I feel like my ski quiver is pretty deep right now and I have a ski for just about every condition, time of year and terrain possible. Though I’ve been super happy with the performance of the wood core Black Diamond skis this year, I always wonder why nearly every ski they make has some sort of twin tip design.
Now…I know all the benefits of twin tips involving an easy release from a turn and of course the backwards skiing capabilities, but sometimes when I’m skiing steeper and tighter terrain, I feel like I’d rather sacrifice those benefits to save some weight and have the ability to stick my tails in the snow more easily. When I have my skis on and skiing a steeper line, it’s nice to be able to anchor yourself a bit by shoving your tails in the snow and some transitions can be a bit on the sketchier side…and being able to easily stick your tails in the snow is a must.
I thought about doing this for about a month and finally decided that my 185cm Voodoos would be the one to go under the knife. The Voodoos ski everything well and would be a good choice since my the Kilowatts feel a bit softer and are better for mid winter skiing, and the tails of the 174cm Stigmas are pretty flat already. I also thought about undertaking this mod on my own, but I realized that I would be better off enlisting some help from some professionals…so I gave Mike Paris from Igneous Skis or a call. Since they build custom skis less than 2 miles from my house…who better?
I could see Mike’s mind working when I showed him what I wanted to do, but he quickly figured out a plan and went to work. One of the tricky parts was going to be dealing with the metal edges, so he went ahead and used a dremel tool to make some cuts in them so that the band saw wouldn’t get worked.
I couldn’t help but notice the nice looking skis around every corner.
Impressive construction for sure!
One of the biggest reasons I called Mike was to get a nice clean cut and I knew the band saw he had would do the job. It sliced through the skis with precision and did an excellent job. The sound was defining though when it managed to find some residual metal near the edges. After the all important cuts, Mike moved over to the belt sander and rounded off the edge. You could tell he had lots of experience at this as he worked the ski back and forth with fluidity.
I left the shop with only having to do some light sanding and finishing off the tails some how so they wouldn’t fall separate. The sanding was a no brainer, but the epoxying has only been okay. I decide to use some of that stick style epoxy, that you worked together with your fingers and then coat it with some slow hardening liquid style epoxy. The finished job looked and felt good, but sections of the stick epoxy fell off on my first outing. I think I’m going to just use the liquid stuff next time and call it good.
I haven’t noticed too much difference in how the skis actually ski, but I do notice the weight reduction (about 2 ounces per ski) and I should be able to fit through some tighter couloirs now (over 5 cm shorter). Big thanks to Mike for his help!
Interesting. I am thinking about making holes in the tips (done and documented at wildsnow.com already).
As expected, the tricky part is finishing – application of right epoxy. I am curious if epoxy can withstand contact with rocks when sticking skis to shallow snow (rocks waiting for your skis under few inches :).
Did you move the binding a bit forward or there is no major geometry/center of the ski change?
man!!!!!!! good job, you should definitly check out this like, a post i wrote in november…http://www.gillesleskieur.com/article-7240358.html
I cut notches in the back of my skis so the tail clip would stop falling off the side (the are more or less twin tips), and I’ve had a tough time getting any sort of epoxy to hold. The best so far has been two part urethane epoxy (most ski shops have it, you can order it from Tognar) but even it doesnt stay on great. Anyone else find anything that works better?
I recall reading in BD beta that the tails are turned up for better performance from climbing skins – I thought it was to reduce drag, possibly to prevent snow buildup. Certainly a BD-sponsored skier would know. I might ask one.
Yes, the turned-up tail prevents one from sticking the skis in the snow at the mid-mountain restaurant, (as seen in all classic Euro ski posters….) and also has the implications mentioned on steep slopes. That has kind of bugged me with my pair, but I’ve managed to live with it, because I’m not on the life-threatening steeps.
One would think there is a way to design a ski that would hold and use a skin efficiently w/o having to turn up the tail (if indeed that is the reason for the design).
Regarding holes in the tips, I believe all backcountry skis should have them, although I’ve never had to make a sled out of a pair of skis, yet.
I did mount the binding about 1cm forward…but moved them back after the first day skiing. Didn’t quite feel right. Yeah…the turned up tails with skins is one thing to think about…but I don’t think it really makes a difference.
Lots of chatter about the epoxy thing after minimal ski mods for skins, etc. I have found it completely unnecessary and have noticed no delam issues. The glass resin in the laminates is way ample, particularly at the ends of the skis and adding more to the raw edges created by the mod just wastes your time and adds to the ghetto appearance. A dremmel works great for these purposes and provides a clean finish for the OCD/anal retentives in the crowd.
did the same in november to some rossi steeze, feel the epoxy s useless as well..
Steve, what is the construction on those skis whose tail you cut off? Is there fiberglass or metal on either top or bottom of the core? I am fantasizing about doing this to some DPS skis with a wood core and then some carbon. I am torn because I love the skis and don’t want to ruin $900 skis in the experiment, but I do want to be able to plant them by their tails.
Harpo,
I believe there is some glass in there with the wood. Go for it!
I drilled “rescue holes” in both the tips and tails of my Atomic Kailas skis and they turned out great! One major reason I chose the Kailas skis was the fact that they have a straight tail and a skin notch. Let’s just hope that some of the ski manufacturers are getting wind of the mods folks are doing to their skis and start making them with straight tails! Twin tips and ski mountaineering don’t mix! Seriously, how many of us are really skiing backwards in the backcountry???
Steve, how is this mod working out after you had some time on it? Any delaming? What did you decided to do about sealing the tail? Is any epoxy working better than others?
Harpo,
Mod seems to be holding up well. I ended up just leaving the tails as is…w/o any epoxy and they haven’t delamed at all. Wish I was using the Voodoos yesterday actually…as the Sigmas just didn’t have enough girth for the spring powder.
[…] As the ski season starts to wind down here in JH, I thought I’d give a brief update on how my Black Diamond Voodoos have held up after chopping off the twin-tip tail. The biggest issue I found with this experiment was finding some sort of epoxy that would be durable enough for the rigors of backcountry skiing. I didn’t have much luck and in the end I just left them naked…and exposed to the elements. […]