have been made to use 3d scan of feet and either construct footwear around the virtual shape or suggest existing shoes that were close in shape...can't recall. I didn't get details such as 'weighted' or 'unweighted', 'free hanging' or 'flexed' or 'dorsiflexed', etc... The result was even though the shape was 'correct', issues arose when weighted and 'walked in' due to material flex characteristics in response to foot morphology/shape micro and macro changes during real world walking and use in terms of crucial fit areas not being perfect...either the very fine liner foam or the actual outer material was a little loose here, a little tight there, flex too stiff here, too soft there, etc....thereby negating the benefit of having a fundamentally 'correct' shoe shape for the foot...sounds like as in a lotta stuff in life, the devil's in the details.

Having said that, tech is evolving fast, who knows, maybe it's just around the corner for shoes. Perhaps, for the 3D scan based custom ski boots; might actually be a bit more realistic where even a 'roughly more precise' shell shape, for example, would pay huge dividends for fit since ski boot liners can accommodate those slight imperfections more effectively? (where's the DPS boot?)

In the context of shoes; with advanced computer and A.I. tech, perhaps the solution is go beyond a simple static 3D scan of the feet. Have a dynamic, video scan transferred into virtual 0's and 1's of feet in action...walking, hiking skiing, etc...with not just the scan of the static foot but a virtual dynamic capture of how the foot morphology changes in response to different demands, strides, rotational angles in sidehill situations, etc... and, pressure distribution sensors to see where the step/stride pressure gets distributed during the stride... No clue what that would entail and what you'd be scanning. Barefeet walking? Some kinda of 'reference shoe'? with footbeds/insoles? without? Same thing for ski boots... ski touring stride? downhill stance and dynamic action? what ramp angle? with or without footbeds? etc.... so many questions....

Having said all that...wasn't there a new shop that was offering something that's based in Revelstoke? Can't remember now. I think it was a 'scan the foot and compare to an archive/database of existing shell shapes to recommend best, next best, fitting models', etc.. simply to assist sales folks in making their job a bit easier?