04/05 Gotama sidewall crack

**descender** · 12-13-2004, 07:53 PM

I have a small crack like feature in one of the Gotama sidewalls.

Should I do something about this? I am primarily worried about moisture getting into the core. For now I jam the crack with wax but I am looking for a longer term solution. I know this was discussed last year, but new year, new skis, new thread.

**Arty50** · 12-13-2004, 08:07 PM

FACK! I was kinda disappointed when I saw the wood sidewalls on the new model. My advice: warranty now, or ski the living shit out of them and warranty at the end of the season. Hmmm...guess I'll be getting another new pair next year.

Edit: Are you sure it's a crack and not just a gouge. I had a few gouges in mine last year, and I wasn't sure if they were cracks or not since they were slightly deep. That was until I actually cracked mine and said, "Oh, now THAT's a crack." It had bowed out the edge and topsheet.

**cj001f** · 12-13-2004, 08:16 PM

If you hadn't jammed it with wax - epoxy. Not much will stick to wax.

**descender** · 12-13-2004, 09:01 PM

Originally Posted by Arty50

FACK! I was kinda disappointed when I saw the wood sidewalls on the new model. My advice: warranty now, or ski the living shit out of them and warranty at the end of the season. Hmmm...guess I'll be getting another new pair next year.

Edit: Are you sure it's a crack and not just a gouge. I had a few gouges in mine last year, and I wasn't sure if they were cracks or not since they were slightly deep. That was until I actually cracked mine and said, "Oh, now THAT's a crack." It had bowed out the edge and topsheet.

As far as I can tell the sidewalls are the same as last years. It seems like a small crack, but I will check it out again. What kid of epoxy?

I fuckin love these skis, they must never die!

**Ski Beaver** · 12-15-2004, 11:01 PM

Same thing happened to me in September here in Australia,

Mine was more of a gouge, it is filled with epoxy and I can hardly notice it anymore.

Will be skiing the sh1t out of them for 3 weeks in Japan in January, then will evaluate whether it is a crack or a gouge.

**tuffy109** · 12-16-2004, 10:46 AM

are the new topsheets still made of construction paper?

and i will echo the "best.skis.ever" sentiment along with "i.thought.germans.made.shit.right"

**Arty50** · 12-16-2004, 12:27 PM

Originally Posted by tuffy109

are the new topsheets still made of construction paper?

It's the same material. But a few inches in from the tip and tail, the topsheet shrinks in and the metal topsheet protector shows. When I first got my new ones, I was eye level with the front end of the ski and thought, "WTF, it already has a long ass strip torn off!!!!" But then I stepped back and noticed it ran the length of the ski and was on purpose. That was a bit of relief.

Oh and the edges on them are monstrous too.

**Arty50** · 01-03-2005, 09:55 PM

#$#%#$ @#$#@@!!!!!!!!

So yesterday hop's looking at my brand spanking new Gotamas and says the following, "Hey is this a crack?"

Me: "What? No it can't be."

So I look at the sidewall, and you guessed it. There's a nice 3-4" crack. Thankfully, it hasn't expanded like it did on my pair last year. But it will. The worst part. It was only my SECOND day on them. I just don't get it. This was probably the number one reason why people warrantied last year's ski, and they chose to keep the obviously flawed design element.

As for how they ski, they're a dream. That's why I'm extra pissed. Volkl made what it quite possibly the perfect ski (as far as how it skis) and then fucked it up with that damn wood sidewall. Arrggghhh!!!!

Oh well, I guess Volkl likes spancering me through their warranty program.

**descender** · 01-04-2005, 12:11 PM

Yes mine is a crack too. I was going to put some epoxy on it this week, although will that mess up the warranty process?

**Pura Vida** · 01-04-2005, 12:17 PM

had this only been a problem with gotama? or the explosivs as well?

**Idris** · 01-04-2005, 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by Pura Vida

had this only been a problem with gotama? or the explosivs as well?

The Wizzard and Lightning bolt explosives used to just straight up delam...but no cracked sidewalls......various explanations were given for the delaming, epoxy paroblems, the twintip and the latest is a bad batch of Titanium...not heard of any of the Dark red explosives delaming.....the CMH's and any pree twin timp explosives are still considerd the toughest skis on the mountins here (Banff) - skiing untrcked earky season pow I aquired a total of 2 ft of core shots (Ptex peeled from the metal)...almost everyone else destroyed their skis! - Exploders rule!

At work we have some first gen Gotomas - must try some rock testing

**Arty50** · 01-04-2005, 06:46 PM

The Gotama is the only ski that has a wood sidewall. So it's not a problem with the Exploders (which almost never explode).

The cracking isn't a big deal unless either the cracked portion falls off or the crack expands outward. On my pair last year, the crack expanded and caused the base and topsheet to bow outward.

As for using epoxy to seal the crack, I would document the crack beforehand. In my case this means taking pics and showing the crack to my local shop. I'm hoping to keep skiing them as long as I can before I have to send them in. But I want to make sure this crack is documented just in case something else happens. We'll see...

