Hendryx the swede finally got his flash finished.
A really informative page, and very interesting with a new brand around! (the 93rd. skibrand?..)
He has got some very interesting opinions too..
quote:
"Camber: Everything is about low camber! Everything else is because it´s hard to produce skis with a low camber."
what do you guys think about this? I just have to say that I disagree, and understand that he needs uniqe selling points, but isn't this a bit far fetched? I have made comletely flat skis myself, no problem.
Hendryx skis
Moderators: Head Monkey, kelvin, bigKam, skidesmond, chrismp
the statement about difficult in making low camber skis doesn't make much sense to me either. how is it more difficult to make a low camber ski than a high camber ski? if there is a difference i would expect high camber skis as being more difficult to produce with consistency.
is there a link to the hendryx site?
is there a link to the hendryx site?
- Kam S Leang (aka Little Kam)
Try http://www.hendryxskis.se/
Hey, and his workspace is really tiny:
The graphics are nice...I'm wondering whether he uses sublimated topsheets or printed paper laminated above the fibreglass.
Concerning camber his statement is really strange, maybe he wants to express the difficulty to produce skis that actually keep the camper after some hard days out? Just an idea, I dunno...
Hey, and his workspace is really tiny:
The graphics are nice...I'm wondering whether he uses sublimated topsheets or printed paper laminated above the fibreglass.
Concerning camber his statement is really strange, maybe he wants to express the difficulty to produce skis that actually keep the camper after some hard days out? Just an idea, I dunno...
but i dont know about the camber?? i think i will pay him a visit, maby this weakend if i have time. His workshop is abot 30 min whit the car from my house.
camber is an interesting topic. it's unclear to me its specific contribution, although i suspect it has something to do with pressure distribution as well as flex. but what i think might be true is too much camber can be a problem. i'll take the Kaffeines out next week at Whistler and see. they have about 25mm of camber, which seems excessive to me, kind of like double camber XC skis. Kelvin recently reported how strange the DLG's skied. they have about 25mm of camber, too. it will be interesting to note the affect on soft and hard snow. i'll write a few words after the Turkey holiday.
as for the low camber comment, it's not clear why it's difficult to achieve. as Little Kam pointed out, achieving high camber may be more difficult effort-wise. Or is it more difficult to achieve a specific tolerance on the camber? in that case, i can see how it would be difficult to achieve a tighter tolerance for low camber skis because small variations in the camber is more pronounced when compared to the target amount of camber. for instance, if you have 3mm of camber, then a +-0.5mm variation leads to (0.5/3)*100 = 16.7% variation in the camber. if camber has a significant affect on skis performance, then 16.7% may be large. therefore, one has to minimize the camber variation during production and trying to be within 0.5mm and ensuring that the ski does not lose camber for low-camber skis may be difficult. but consider the same +-0.5mm variation for a 16mm camber ski. the percent error is (0.5/16)*100 = 3.12%, so the same amount of change only affects the camber variation of a high-camber ski by around 3%. assuming that the camber is critical, then high-camber skis are more "robust", and in some sense more "friendly" to build. i dunno.
we should think more about this. i'm intrigued by the effects of camber. so far, i like skis with low camber.
as for the low camber comment, it's not clear why it's difficult to achieve. as Little Kam pointed out, achieving high camber may be more difficult effort-wise. Or is it more difficult to achieve a specific tolerance on the camber? in that case, i can see how it would be difficult to achieve a tighter tolerance for low camber skis because small variations in the camber is more pronounced when compared to the target amount of camber. for instance, if you have 3mm of camber, then a +-0.5mm variation leads to (0.5/3)*100 = 16.7% variation in the camber. if camber has a significant affect on skis performance, then 16.7% may be large. therefore, one has to minimize the camber variation during production and trying to be within 0.5mm and ensuring that the ski does not lose camber for low-camber skis may be difficult. but consider the same +-0.5mm variation for a 16mm camber ski. the percent error is (0.5/16)*100 = 3.12%, so the same amount of change only affects the camber variation of a high-camber ski by around 3%. assuming that the camber is critical, then high-camber skis are more "robust", and in some sense more "friendly" to build. i dunno.
we should think more about this. i'm intrigued by the effects of camber. so far, i like skis with low camber.
I too think camber has a lot of effect om how a ski performs. This winter I'll be doing my master project (I'm industrial design student) on how different shapes affect the joy of skiing. The theory is that varying the 8 floating variables in ski construction (just count) jou can go on making different skis pretty much forever. title of the project is "making skis the snowflake way" (It's kind of strange translated, but it's abot the effect of extreme customizing)
To be able to adjust the camber of the ski, I have built a quite special mould that is adjustable in all directions. It's an amazing piece of machinery. I will keep you posted about the effects of camber or not.. and everything else, I'm testing everything!
