Foam Core Myth

P

Peterjh85

Member
I was in the shop the other day and i had a pretty large debate with the ski techs about the core in 1080s. But pretty much he convinced me that the 'foam' core isn't really foam at all. It's poorly titled and commonly misinterpreted. Really i guess its a pretty durable and long lasting composite. So it might not be as bad as we all make it out to be. I dont know, but i thought i'd bring up this stupid issue up again....any thoughts?

 
BULLSHIT. Ski tech's will do anything to sell you ski's sometime's. 'foam' cores do go soft over time.

..Seth Pistols rock my fuckin socks..
 
I've busted a pair of 'foam' core skis in half that had been skiied heavily for a few years... it's foam, all right. It crumbled out of the ski, it was so badly used and broken down.

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^you sure there hadn't been some water infiltrating the core of that ski? That's not normal for any foam core ski. I've NEVER seen a foam core do that, even under extreme wear and tear.

Remember: Injected foam cores suck, laminate foam cores=better.

'No i dont care about your post count, i care about you being a cocksucker.'

Crystalneedsa...

'My friend's and I formed a NO GIRLS ALLOWED club when we were little. Then we gave it up when girls made my penis get hard'

Midwest_rep

'I think skiing in general is just a phase'-My friend Josh.
 
Ooops...switch laminated to cured.

'No i dont care about your post count, i care about you being a cocksucker.'

Crystalneedsa...

'My friend's and I formed a NO GIRLS ALLOWED club when we were little. Then we gave it up when girls made my penis get hard'

Midwest_rep

'I think skiing in general is just a phase'-My friend Josh.
 
yeah, unless they're absorbing water, they don't crumble............ but foam does definately break down over time.

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Actually, that might have been the case. Those things were pretty beat up.

------------

In a haze

A stormy haze

I’ll be around

I’ll be loving you

Always

Always

Here I am

And I’ll take my time

Here I am

And I’ll wait in line

Always

Always...
 
I don't think most people understand the 1080. The core in the 1080 does not serve the same purpose as cores in most other skis.

The core in other skis provide rigidity, snap, dampening and some of the flex. However, due to the unique spaceframe construction of the 1080, the cap is actually what provides a lot of rigidity, snap and the majority of the flex pattern. Think of the difference as being similar to a backbone (normal ski core) versus a exoskeleton (1080 spaceframe cap construction). The core in the 1080 serves the purpose of vibration dampening and aids in the flex pattern. The core helps make the flex pattern divided as it should be throughout the entire length of the ski. If the core begins to break down from water, the vibration dampening can be seriously affected along with the overall performance of the ski. You end up with a chattery, less responsive ski. Depending on how the core breaks down, it can also screw up the flex pattern giving a lot more flex in one area, and screwing up the pop. This will make the ski 'floppy' and dead.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

-Dan

Some people are trying to snowboard here!

Oh I get it. Sorry to ruin your day.
 
technically, its not cap construction, its 'monocock' or something like that. the salomon guy kept gettin mad when id ask him about the cap construction.

 
its all personal preferance. the only thing that drives most people away from those skis is probably not the foam, but the ridiculous price!! those skis are damn expensive.

'please tell me elizabeth, how exactly does one suck a fuck?' - Donnie Darko
 
nope, foam cores blow. and yeah, ski REPs will do anything to convince you thier skis are the best. they are almost as bad as politicians.

but what you have to remember, is that wood is very resiliant. even in this modern age, its hard to find anything that holds up as well for a reasonable price. carbon fiber is pretty much the only thing that i know of. composites, like fiberglass break down much faster than wood, especially when its the only structural element in the ski. with the 1080, thats the case. the monococ design puts all of the stress into the fiberglass, which breaks it down super fast. plus, foam will bend. i had an old set of foam siks, and i bent the whole front of the ski upwards. and if it takes a good focused impact, it cracks right in half. foam core skis are fine of mom skis, but they have no place in the world of jib and bc skis, because it doesnt hold up to the abuse of these kinds of riding. plus, salomon sucks.

in science class i sat down to fast and you know how you can sit on your balls. well i did and i sat down really fast and crushed them and right when i sat down i started puking and fell out of my chair. they teacher laughed. i felt like i could pass out i wanted to die.-*NWFT*nUkkA

I still just have no idea how you can mistake your dick and a chicken neck, let alone not realize what you are doing. -manus

I.L.I.A.G.A CREW!

