Thoughts on New Edgeless Armada B-Dogs

T

tommcintosh69

New member
Just was reading about Armadas new ski lineup for 2020 and they are releasing an edgeless version of the b dogs. Wondering what people think of this? Kind of a cool idea.
 
I think they’d be fun to try out. There’s this perfect aluminum down rail in my hometown that I always wanted to be steel. Curious how material like that would slide given this opportunity
 
Finally! after all those “if u cud make any ski wut wud it beeee” threads the retarded “SKi WitH nO eDgEs” answer has finally prevailed.
 
My guess is they really wont sell many of them. Spending that kind of money on skis that are only good for hitting urban when you can still do pretty much the same thing with normal park skis doesnt make sense.
 
13993838:Obie. said:
I think they’d be fun to try out. There’s this perfect aluminum down rail in my hometown that I always wanted to be steel. Curious how material like that would slide given this opportunity
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Same. I've seen so many alu rails that look sick as fuck and id be very hyped to see how they do.

13993844:SuspiciousFish said:
My guess is they really wont sell many of them. Spending that kind of money on skis that are only good for hitting urban when you can still do pretty much the same thing with normal park skis doesnt make sense.
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I mean the Franken-Ski from moment a few years ago did pretty ok for a not as well known company (compared to armada) so I think it could actually be pretty neat and people might be more interested. idk tho we'll see.
 
13993844:SuspiciousFish said:
My guess is they really wont sell many of them. Spending that kind of money on skis that are only good for hitting urban when you can still do pretty much the same thing with normal park skis doesnt make sense.
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agreed
 
Im a little salty about it because I had this idea like a year ago and was going try and make a prototype as a capstone project for my major.
 
can't wait to see all the new jerries on the hill rock these and hit people at gwyneth paltrow speeds

**This post was edited on Jan 31st 2019 at 8:03:50pm
 
I've been skiing on edgeless skis for 3 years, they work just fine as long as you don't use them on boiler plate days. For soft/slushy days an edgeless ski is a blast.
 
Street skiing is becoming more prominent so I think the demand might be there, but the cost is going to be the biggest factor. I have B dogs right now and I like them but they could definitely be changed. The new ones look pretty sexy as far as my preferences go, and that includes the edgeless version
 
13993860:Pizzaboiii said:
Im a little salty about it because I had this idea like a year ago and was going try and make a prototype as a capstone project for my major.
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Yea because you were the dirst person to have this idea.

If you dont want edges on your skis people i can hook you up.
 
13993898:TOAST. said:
Yea because you were the dirst person to have this idea.

If you don't want edges on your skis people i can hook you up.
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Pretty much this. I've been playing with edgeless skis myself for a good while now:
https://www.newschoolers.com/forum/thread/826547/Skientology--My-Weird-Projects

Even then I'm far from the first to do it. Edgeless skis made of wood existed before skis with edges ever existed. Edgeless XC skis have been around forever. In modern times I'm pretty sure Line messed around with edgeless park skis. Moment also had the Frankenski with this neato semi-edgeless portion for buttery smooth rail sliding:

https://thumbs.newschoolers.com/index.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fblistergearreview.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2013%2F08%2FIMG_2022-1.jpg&size=400x1000

Ninthward of all companies had a goddamn patent for an insert to go underfoot to so after it was clapped out from being rode by a rail god, you could put some fresh material underfoot again without replacing the whole the ski.

As far as the edgeless B-Dogs go I like it, because clearly I'm a ho for edgeless stuff. Admittedly on a consumer retail level it's a questionable idea for a few reasons; they won't carve great if at all, they might actually be tough to set spins off of rails because of how slippery your scissoring will be, and lastly without an edge any janky features that you slide will take a pretty hard toll on your base and sidewall (as much as I love UHMW and how tough that stuff is, metal is still a lot god damn tougher). I'm just my own person building my own stuff, so I can safely absorb all of those realities.

I really think this idea is way more suitable to a dream day pow ski like the ARG that Armada is re-releasing. A ski where metal edges for gripping groomers don't really matter. Would also be pretty awesome on other skis of the past in that category like the ON3P Pillowfight, DPS Spoon, or Surface Lab 001. That's where I've personally tried to take it, just with the addition of little fins so you don't suicide yourself if you ski on any moderately hard snow. Still cool that they are letting fly with something different though. Variety is the spice of life, and having skis that ride vastly differently will certainly give you that.

**This post was edited on Jan 31st 2019 at 9:50:35pm
 
13993832:DirtYStylE said:
1 - 2 - 1 flex pattern = soggy waffles
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Just flexed them today. Definitely not that soft (no part of them is as soft as the Blend's tips and tails), but they are very soft overall, especially in the middle. Unlike most skis, the BDog Edgeless can be pretty easily hand-flexed through the entire length of the ski. Overall, pretty interesting concept, and it makes sense for their Zero collection.
 
