Ski Design Guidelines and Tips for Buying Skis

About 7 years ago I purchased a pair of skis that seemed perfect for me.  They received great reviews in the ski buyers guides.  I talked to people at ski shops who recommended them.  They were made by a respectable ski company.  I flexed them at a ski shop and thought they would be ideal for me.

Day one was a sunny February day and I got bucked around on my new planks.  It often takes some time to adjust to a ski and there is commonly a break-in period with skis.  After a week, I still wasn’t skiing my best, but was adapting to the skis.  After 30 days on them, I didn’t really think about them.  I was having fun skiing and my boards had been to great spots in the Colorado backcountry, as well as some world-class resorts.    I finished the season with close to 50 days on my skis.  It had been a good season.

The next December I demoed a pair of skis and was amazed.  I could ski with greater speed, on more aggressive lines, with greater agility, using less energy.  I found a pair of skis that fit me correctly and the results were clear and impressive.  My fitness level and skiing potential had been unleashed.

I had spent several years working in the golf industry as a product designer and engineer.  One aspect of my job was developing fitting systems for matching a person with their optimal equipment.  These fitting systems and custom-made clubs worked for golfers.  In the cycling world, people were also realizing great performance benefits of custom-fit bikes.  I realized that a scientific-based approach to fitting people with their optimal ski equipment could also create performance benefits for skiers.  The top world-cup racers get custom skis so they can ski their absolute best.  Why not create a system so that recreational skiers like myself won’t make the mistake of buying the wrong set of skis?    I liked the idea of simplifying the ski buying process.  So, I began studying ski design.  Several years later I founded Wagner Custom and I’m still studying ski design.

One thing that I’ve learned is that every skier is different and that one ski design won’t be perfect for everyone.   So, how does a skier identify what product is right for him or her?    There are many paths.  I suggest starting with information about ski design and ski construction.   To help with this process, I’d like to present some information on these topics.

Seth Masia, a ski equipment gear guru, has offered to help demystify ski equipment.  Seth began skiing on the glaciers above Chamonix in 1968. After ski-bumming in Colorado, he joined the staff of SKI Magazine in 1974 and was technical editor there for two decades. He served briefly as product manager for alpine skis at K2 Corp., where he helped to design the first generation of deep-sidecut skis. He has taught skiing for 25 years at Squaw Valley, Beaver Creek and, currently, in the Vail Village ski school. Seth is managing editor of Solar Today magazine, in Boulder, Colo. He skis on two pairs of Wagner Customs, both 166cm, 119-72-104mm — one pair fiberglass with a maple-ash core and one pair aluminum with a maple-aspen core.

In the coming weeks, Seth will be posting some guidelines about ski design, ski construction, and ski materials.  Thanks in advance, Seth, for sharing some of your insight.

Keep watching the Wagner Custom ski blog….