In September 2022, I made an original ski with the service of VOLTAGEdesign that allows me to choose the design and design myself. This allows you to design your own board, decide on the design of the reinforcing material to be put inside and the design of the top sheet, and create a one-of-a-kind mai ski in the world. In addition to giving shape to his own ideals, you can also experience the production process, deepening your knowledge of skiing. It was a service that provided an irreplaceable experience, not only the value as a product, but also the ability to understand and fall in love with skiing.
Check out our article on production here.
Since I made it, I've been looking forward to the first snow more than usual, and I spent a nervous three months, but finally the long-awaited winter has come.
If you're wondering, "How is the ride quality of the skis I made myself?", let's review that part.
The outline of the ski I made this time
The assumed situation for skiing on this board is powder on the slopes. In line with that image, I designed the waist width to be wide, the nose to be pointed (visually focused on my personal aesthetic sense), and the effective edge of the tail to be long on the inside of the board and short on the outside. The aim is to be able to step firmly on the inside edge of the valley foot when turning, and to improve the operability with good edge clearance on the mountain foot. I was hoping that this would make carving turns on the slopes more enjoyable.
test location is
the Hakkai Sanroku Ski Resort. Although there are two lifts, there are plenty of course variations, so you can enjoy various burn conditions. It's a perfect place for a ski test because it's compact but you can ski on various slopes. Located at the foot of Mt. Hakkai, which is 1,778 meters above sea level, there are not many skiers looking for powder, so you can fully enjoy the powder on the side of the course.
On the skiing day, the temperature was 6 degrees Celsius at the base, and there was no snowfall from the previous day, so it was a comfortable day for cruising on the slopes. The feeling of wearing it on the flat barn at the foot of the mountain is no different from ordinary skis. It looks like it will run well because it was waxed with enthusiasm the day before.
Let's Ride On! Unexpected riding taste when you try to slide ......
The first thing I aimed for was the slope of the summit. It has an on-piste with a maximum gradient of 26 degrees and an off-piste with a maximum gradient of 30 degrees. It's just the right slope for intermediate and above users to enjoy.
Re-buckle your boots and go on-piste for the first one. Start sliding slowly to check the feel, and gradually speed up. I think it was quite fast when I skied 2 turns and 3 turns and slid down the slope. With only two pieces of fiberglass as the reinforcing material, it was a soft ski that expressed the original strength of the core material as much as possible, so I was a little worried at high speeds. However, the response of the board is no problem even at top speed, and there is no sign of fluttering. It is comfortable enough to ride as a fat ski. As for what bothered me, the edge was still standing a little bit, and I was worried about getting caught, but this is not due to the performance of the board.
Then off-piste. Since there was no snowfall, it was a bumpy slope for free riding, but hard conditions are better to test the performance of the board.
Enter the slope slowly. First, try making small turns according to the ups and downs. Due to the unexpectedly sharpened nose, the swing weight is light and quick turns are possible. Originally I made this shape so that I can move like diving in powder, but I have the impression that it is more maneuverable than other fat skis I have ridden. Since the reinforcing material is minimized, the lightness will also have an effect. This seems to work pretty well for things like treeruns.
From the middle of the slope and below, I tried to speed up decisively. Still, I didn't feel uneasy about the board flapping, and I was able to slide down as usual. I tried slipping on the leftover powder here and there, and it felt just like I imagined. While sliding the tail, you can also slide the nose and then lift it up.
Despite being a fat ski, perhaps because of the shape of the nose, the relatively light swing weight gives it an unexpected riding feel. As I mentioned earlier, I think that the scenes that require small turns like tree runs are the most fun to ski.
Originally, I had an image of using it for slope powder, so overall, the finish is exactly what I was aiming for. If I dare to mention an improvement point, it would have been nice to raise the rise of the nose rocker a little more. The rocker is long, but it is shallow, so I feel a little uneasy when there is a snow mass. However, this feeling of anxiety is only for now, and if you get used to riding, you may not mind it.
Also, with the intention of making the effective edge of the inside edge longer so that you can enjoy carving on the slopes, I experimented with a unique tail shape, but I didn't feel much effect. If you want to enjoy slope carving in the first place, it seems better to add carbon or fiberglass to make the board harder and increase the repulsion. However, I wanted to experience the original softness of the core material as much as possible, so this is OK. I am very satisfied because I can experience "This design will give you such a ride".
