Ski Durability PSA

hi_vis360

hi_vis360

Active member
All of this has been said before but I’ve been seeing a lot of kooky posts about durability on here recently so I guess people need to be reminded

IF YOU SKI PARK EVERY DAY YOUR SKIS ARE GOING TO BREAK.

Doesn’t matter what brand they are it will happen eventually. There are I think 2 factories that make edges so they aren’t that different between brands.

Skis that are mass produced in a large factory will have slightly worse quality control than handmade skis, so the potential for defects is higher. But some mass produced skis are great! it’s just more variable when you buy from a big company because there are fewer sets of eyes on each ski, and one small fuck up in the factory can become a huge fuck up because of the scale. Some K2s are good, some are bad, same goes for faction line etc., Vishnu is in the same boat. Design plays a small role, if you do buy a budget ski it will likely be worse.

Smaller companies like on3p are more consistent, but not necessarily superior. You get what you pay for.

Some people are harder on skis than others. I skied with guys growing up that broke shit all the time. I’m lighter on my feet and don’t ski park all the time so my skis last longer. Just the way it is.

And finally, enough of this “I have X days on these skis and they look like THIS” shit. We don’t know what you were doing on each of those days. You could take the most bomber skis and do huge disasters and 4s on for 5 days straight and they would be toast. Or you could be doing mellow swaps and jumps for 60 days and they would look mint. Number of days means nothing.

Ive seen every brand of ski get called out for being not durable on this website. Everybody is just sharing their personal experience, which can vary wildly. So your best bet is to go and support a company that releases content that you like and is supporting the newschool community, and stop obsessing over durability.
 
1068021.jpeg

“wHy iS mY eDgE so FuCkEd?” probably because you only do switch lip on and you can’t ollie for shit…

you is me in this situation.
 
“Stop obsessing over durability” is some privileged ass shit to say. I’m a broke college student who pays for every cent of his own gear. I’m also good enough to break shit regularly, but not good enough to get gear for free. I’d wager there are a LOT of people on NS in this same boat.

This is why the durability conversation matters. Companies will not tell you straight up “we’re not as durable as competitor x”. This forum is the ideal place to crowdsource information and gather a general idea of what breaks quickly and what doesn’t.

Of course, take what you see here with a grain of salt. You don’t have all the info, and just because a ski breaks doesn’t mean it wasn’t durable in the first place. I broke a pair of on3ps this year and I’ll still tout their durability to anyone who will listen.

related: buy moment and on3p
 
But some skis are built like bricks. Arv96 and on3p are pretty good but yes they will break at some point. And also some skis break but can still be ridden.
 
I agree but in general I think people on NS really downplay the effect of design on a ski's durability. A lot of durability problems come from poorly thought out ski designs, whether its a tip designed with materials that are more prone to delam, not enough material for binding screw retention, stress concentrations on already weaker spots of soft flexible skis, there are plenty of examples here
 
I literally chuckle out loud to myself when I see people on here complain about their edges getting fucked “after x amount of days riding”. Like bitch what do you expect ?? you’re putting thousands of newtons of force onto a little piece of steel that’s literally 2mm wide… what the fuck do you expect to happen? And then get mad when it gets worse from there…. You’re contributing to do the same damage + water freezing into small areas fucks em up even more? How do y’all think potholes in the road form?
 
totally agree being a broke ass seasonal worker, i think most ppl are just dumb as shit. you gotta detune and constantly maintain your skis. ive got 60 days on my wets and i have 5 edge cracks and a split tip i fixed. bastard file it tf down and use a gummy stone. imo, vishnu is durable as fuck based on what ive put my skis through

also take into consideration the price when buying park skis. $800-$1000 on3p's wont last much longer than $500 wets when learning rails

14523877:AlmostCooler said:
“Stop obsessing over durability” is some privileged ass shit to say. I’m a broke college student who pays for every cent of his own gear. I’m also good enough to break shit regularly, but not good enough to get gear for free. I’d wager there are a LOT of people on NS in this same boat.

This is why the durability conversation matters. Companies will not tell you straight up “we’re not as durable as competitor x”. This forum is the ideal place to crowdsource information and gather a general idea of what breaks quickly and what doesn’t.

Of course, take what you see here with a grain of salt. You don’t have all the info, and just because a ski breaks doesn’t mean it wasn’t durable in the first place. I broke a pair of on3ps this year and I’ll still tout their durability to anyone who will listen.

related: buy moment and on3p
Click to expand...
 