I drink pepto bismal like its water.. -PJO

 
you guys are saying that foam cores may be ok if you don't get water in them...umm guess what snow is made out of? skis get beat to shit and if you get a core shot or have some of the top sheet peel back its easy to get some water in the core. I haven't seen them break but i've seen the edges crack and the top sheet delam so i'm not too big of a fan of the 1080s.

It seems like the next big breakthrough in ski technology should be the blend of wood and plastics. have you guys seen the stuff called 'plood' plastic wood. its strong as hell and can be made in any shape. so if someone was to re work the composition they could possibly create damn near any flex pattern they wanted and prduction costs would be cheap as hell.

M~M~C

Work is like anti-hippie spray; they stay the fuck away from it

 
Yeah freezy is right I've broken almost 3 pairs of crossmax's in 2 seasons. Although in their defense I was doing a lot of jumping in icy conditions. But when those skis are new they are untouchable in responsiveness I think

We pay our debt sometimes.
 
i broke a pair of atomics right behind the heel piece a few years back, and i wasnt even jumping them..i was cruising down a steep trail, hit a large patch of ice, started sliding, so once i got snow, i just put the ski down to stop, it got caught, and bam, ski was hanging together by the bases and edges

Hibachi King Drops 8/31/04
 
I don't have the time to get into this today but you guys are way overgeneralizing this. And so will I: there are milled foam cores (don't suck) and injected foam cores (do suck). Milled foam is a comperable core for rec skiers and works just fine, the injected cores suck balls because of the way the foam in unevenly filled out within the caped skis so the skis have very inconsistent cores. The bad reputation for foam cores generally came from old Salomons back in the early 90's when they were injecting skis and they were breaking...but there are exceptions for everything, so you'll have to dig into the specifics of every circumstance...I don't know, but I'd guess all the Salomons are milled foam which can be lighter, denser, and stronger than some woods (ie. balsa, spruce).

 
solly skis lick period...1080s are great for park and so are PRs but if u try to take em fast they rattle around like a slinky... no stability at speed... sure they weigh less but at what cost!

 
it's not the same foam that u find in a matress or even at home depot, so don't make it sound worse than it is.

yeah, woods better all around, definitely for durability, but foam is lighter. it's not like you're going to break ur skis in a week if u have foam or something, even if the core breaks down, it just makes them softer. but shit, look at the fujatives, they're wood and soft as hell.

salomon may suck, but they've been making skis for a long time, and they wouldn't still use foam if it was truly that horrible. but, i bet they switch to wood for their freeride skis soon because there's just too many others out there who use it.

www.westcoastwakeskates.com

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'everyday above ground is a good one'
 
Salomon's only been making skis since 1990 or so.

'No i dont care about your post count, i care about you being a cocksucker.'

Crystalneedsa...

'My friend's and I formed a NO GIRLS ALLOWED club when we were little. Then we gave it up when girls made my penis get hard'

Midwest_rep

'I think skiing in general is just a phase'-My friend Josh.
 
ive got both 2001 1080s and pistols. although the pistols have a softer flex when needed, they are way better at high speed. that foam core scares the shit out of me when I rip. I don't know about the weight thing either, cause my pistols are way lighter too. regular skiers should never buy foam cores, they need durability.

if some pro who rides for salomon breaks a ski, or a couple, its no big deal, they just get more. unfortunately we don't enjoy the same benefits.

Boston Red Sox 2004 World Champions

FUCK YEAH!!!!!
 
what about the consistency of the material? While wood is a great core material, how can you find 1000 pieces of exactly the same pieces of wood? 'foam' can be consistently monitored and applied unlike wood. Im no advocate of foam, but its hard to reason this thing out...

 
^Manufacturers press 100 or so skis, and then measure the strength and resistance of the flex in each ski. They then pair skis together based on how close they are based on flex. Foam core manufacturers do the same thing, not every foam core is exactly like the next. Wood may not be as precise as foam core matching, but your not going to wind up with a stiff ski on one foot and a noodle on the other.