**Pura Vida** · 01-04-2005, 09:19 PM

Originally Posted by Idris

The Wizzard and Lightning bolt explosives used to just straight up delam...but no cracked sidewalls......various explanations were given for the delaming, epoxy paroblems, the twintip and the latest is a bad batch of Titanium...not heard of any of the Dark red explosives delaming.....the CMH's and any pree twin timp explosives are still considerd the toughest skis on the mountins here (Banff) - skiing untrcked earky season pow I aquired a total of 2 ft of core shots (Ptex peeled from the metal)...almost everyone else destroyed their skis! - Exploders rule!

At work we have some first gen Gotomas - must try some rock testing

thanks for the info... waiting to pop the cherry on an unexpected xmas gift

**mopete** · 01-07-2005, 11:45 PM

does anyone think that sealing the sidewalls with Thompson weather seal ( for decks, stuff like that) would help this?

**irul&ublo** · 01-08-2005, 12:59 AM

Originally Posted by mopete

does anyone think that sealing the sidewalls with Thompson weather seal ( for decks, stuff like that) would help this?

No, woul;dn't stand up to the friction. You should seal the crack. Epoxy, or even clear silicon caulk would work. The wood must have already been sealed at the factory.

**splat** · 01-08-2005, 01:55 AM

Get a tube of adhesive sealant at WalMart for $.94.

**Arty50** · 01-12-2005, 12:06 AM

Must...kill...monkeys...at...Volkl...

So the original crack is now expanding (very bad) and I have a new crack on the other ski. Why oh why are they using those damn wood sidewalls? They suck serious ass. I've only put 4-5 days on these skis.

And now that the first crack is expanding, I'm going to have to send them in soon instead of skiing them for a while before I make my warranty request. This sucks.

**Meconium** · 01-15-2005, 07:26 PM

I wonder if it is the luck of the wood grain you get. I have the first generation and all is good. Big edge smashing core shot. Hit a stump very hard, drove knee into chest. Traverse mishaps that over flexed the ski. Stupid little park, air-to-flat landings that numb the feet and the skis sound like shattering glass. Skis must have 50+ days. The top sheets are shedding like a drunk whore but that’s it. Sucks that people are getting cracks after few days.

**Arty50** · 01-23-2005, 01:51 AM

Well, I emailed Volkl about the cracks and included pics. They just ended up reinforcing why I love this company.

I explained that I may be going on a heli trip this year and I was worried about continuing to ski them. Plus I didn't want to be without my fatties for the trip.

Luckily the cracks aren't terrible yet and they recommended that I use epoxy to prevent them from spreading any further. I then asked whether this would void the warranty. Nope. I was told to take them to my local shop to have them inspected and repaired, and also to save the emails for warranty replacement in the future.

I also found out that I'm one of the rare cases this year. The person I talked to mentioned he was inundated this time last year with warranty issues related to cracks. I believe the words used were "more cases than I could handle." However this year they've only seen 3-4 cases so far.

This all wasn't a line of BS either. I've spoken with this person in the past and they are a totally stand up individual. So I have to give serious props to Volkl. They're going to let me patch these babies up and ski them until the season ends, upon which time I can score a new pair.

In the seemingly unlikely event your 04/05 Gotamas do crack like mine, then definitely contact Volkl and/or your local shop. Don't just epoxy them, keep skiing, and send them in later. You'll want to document everything from the get go.

**Foggy_Goggles** · 01-23-2005, 08:05 AM

Originally Posted by Arty50

In the seemingly unlikely event your 04/05 Gotamas do crack like mine, then definitely contact Volkl and/or your local shop. Don't just epoxy them, keep skiing, and send them in later. You'll want to document everything from the get go.

Arty's advise is greater. However, I epoed mine (03/04) myself and no issues warrantying (sp don't care) them through a shop.

**Arty50** · 01-27-2005, 11:29 PM

Excellent news! HASKINS called me tonight and he just got back from SIA. 05/06 Gotama has a p-tex sidewall. Fuck yeah!!!

**Lok** · 02-08-2005, 09:57 AM

You could oil those sidewalls to reduce the risk of cracking the sidewalls. I used "chinese wood oil" (direct translation) after every trip on the pair I had last year and the sidewalls held up great. I think the oil is meant for use on outdoor furniture (untreated wood).

Cracked sidewalls is probably a greater problem in the relatively dry conditions in The US. Lyngen, where I usually go skiing, is a coastal area with high humidity and pretty heavy/wet snow so after a few days of skiing the sidewalls can take a lot of beating (like old wooden skis).

**Altard** · 02-17-2005, 12:19 AM

Bump because this thread made me feel a whole lot better. Today I slid over some buried rocks, more of a turn, but I unweighted as soon as I heard all hell breaking loose under me. Got home from work and started cleaning up the edges when I saw the crack. NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

I love these skis and that just made me sick. Guess it's off to the shop in the morning to get things rollin'.

**Altaholic** · 02-18-2005, 03:08 PM

To give some info on next year's gotamas, i ski with a girl now and then who's sponser is Volkl. The new Gotamas are pretty much the same, however, the sidewall no longer has exposed wood, it is covered now, she said everything else was pretty musch the same.