To be able to adjust the camber of the ski, I have built a quite special mould that is adjustable in all directions. It's an amazing piece of machinery. I will keep you posted about the effects of camber or not.. and everything else, I'm testing everything!
Low camber!
Hello everybody!
I see you have problems with my low camber theory. Well, it is not just a theory it comes from testing.
The benefits of low camber on hardpack is that the skis are very smooth from edge to edge and are very easy to adjust between turns. If you have alook at real World Cup skis you will notice they have a very low camber and infact race skiers break their skis to decrease the camber. Usually these skis have a camber of 3-4 mm and especially skis for speed.
What I mean with that it is hard to make skis with a low camber is that you get a lot of tensions when you heat up a ski to ~120 Celcius, let them cure and take them out and then be used at -10 . I can tell that A former cross country manufacturer here had big problems with the camber at production. They could make six skis in the same press and everybody came out different. This is typically for the european ski manufacturing and I know that you usally do not use these high temperatures in north America.
When it comes to soft snow a low camber ski floats and slide better. This is due to the fact that the tail do not kick up but instead sets in the snow. It is the same theory as for surf boards. The low camber ski also comes closer to a ski with negative camber, it becomes very loose. When skiing on low camber skis in soft snow you only lean over and the skis starts to turn, more like a surf- or skate board, you do not need any initiation of the turn they just starts to turn without any resistance, they simply acts more surfy!
I can tell that I have helped a company with ski designs and I specified them with a low camber. I had prototypes wich were almost flat and they were wonderful but when I recieved the production series they had about 20 mm of camber and it was a completly different ski! They really struggeld in bad snow with a tail that kicked up so much you had to sit on the skis to prevent head butting, in heavy soft snow, they did not slide easy and on the hard pack they did not want to go off edges.
All the best!
Henrik
I see you have problems with my low camber theory. Well, it is not just a theory it comes from testing.
The benefits of low camber on hardpack is that the skis are very smooth from edge to edge and are very easy to adjust between turns. If you have alook at real World Cup skis you will notice they have a very low camber and infact race skiers break their skis to decrease the camber. Usually these skis have a camber of 3-4 mm and especially skis for speed.
What I mean with that it is hard to make skis with a low camber is that you get a lot of tensions when you heat up a ski to ~120 Celcius, let them cure and take them out and then be used at -10 . I can tell that A former cross country manufacturer here had big problems with the camber at production. They could make six skis in the same press and everybody came out different. This is typically for the european ski manufacturing and I know that you usally do not use these high temperatures in north America.
When it comes to soft snow a low camber ski floats and slide better. This is due to the fact that the tail do not kick up but instead sets in the snow. It is the same theory as for surf boards. The low camber ski also comes closer to a ski with negative camber, it becomes very loose. When skiing on low camber skis in soft snow you only lean over and the skis starts to turn, more like a surf- or skate board, you do not need any initiation of the turn they just starts to turn without any resistance, they simply acts more surfy!
I can tell that I have helped a company with ski designs and I specified them with a low camber. I had prototypes wich were almost flat and they were wonderful but when I recieved the production series they had about 20 mm of camber and it was a completly different ski! They really struggeld in bad snow with a tail that kicked up so much you had to sit on the skis to prevent head butting, in heavy soft snow, they did not slide easy and on the hard pack they did not want to go off edges.
All the best!
Henrik
Professor!
Tjena Henrik,
Jag bygger på min första skidpress nu så jag har inte kommit så långt. Finns det möjlighet o komma på studiebesök??
Jag ser på bilden att du använder en vakum press, funkar det bra?? gör du en skida åt ggn??
Tänkte jag skulle ha ringt o fråga men det är lättare såhär, då kan du svara när du har tid.
Jobbar du heltid med skidorna eller är det bara "hobby projekt "
PS. din spann teori låter int helt dumm .DS
Jag bygger på min första skidpress nu så jag har inte kommit så långt. Finns det möjlighet o komma på studiebesök??
Jag ser på bilden att du använder en vakum press, funkar det bra?? gör du en skida åt ggn??
Tänkte jag skulle ha ringt o fråga men det är lättare såhär, då kan du svara när du har tid.
Jobbar du heltid med skidorna eller är det bara "hobby projekt "
PS. din spann teori låter int helt dumm
.DSÅke Ökar!!!
pop is a result of how much tension the ski has when you jump of the edge, a no-camber ski wold have as much tension as the concave of your kicker. imagine standing on a ski with 100mm. of camber, that would be like standing on a trampoline. In powder you don't get much pop anway. (unless you have a hard kicker ofc.)