The cross country ski industry, led by giants Fischer, Salomon, Rossignol and Atomic, have long been addicted to gimicky hype rather than actual product development. Witness the "Cobra Cut" from Rossi, the "Canoe Padal" grips from Swix, the "SkateCut" from Fischer and the "Dual Cap" concept from Atomic. These are all "innovations" which proved to be more hype and gimmick than actual development.
The Nordic industry is again set to roll out the latest "improvements" which are nothing more than hype. Fischer is producing a new ski for the 2010 Olympics that has a hole in the tip to provide a lighter swingweight. I seem to remember plenty of downhill racing skis with holes in the tips some time ago, and as you can see, they rarely exist anymore, if at all. Fischer claims that the ski now provides 100% swing weight efficiency resulting in energy savings. However, the claims of - direct quote from Fischer
"The Nordic Hole Ski also optimizes the skating angle of each skating stride. The reduction of weight in the tip means that the angle of each skating ski is virtually identical on each skating stroke providing the best power transfer for each stride and faster speeds."
- this statement is nothing more than drivel. The skier is still responsible for how well they ski and how consistent their "angle" is, whatever that is. Remeber that this is the company that brought the infamous "skatecut" which was rejected by the World Cup racers as soon as it came out. What happens when you ski the Birkie on fresh, ungroomed snow and all that powder is coming through the tip instead of under the ski?
Salomon also is producing more hype than actual improvements. Their new Equipe 10 Lab Skate promises new, All Wheel Drive for their skis. These claims now say that their new design puts 50% of the skiers weight to the rear of the skis and 50% to the front of the skis. This is another ridiculous statement that, while it may be true, it is also true of every other ski on the market. When a person stands on a ski, presumably in the center of that ski, half of the person's weight is distributed to the rear and half is distributed to the front. Why do these companies continue to spend on marketing and hype rather than actual development? This reminds me of the recent Mac and Windows commercials. Instead of fixing Vista, Microsoft has chosen to advertise more.
If you're looking for the Mac of skis, stick to the smaller companies that still make their skis at their home factories in Finland, Norway and Italy. I'm talking about Peltonen, Madshus and SkiTrab. These smaller factories still make their skis by hand in small batches, they have extremely high quality control and match their skis better than the "big guys". Ski development is still all about the flex and camber, not gimmicks. Flex and camber design absolutely dictate how a ski will perform, not the endless hours and money devoted to hype. If you want a ski with a long, arcing camber, and a smooth flex with no "dead spots", stick to the small guys.
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