Why aren't there more reverse camber skis?

[ak_powder_monkey]

Reverse camber seems like such a good Idea for skiing anything but hardpack but only birdos and spatulas why?

[Vitamin I]

"Must be the money."

Supply and demand. Sounds to me like only a small market segment of "early adopters" bought Spatulas, not the mass skier market. Spatula sales certainly weren't high enough to save Volant from acquisition by Atomic. Too bad though, I think Volant would have expanded that market successfully over time.

Sounds like Birdos is really gonna go for it. Good luck to them. If they fail as well, at least we have PMGear---we can beg them to make a similar ski when the opportunity is right for them.

[Twoplanker]

Originally posted by Vitamin I
"Must be the money."

Supply and demand. Sounds to me like only a small market segment of "early adopters" bought Spatulas, not the mass skier market. Spatula sales certainly weren't high enough to save Volant from acquisition by Atomic. Too bad though, I think Volant would have expanded that market successfully over time.

Sounds like Birdos is really gonna go for it. Good luck to them. If they fail as well, at least we have PMGear---we can beg them to make a similar ski when the opportunity is right for them.

You're so close to the truth, you have no idea.

[tywhy]

Originally posted by Twoplanker
You're so close to the truth, you have no idea.

...that you're going to make a pm gear reverse camber ski? i'll buy it.

[glademaster]

Originally posted by tywhy
...that you're going to make a pm gear reverse camber ski? i'll buy it.

Me too, just tell me where to send the check.

[Vitamin I]

Originally posted by Twoplanker
You're so close to the truth, you have no idea.

Sweet, 2P! Don't rush it---I suspect there's nothing easy about selling a reverse camber/sidecut ski. First things first for PMGear, then do it your own way, at a time that's right for you. We'll still be here when you're ready.

Mmmmm...if splat wants to play with carbon fiber, maybe this will be the project to try it (if not too expensive).

[Twoplanker]

Originally posted by Vitamin I
Sweet, 2P! Don't rush it---I suspect there's nothing easy about selling a reverse camber/sidecut ski. First things first for PMGear, then do it your own way, at a time that's right for you. We'll still be here when you're ready.

Mmmmm...if splat wants to play with carbon fiber, maybe this will be the project to try it (if not too expensive).

It is just something that has been discussed.

[ak_powder_monkey]

COuldn't you just flip over all the stuff in the press and make a reverse camber brom model?, Is that how it works?

[crashnburn'd]

Originally posted by ak_powder_monkey
COuldn't you just flip over all the stuff in the press and make a reverse camber brom model?, Is that how it works?

[glademaster]

Originally posted by ak_powder_monkey
COuldn't you just flip over all the stuff in the press and make a reverse camber brom model?, Is that how it works?

I suppose you could in theory, but then it would be reverse camber with normal sidecut, this is not, repeat, not a good combo. Reverse camber and normal sidecut means a ski that is constantly flexed like a ski while its carving, therefore you would not be able to do anything but carve turns in powder. Reverse camber will not work without reverse sidecut.

[optics]

Originally posted by glademaster
you would not be able to do anything but crave turns in powder.

That's all I do now.

[Spats]

Have you actually skied one? Has anyone actually made this ski?

I contend that sidecut would be mostly useless on a reverse camber ski, because it would be almost impossible to angulate enough to get the tip and tail on the ground on hardpack. But the worst thing that would happen in pow is it would act like a normal ski that is flexed, and we all know how that skis. So I don't see how it would "not be able to do anything but carve turns in pow". Basically it would ski like a regular ski with no tip dive.

Originally posted by glademaster
I suppose you could in theory, but then it would be reverse camber with normal sidecut, this is not, repeat, not a good combo. Reverse camber and normal sidecut means a ski that is constantly flexed like a ski while its carving, therefore you would not be able to do anything but carve turns in powder. Reverse camber will not work without reverse sidecut.

[Spats]

The reason no one makes more reverse camber skis is:

1) It's taken more than a couple years for Volant to sell several hundred Spatulas. It might be an amazing ski, but it was a total commercial failure.

2) Volant has a US patent.

[Keoni]

nevermind

[Twoplanker]

Originally posted by Spats
Have you actually skied one? Has anyone actually made this ski?

Drake Boinay.

[joshbu]

Originally posted by Spats
The reason no one makes more reverse camber skis is:

1) It's taken more than a couple years for Volant to sell several hundred Spatulas. It might be an amazing ski, but it was a total commercial failure.

2) Volant has a US patent.

The reason why it's a total commercial failure is that 99% of the people who ski own one pair of skis only. The Spatula has to be a quiver ski, and that just doesn't fly with most folks.

Also, a huge percentage of skiers don't see that much powder in a given year: they just aren't willing to make the sacrifices (time and/or money) to ski a lot of pow.

[Vitamin I]

Originally posted by Spats
...sidecut would be mostly useless on a reverse camber ski, because it would be almost impossible to angulate enough to get the tip and tail on the ground on hardpack.

Almost impossible? I'm not so sure about that. If the tip is mega-fat enough and the widest part of the tip is low enough, the positive sidecut factor could probably beat out the reverse-camber factor. Then the front edge might dig in when you angulate, and initiate turns with the tip's "perma-flexed" reverse-camber.

From the very little info I've heard, sounds to me like Line Prophet might be testing a few of these ideas, but with zero-ish camber rather than highly reverse camber.