Kelvin and i were debating about rubber tips at some point, in particular, their effect on ski durability and performance. it's probably true that they will help somewhat, especially to reduce the effects of shearing between layers to prevent/minimize delamination. adding rubber elsewhere on the ski may improve damping.
i've looked in the McMaster catalog (http://www.mcmaster.com/, type in "rubber" in the find box). they sell sheets. we haven't ordered any yet, but at some point we'll give it a try.
the demo on the Karhu factory video at telemarktips is exactly the same the scratch demo in Oslo. Basically, you can stand on the tips and bend them in almost any direction and the tips will snap back into position with no damage to the ski. Point is it seems like a good idea I was just wondering about the execution?
A sales guy in Oslo Sportslager (IMHO a good ski shop) stood on the tip of a scratch fs to show durable the rubber tips are. The same demo can be seen in the visit to the karhu factory video on telemarktips.
Jeg er engelsk(and that's the limit of my Norsk), but I'll be in Oslo tele boot buying in November if you fancy meeting up for a beer and ski building chat.
The ski's were last years scratch fs and bending didn't seem to harm the top sheet. The skis didn't seem to be a cap construction, i.e., not like a salomon 1080 ski, but I've never seen the innards of a rossignol ski. If anyone's got an old pair that they feel like cutting up to see how the tips are made please feel free to share.
they use a rubber tip spacer, which i think is a great idea becaues it dampnes the tips alot making a soft ski alot more stable without taking away from its pop