So, making my first ski was fun because it was a board that matched the scene I imagined, there were improvements, and there was an unexpected ride. It was a very good experience to be able to ski on a ski that I designed myself and selected the reinforcing material, after witnessing the process of actually making a board for the first time. My knowledge of skiing is very different from who I was a few months ago. It is a knowledge and experience that is difficult to obtain outside of this service.
Check out other users' original skis
Since one person's review isn't enough, let's also refer to Shita's skis, who made original skis with VOLTAGEdesign.
▷ Takaaki Shida Lives
in Niigata Prefecture. Two years ago, he made original skis with VOLTAGEdesign, and this year he created two skis with different tastes.
“This season, we focused on the shape of the tail and the strength of the camber when making our original skis. It has a fishtail like the ones I use on LINE’s SAKANA and PESCAD, and the tail has a large “U” shape. has become Even in deep powder, snow is removed from the tail and the top is easy to float, making it easy to adjust the arc of the turn. As you can see when you ride it, the riding comfort is completely different from ordinary skis. In addition, it is easy to handle wet snow in low mountains, and it has the advantage that the seal does not come off easily when hiking up.
As for the strength of camber, after I turned 50, I started to shift from parks and jibs to powder and slopes. As a result of thinking that the load of leg strength and movement would be light, I made it with a strong camber.
“In terms of ride quality, the Dreadnought has a core material and fiberglass that bends flexibly from the top to the center.From the feet to the tail, a carbon sheet is added to make it a little stiffer, and the kick is enhanced. It can be raised and switched even with a
fish tail.Swordfish has a lot of glass fiber.The overall flex is stiff and the image is like a snowboard that glides on the snow. I made it.There are many situations where cruising on the slopes is difficult with a wide board, so I put a camper on it.Both boards are designed to be able to ski all day on the mountain with one board.Each has its own characteristics. It makes for an interesting ride.”
“I made the Dreadnought in July 2022 and the Swordfish in October 2022. Depending on the schedule of the VOLTAGEdesign designers, it can be completed in as little as five days, but in my case, after work, I’ll go to the shop steadily. It took about 3 weeks to make.The core material, edges, top sheet, etc. are all completed, and it's really impressive when it's finished by pressing.The Dreadnought is the third ski that focuses on torsion and flex. We ended up with an almost ideal board.”
“I think that skis on the market are based on the idea of how riders handle the skis and whether they can bring out the performance of
the skis. At that time, I heard from Mr. Nagai of VOLTAGEdesign that he was able to make skis and snowboards, and let's try making a board that fits your height, leg strength, and physical strength! The size of the board you make can be adjusted in units of a few millimeters, and you can adjust the flex according to your physique and muscle strength by adjusting the amount of carbon or fiberglass and the thickness of the core material.
your own image of skiing on various slopes and conditions, and you can imagine a design that no other manufacturer has. I also sympathized with the project's concept of `` locally processed materials from Minamiuonuma, which is a local area, and
skied locally I think it would be great if I could contribute to the PR and revitalization of Minami Uonuma and Niigata through board making.”
The point is to use your imagination carefully for each material and design.
As a result, even a board made by an inexperienced ski maker was perfect for use. Of course, we consult with the creators of VOLTAGEdesign, so you can rest assured that the product will be perfect.
What I learned after making and skating was that "Imagination is necessary to get close to the ideal board."
There are many things to consider, such as the thickness of the core material, the shape, and the flex. When you actually make it, you will come up with thoughts such as ``Oh, the camber should be stronger'' and ``It will be better if this reinforcement material is put here.'' The accuracy should gradually increase as you make the second time than the first time, and the third time than the second time. That is also the difficult part, and the trial and error is interesting. By making more than one, you will deepen your knowledge of skiing. After accumulating knowledge, you should be able to create your ideal board by imagining things like, "This board will comfortably slide on this kind of slope in this situation, so let's add this only to the feet, and add this reinforcing material to the entire surface." . The first ski I made was a ski that performed well on powder runs, especially tree runs, and I will continue to use it every day. Making your own skis deepens your knowledge of skis, and at the same time, you can create skis that suit your physique and taste. I made it myself, so I love it even more. I would like to recommend it to everyone who loves skiing and snowboarding.
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Written and photographed by Daigo Onozuka