People don’t realize that technically every ski is handmade. It’s just varying degrees of attention and detail

14523895:maaattt said:
Who is they

And how else do y'all think skis are made

**This post was edited on Mar 28th 2023 at 11:02:53am
Click to expand...
 
Yep. My reckoners bent because one dug into the snow on a crash and my edges on my mindbenders are starting to seperate after 3 years of heavy use and from trying to butter them haha. Skis only last about the same as boots if something doesnt happen before. Then they stay as rock skis for a bit.
 
i've had edges break in 2 days of park riding and others last for 2-3 years before an edge crack appeared. just depends on the ski and the way you ski it
 
14523877:AlmostCooler said:
“Stop obsessing over durability” is some privileged ass shit to say. I’m a broke college student who pays for every cent of his own gear. I’m also good enough to break shit regularly, but not good enough to get gear for free. I’d wager there are a LOT of people on NS in this same boat.

This is why the durability conversation matters. Companies will not tell you straight up “we’re not as durable as competitor x”. This forum is the ideal place to crowdsource information and gather a general idea of what breaks quickly and what doesn’t.

Of course, take what you see here with a grain of salt. You don’t have all the info, and just because a ski breaks doesn’t mean it wasn’t durable in the first place. I broke a pair of on3ps this year and I’ll still tout their durability to anyone who will listen.

related: buy moment and on3p
Click to expand...

Ngl dude I think it’s kind of hilarious to call someone privileged and then say that you only buy skis that cost like 900 dollars. I buy my own shit too. I also don’t really buy into the whole “broke college student” narrative, you’re getting a high level education that will probably lead to a high paying career and you get to go ski, that is a very privileged lifestyle in the grand scheme of things.

I agree that companies like on3p have slightly more consistent durability, but it might not be worth the investment for all skiers.
 
topic:hi_vis360 said:
All of this has been said before but I’ve been seeing a lot of kooky posts about durability on here recently so I guess people need to be reminded

IF YOU SKI PARK EVERY DAY YOUR SKIS ARE GOING TO BREAK.

Doesn’t matter what brand they are it will happen eventually. There are I think 2 factories that make edges so they aren’t that different between brands.

Skis that are mass produced in a large factory will have slightly worse quality control than handmade skis, so the potential for defects is higher. But some mass produced skis are great! it’s just more variable when you buy from a big company because there are fewer sets of eyes on each ski, and one small fuck up in the factory can become a huge fuck up because of the scale. Some K2s are good, some are bad, same goes for faction line etc., Vishnu is in the same boat. Design plays a small role, if you do buy a budget ski it will likely be worse.

Smaller companies like on3p are more consistent, but not necessarily superior. You get what you pay for.

Some people are harder on skis than others. I skied with guys growing up that broke shit all the time. I’m lighter on my feet and don’t ski park all the time so my skis last longer. Just the way it is.

And finally, enough of this “I have X days on these skis and they look like THIS” shit. We don’t know what you were doing on each of those days. You could take the most bomber skis and do huge disasters and 4s on for 5 days straight and they would be toast. Or you could be doing mellow swaps and jumps for 60 days and they would look mint. Number of days means nothing.

Ive seen every brand of ski get called out for being not durable on this website. Everybody is just sharing their personal experience, which can vary wildly. So your best bet is to go and support a company that releases content that you like and is supporting the newschool community, and stop obsessing over durability.
Click to expand...

this thread is about me
 
14523928:BradFiAusNzCoCa said:
People don’t realize that technically every ski is handmade. It’s just varying degrees of attention and detail
Click to expand...

and materials and processes and designs and constructions
 
topic:hi_vis360 said:
All of this has been said before but I’ve been seeing a lot of kooky posts about durability on here recently so I guess people need to be reminded

IF YOU SKI PARK EVERY DAY YOUR SKIS ARE GOING TO BREAK.

Doesn’t matter what brand they are it will happen eventually. There are I think 2 factories that make edges so they aren’t that different between brands.

Skis that are mass produced in a large factory will have slightly worse quality control than handmade skis, so the potential for defects is higher. But some mass produced skis are great! it’s just more variable when you buy from a big company because there are fewer sets of eyes on each ski, and one small fuck up in the factory can become a huge fuck up because of the scale. Some K2s are good, some are bad, same goes for faction line etc., Vishnu is in the same boat. Design plays a small role, if you do buy a budget ski it will likely be worse.

Smaller companies like on3p are more consistent, but not necessarily superior. You get what you pay for.

Some people are harder on skis than others. I skied with guys growing up that broke shit all the time. I’m lighter on my feet and don’t ski park all the time so my skis last longer. Just the way it is.
Click to expand...

