DB 04/05 Preview

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dear db community,

hope everyone had a great season. for some, it may not be over quite yet. we are still spying some late spring lines as well as the lure of spring becoming winter, and storms moving across the mountains of the southern hemisphere.

despite early production delays and topsheet issues in 03/04, we can pause in spring for a quick second; db's are riding like nothing else and only getting better.

the movement toward the perfect ski will continue in 04/05.

here's a quick glance at some of the new developments in r&d that we are excited about:

- abs topsheets on the whole quiver, and stainless steel top edges on the surreal and r shape for a solid topsheet durability boost.

- refinements to camber lines and flex patterns and shaping precision on all models. these changes will be dramatic on snow and improve ski feel considerably. if you liked how this year¹s offerings felt, look out for nice performance jumps for 04/05.

- a new online flex chart: db hopes to set the standard in skiing by creating a universal flex chart that allows skiers to compare and easily classify db flexes to those of other ski manufacturers.

if you are considering having skis built for next season, we invite you to enter the preorder program. preordering ensures an october delivery. on June 1st, the price of the surreal and r shapes will join the tabla rasa at usd 880 due to the new topedge design, so order now and save. once your order is in, your construction slot is reserved, however payment is not due until august 1.

over the summer, we will also be nursing our new baby, the "bazaar" at dbskis.com. the bazaar will feature our pick of the best gear on the market as a complement the boards. look for an ever-expanding lineup of freeride gear: everything from backpacks and beacons to radios. For may, the db linescoper is available for a discounted price of usd 21.00 with a june delivery.

if you have questions, comments, or tales, drop us a line, information@dbskis.com

have a great summer!

your db team
www.dbskis.com

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"- abs topsheets on the whole quiver, and stainless steel top edges on the surreal and r shape for a solid topsheet durability boost.
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topsheets with antilock brakes? I don't quite understand...

anyone care to explain (yes I know, ski construction jong...)

acrylonitrile butadiene styrene.

It's a type of plastic.

K2 uses it for the sidewalls on the Seth Pistol, for example.

Not sure how I would feel about plastic topsheets?

Hey, are the stainless top edges similar to what Volkl is using next year?

Will the new improvements make the ski heavier than last years design? What would the comparisons be?

Saw the questions, thought we might offer some thoughts on the fascinating and often frustrating world of top-sheets:

This past year we used an ultra-lightweight top (after a week of use, it looked like a bear had his way with your skis).

We bumped up to ABS for 04-05 for better cosmetic durability. ABS is a solid, time-tested ski top that has been used for decades on many sandwich lay-ups with a good reputation for cosmetic durability, like volkl’s or stockli’s.

When making the move, we also took a good look at where skis get the most cosmetic abuse; it’s right on the top-edge where you get hits from your opposing ski’s bottom edges. So, we incorporated stainless steel on the R and Surreal shapes into this zone for ultra-fortification.

Abs/steel adds a touch of weight, but not enough for most to notice (I don’t have exact numbers as we are currently remolding, but estimating in the neighborhood of 80-100g.) Skis are STILL significantly and noticeably lighter than wood, glass, or “aircarbon” concoctions. Keep in mind that the ABS/steel is only on the top of the ski where you need protection from hacking, dings, and edge divots. db sidewalls remain as solid aerospace carbon, which is stronger than anything out there when it comes to lower-edge compressions, etc.

Tops are a catch 22. Lightweight doesn’t skew the feel of materials inside the ski as much, but takes a good beating. Heavy and thick holds up better, but may detract from the designed material properties of a ski and obviously adds a bit of weight- nylon capped tops are a good example of this.

I think that with these changes we are moving into that sweet zone of balance between cosmetic durability and ultra-high performance.

BTW, on the Volkl top-edge, it looks like it is titinal. I am guessing that they router out the perimeter of their top-sheet material which in turn exposes the titinal laminate layer directly beneath. The titinal extends through the whole ski anyway, so it gets employed for double duty as a top-edge protector. Again, this is just a guess based on briefly checking out the skis.

Spam…Out….

Cool, thanks db.2

Curious to see the next generation.

Great info... i hope to get on a pair some day. The DB ski philosophy seems impecable. At least tech talk is a haven for sanity on this board.

But db.2....now on the surreal, instead of cosmetic scratches, isn't there a concern that every time our opposing ski crosses the top sheet that we will be damaging our base edges due to the new surrounding stainless steel reinforcement? I think i'd rather have cosmetic scratches and maintain the light weight, but i could be wrong about how this new steel rail is incorporated.



Just re-read your structural description and realize my mistake in thinking the sidewalls would incorporate steel reinforcing where the topsheet and sidewalls meet....am very interested in the success of this ski as long as you continue to strive to make it as light (and strong ) as possible.