Ski Builders Forum

so im building a pair of skis that are similar demensions as the Moment Bibby pro's.. 142-116-133 and about 185cm long..
what have people used for core materials for rocker or early rise skis this size?
im looking for them to be fairly soft but able to plow through the crud still..
IDEAS WELCOME!

Poplar and maple. The combination is your choice. I use 20mm stringers/rods.

You shouldn't really have to worry about core materials specifically for a rockered tip. I did one pair of reverse camber skis with maple and spruce, one pair with oak and spruce, now I'm switching to bamboo - sticking with the same mold though.

twizz, do you use horizontal bamboo or vertical? Or do you rip the horiz boards turn the 90 deg and re-glue like a regular core build?

sivart7208 wrote: im looking for them to be fairly soft but able to plow through the crud still..
IDEAS WELCOME!

Exactly like any good powder ski should be designed. My design goal for my powder ski was to first off, make sure it can charge, but second, it needs to be forgiving. I've had way too many knee surgeries and I'm known to ski like an idiot. Almost everyone who flexes my skis thinks they are way too soft. They are just flexing the tips and tails though and don't realize how stiff the ski is underfoot. I think a stiff underfoot ski is the key to a ski that can charge through crud. It all comes down to the profile of your core. It doesn't really matter that much what species you use. BTW, I use poplar or ash cores with maple sidewalls.

I have a different opinion. I personally hate, with a passion, skis that are too soft in the tips. At least for my skiing style here on the EC a ski that is too soft in the tip will deflect and hook in crust, crud and chopped up pow. I had a pair of Rossi scratch BCs like that that were miserable on anything but perfect pow or soft groomers. not a good EC ski.

I like a ski that will bust crud and chopped pow and hold well on firm snow but at the same time have enough foot print to float in pow.

I just retired a pair of first model year BROs 188 cm that I loved. They had 5-6 years in them with hundreds of days on them in VT/CO/UT. This was almost my ideal ski. I'm currently on a pair of BD Verdicts and they perform very similar to the BRO.

For my 1st build I'm trying for a stiffish ski at 185cm with a bit more underfoot and a smaller turn radius than the BRO or Verdict. Something that would float well, hold a decent edge and turn nicely in tight trees. 138/105/126 with a maple-poplar core, and 22oz triax glass

Vinman wrote:I have a different opinion. I personally hate, with a passion, skis that are too soft in the tips.....I'm currently on a pair of BD Verdicts and they perform very similar to the BRO.

For my 1st build I'm trying for a stiffish ski at 185cm with a bit more underfoot and a smaller turn radius than the BRO or Verdict. Something that would float well, hold a decent edge and turn nicely in tight trees. 138/105/126 with a maple-poplar core, and 22oz triax glass

I hear ya about soft tips being a love/hate thing. Some people can't stand watching the tip flap around like crazy. I had more than a few instances of the tip of my S7's actually hit me in my helmet.....and I wasn't crashing. Of course, they are a bit too soft. My 63 year old dad shreds them.

Vin--the ski you're describing doesn't really sound like a powder ski to me. More of an all-mountain charging ski. A ski 105mm underfoot in Little Cottonwood on powder day would suck. I mean, it would be like 2002 when the Gotoma's were a powder ski.

on the EC 105 mm underfoot is a powder ski. I'm going to try an S7 knockoff this summer for bigger pow days and west coast trips.

I think I'm going to do pine and aspen, or something similar. Also trying to use hemp fiber and a CF stringer if need be

Vinman wrote:twizz, do you use horizontal bamboo or vertical? Or do you rip the horiz boards turn the 90 deg and re-glue like a regular core build?

Vertically laminated floor boards.

Hey, Im building my first pair of skis for a school project. Im planning on making a nice wide powder ski, 183cm, 150x130x150, poplar core. When doing the core profile, what should the thickness of the core be around? I want a stiff underfoot but more softer tip/tail. Any suggestions where to start.

twizzstyle wrote:

Vinman wrote:twizz, do you use horizontal bamboo or vertical? Or do you rip the horiz boards turn the 90 deg and re-glue like a regular core build?

Vertically laminated floor boards.

Resurrecting this thread. You say "vertically laminated floorboards"...I can get bamboo that is vertically laminated, but it also has a thick bamboo veneer top AND bottom (I'm in Switzerland). This is the only bamboo available here. Are you using something similar?