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Obviously faom core aren't as shitty as people try to make them out to be since about half of all skis have them. Also wood cores breakdown and get softer over ime jus like foam. Ever flexed a piece of wood over and over. The fibers breakdown just like anything would. There is so little difference btween the two now I don't even know why people debate it. Ski last if you take good care of them. A fal that breaks a faom core ski would probably have broken a wood core ski just as easily.

I think rails in general are just a phase. - Anthony Boronowski

D-loc's picture looks like a monkey smoking that cig. If you had a mug like that would you really want everyone to see it.
 
^wow an intelligent remark...yes wood too breaks down over time, it's an organic fibrous material....the guy who said foam is bad when it gets wet is pretty stupid if he thinks wood won't ROT when it gets wet....I don't see what peoples big deal is...who gives a shit what people ski on, twintips are twintips and it's what all of us ride so leave it alone already...

 
Not every pair of skis out there is sold as a matched pair. You can usually expect race stock skis to be matched though.

 
^^ good call, the salomon cr johnson labs are a foam core, but they are made in the salomon race room and they test each ski for matching flex.

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If the serial numbers match the flex matches.

I think rails in general are just a phase. - Anthony Boronowski

D-loc's picture looks like a monkey smoking that cig. If you had a mug like that would you really want everyone to see it.
 
^Good call on the wood/water vs foam/water. I do believe that some foam cores work. Look that the B3...

'No i dont care about your post count, i care about you being a cocksucker.'

Crystalneedsa...

'My friend's and I formed a NO GIRLS ALLOWED club when we were little. Then we gave it up when girls made my penis get hard'

Midwest_rep

'I think skiing in general is just a phase'-My friend Josh.
 
Foam... I have a bunch of foam and a bunch of wood skis. They are all going strong. If you store your skis right and take care of them they will stay good for a long time.

No ski can take a full season of park pounding and rail bashing its just not made to be thrown to the ground every 5 minutes

P.S. JAPAN HAS SICK POWDER

 
Foam is definatly not lighter than wood. it depends completly on the ski, and the manufacturing process. wood and foam weigh about the same. the main factor in a skis weight is how much epoxy is squeezed out of the ski durring layup. a ski like the troublemaker uses a ton of epoxy for the horizontal core, and is heavier than a lot of other skis. on the otherhand, lines, 4frnts, liberties, ect. are all pressed very well and wiegh way less than 1080s. and foam core skis DO break easier. my frineds dad was skiing on a pair of 1000+ Volkl skis, titanium, wood and carbon stringers suspended in a foam core. hit some heavy powder, and snaped his skis in half like nothing. and this guy has his dins at 4, and weights abot 170. foam isnt nearly as stong, or resiliant as wood. And foam is a plastic, so water doesnt do shit to it. what does, is water seeping in and freezing- just like a road, it breaks it appart.

in science class i sat down to fast and you know how you can sit on your balls. well i did and i sat down really fast and crushed them and right when i sat down i started puking and fell out of my chair. they teacher laughed. i felt like i could pass out i wanted to die.-*NWFT*nUkkA

I still just have no idea how you can mistake your dick and a chicken neck, let alone not realize what you are doing. -manus

I.L.I.A.G.A CREW!

I drink pepto bismal like its water.. -PJO

 
me neither. And also, wood is wrapped many many times in fiberglass and coated with resin and epoxy, so its basically waterproof. Also, salomon uses multiple thin layers of foam layered on top of each other. This means each layer in glued to the other ones. Glue breaks down, and thats a big part. Wood doesn't break down as much because lots of its flex and strength comes from the fiberglass and stringers, so it makes it a lot harder for wood to break down since the other materials take a lot of the stress. Glass and stringers don't break down either.

~MidwesT AlliancE~

RIP RICK JAMES
 
haha fiber glass doesn't break down. I just had our Burton and K2 reps tell me differernt. They both said their companies have tried to make it last longer but in the long run it breaks down.

I think rails in general are just a phase. - Anthony Boronowski

D-loc's picture looks like a monkey smoking that cig. If you had a mug like that would you really want everyone to see it.
 
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