I will say that some ski are just plain built to a higher standard. All of these “core” freestyle brands like Vishnu just don’t build skis very well. Whereas a company like icelantic who has 1 freestyle ski and focuses on powder skis produce them to a higher quality. Any ski will get destroyed. IMO it’s how they get destroyed. Vishnus and lines do fine until they practically explode. On the other hand ON3Ps or icelantics will slowly fade away
 
There are some wild assumptions about manufacturing going on here

**This post was edited on Mar 29th 2023 at 1:23:14pm
 
14524411:Pickleskier_ said:
I will say that some ski are just plain built to a higher standard. All of these “core” freestyle brands like Vishnu just don’t build skis very well. Whereas a company like icelantic who has 1 freestyle ski and focuses on powder skis produce them to a higher quality. Any ski will get destroyed. IMO it’s how they get destroyed. Vishnus and lines do fine until they practically explode. On the other hand ON3Ps or icelantics will slowly fade away
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Nah dawg, this is exactly the type of kooky post I’m talking about. “Core” has absolutely nothing to do with durability, jets are made in the same factory as icelantics
 
14524411:Pickleskier_ said:
I will say that some ski are just plain built to a higher standard. All of these “core” freestyle brands like Vishnu just don’t build skis very well. Whereas a company like icelantic who has 1 freestyle ski and focuses on powder skis produce them to a higher quality. Any ski will get destroyed. IMO it’s how they get destroyed. Vishnus and lines do fine until they practically explode. On the other hand ON3Ps or icelantics will slowly fade away
Click to expand...

As someone who’s owned all 3 brands I would say Vishnus are definitely made better than Icelantics. Whatever epoxies they use during the build process holds materials together much better than the internal epoxies Icelantic uses. Much easier for edge to pull out on Icelantics, much easier for base to separate from lower sidewall, much easier for sidewall to roll up and warp. Just doesn’t feel like it’s all held together super tight

I’ve manually ripped those 2 skis apart underfoot and it was always way way way harder to get the V’s to come apart, those things are bonded extremely well.

the only thing on3p has on those two brands is their bombproof ass bases and overall sturdier construction. Other than that they’re all Pretty even despite the price differences.
 
14524543:weatcoast said:
I’ve manually ripped those 2 skis apart underfoot and it was always way way way harder to get the V’s to come apart, those things are bonded extremely well.
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I second this. I ripped my Vs apart the other day and I can say it was super super difficult to pull them apart. Actually the bottom half of the edges are still in there because I couldn’t get them out.
 
14524155:hi_vis360 said:
Ngl dude I think it’s kind of hilarious to call someone privileged and then say that you only buy skis that cost like 900 dollars. I buy my own shit too. I also don’t really buy into the whole “broke college student” narrative, you’re getting a high level education that will probably lead to a high paying career and you get to go ski, that is a very privileged lifestyle in the grand scheme of things.

I agree that companies like on3p have slightly more consistent durability, but it might not be worth the investment for all skiers.
Click to expand...

I am absolutely privileged in the grand scheme of things. I’m also currently eating beans & veggies because I’m broke as fuck and can’t afford to grocery shop until I get paid.

I learned after breaking 3 pairs of $600-800 skis within a couple of years that maybe the price tag on durable skis is worth it. I’ve spent less money on skis since.
 
14524271:msg said:
and materials and processes and designs and constructions
Click to expand...

Cannot be overstated. Base/edge thickness, core material choice, and mfg processes all play a more important role than what brand name is on the ski. It just so happens that more expensive brands (that have high qc and don’t compromise on any of these things) make more durable skis
 
14524527:hi_vis360 said:
Nah dawg, this is exactly the type of kooky post I’m talking about. “Core” has absolutely nothing to do with durability, jets are made in the same factory as icelantics
Click to expand...

But they have durability issues.(not gen 2s) but gen 3s snap like a mf
 
14524587:McDanielsprite said:
But they have durability issues.(not gen 2s) but gen 3s snap like a mf
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This is exactly my point, making black and white assumptions on durability based on brand or even what factory they are made in is often futile. And despite what many people have been reporting on the blue jets, I saw some homies riding them earlier this season and it looked like they were holding up fine. I’ve also seen pics of gen 1 and 2 jets with full letters missing from the base. For every story about good durability, you can usually find someone who will say the opposite. Seen dudes call out on3p for having binding pull out issues. Saw a whole thread calling out moment for having shitty bases (which are the same material as on3p apparently). I’m not saying durability doesn’t exist as a concept, it’s just a lot more of a mixed bag than people make it out to be and everybody’s individual experience can vary a huge amount depending on where and how they ski.
 
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