13994195:TheVictator said:
Does edgeless just mean that they are rounded where the sidewall connects to the bottom sheet?
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Nope, still pretty squared off at the base, just with base material where the edge would be
 
13994255:patagonialuke said:
Nope, still pretty squared off at the base, just with base material where the edge would be
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Okay, well, what does removing the metal edge exactly do for the skier?
 
13993855:LarsPell said:
I mean the Franken-Ski from moment a few years ago did pretty ok for a not as well known company (compared to armada) so I think it could actually be pretty neat and people might be more interested. idk tho we'll see.
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The frankenski did not do well, that's why they stopped making it after one season. I'm sure in terms of sales it did well, but customer retention and warranty claims/ durability complaints must have hurt them.

There are obviously uses and a small demand for edgeless skis, this fills that void for those people. I imagine it is there to create buzz and show that Armada is still "core" while they make a small limited batch that won't hurt their margins if it fails. As I ski on ice rinks, it's a pass for me.
 
13994302:TheVictator said:
Okay, well, what does removing the metal edge exactly do for the skier?
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As people noted above, it’s designed specifically for urban. So sliding aluminum rails that steel edges would normally slice right into, sliding concrete without cracking your edges, etc. pretty niche design, but a cool concept
 
13994429:patagonialuke said:
As people noted above, it’s designed specifically for urban. So sliding aluminum rails that steel edges would normally slice right into, sliding concrete without cracking your edges, etc. pretty niche design, but a cool concept
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Does wax or detuning not suffice?
 
13994430:TheVictator said:
Does wax or detuning not suffice?
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I’ll let more experienced urban skiers chime in, but from my minimal experience, steel - no matter how detuned - is always gonna catch more / catch harder than any sort of base material.
 
13994401:Poikenz said:
The frankenski did not do well, that's why they stopped making it after one season. I'm sure in terms of sales it did well, but customer retention and warranty claims/ durability complaints must have hurt them.

There are obviously uses and a small demand for edgeless skis, this fills that void for those people. I imagine it is there to create buzz and show that Armada is still "core" while they make a small limited batch that won't hurt their margins if it fails. As I ski on ice rinks, it's a pass for me.
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I mean this is the point I was getting at, maybe Armada will sell it better because they’re a more “core” company. I’m not saying it’s gonna change the world of skiing, I’m saying that moments attempt at edgeless skis did pretty ok and Armada will possibly/hopefully do better. I think it’s a cool idea to give it another shot so good on em.
 
Honestly it’s kind of stupid in my opinion. Here is why I say that.

So if you’re riding your skis hard enough (especially in the streets) your edges are gonna come out anyway, right? Then it’s on to your sidewall to get trashed at that point. But having an edgeless ski will just have the sidewall to become trashed sooner than normal. To keep it simple, it’s like going into battle with two bulletproof vests, instead of one. In other words, your normal edge is there to protect the rest of your ski.
 
13994981:weastcoast said:
Honestly it’s kind of stupid in my opinion. Here is why I say that.

So if you’re riding your skis hard enough (especially in the streets) your edges are gonna come out anyway, right? Then it’s on to your sidewall to get trashed at that point. But having an edgeless ski will just have the sidewall to become trashed sooner than normal. To keep it simple, it’s like going into battle with two bulletproof vests, instead of one. In other words, your normal edge is there to protect the rest of your ski.
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if your metal edge rips out, a gap opens up where water can get inside the ski, and where sidewalls and base can catch and tear. The edgeless skis could be engineered so the ski won't become vulnerable to those problems as quickly. Edge compressions would be eliminated also. A jib/swerve/urban specialist can get right to business without de-tuning or waiting for edges to fall out or risk catching their metal edges.
 
13994432:patagonialuke said:
I’ll let more experienced urban skiers chime in, but from my minimal experience, steel - no matter how detuned - is always gonna catch more / catch harder than any sort of base material.
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This, even if your edges are detuned a shitton they'll still dig into surfaces like wood & aluminum since they're softer material.
 
13993860:Pizzaboiii said:
Im a little salty about it because I had this idea like a year ago and was going try and make a prototype as a capstone project for my major.
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you were not even close to the first person to have this idea. Don't be salty, you had time.
 
Couldn’t have said it better myself

13993953:patagonialuke said:
Just flexed them today. Definitely not that soft (no part of them is as soft as the Blend's tips and tails), but they are very soft overall, especially in the middle. Unlike most skis, the BDog Edgeless can be pretty easily hand-flexed through the entire length of the ski. Overall, pretty interesting concept, and it makes sense for their Zero collection.
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They do best in the spring when it's just soft and slushy. Almost can't tell they don't have edges in those conditions. In everything else though, pretty terrifying. But hey, they're made to be a rail ski.
 
14072610:Hkilla said:
I bought a pair, I haven’t skied them yet but the flex is surprisingly stiffer than you’d think
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They ski a lot softer than they hand flex, I really enjoyed them but they are definitely soft.
 
True, I had the blends the previous season, so I’m interested to see how the two compare

14072997:Twig said:
They ski a lot softer than they hand flex, I really enjoyed them but they are definitely soft.
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