Ski Graphics - Left & Right.

Trencher, I agree 100% with the premise of the importance of Torsional variation. I have just never been able to establish a significant potential for cause in variation. Any variation would be very significant on ski control in hard snow. (I love that. In Europe, most people talk about ice!)

Longitudinal damage is easier to think of ~ bombing down through/alongside the trees, make a mistake, and one ski takes a head on hit. The other ski suffers no damage. That, together with the other aspects that I have previously mentioned can assimilate damage to the skis in differing ways.
You question the significance, and I guess this may depend upon personal circumstance. If you change skis every 2/3 seasons, there may be lesser variation. When you change every 5/15 years, the significance will increase. I have certainly witnessed a visual variation as well as physical.

Hmm, thinking aloud, if the skier repeatedly turns harder on a right turn than a left, it would repeatedly stress the ski ~ in the same repeat manner, both torsionally and longitudinally. Hence the stress cycles would accumulate one way.

That does not consider repeat impact damage, but it does cover repeat turn effect.

Buggeroo. Who'd have thought?
Which leads me to conclude that the general torsional and longitudinal deteriorisation would be be better averaged by regular L/R swaps. What you said.

Snapzzz wrote:


I really think everyone is missing the point of my question. I don't care about left or right.

If you did put these skis on so that the graphics didn't line up the WOULD YOU TAKE THEM OFF AND SWAP THEM AROUND?
Would it bother you....or DOES IT BOTHER YOU.

THANK YOU.

I totally agree with you here.
As can happen, things get a little "technical" on here.

I understand the difference in wear over long periods of time by using the same ski on the same foot, but I actually dont think it is the case that when you buy a pair of skis that there is a left or right one. And thats based on having spent a lot of time looking at skis, talking about skis and trying different skis as well.
None of the skis I have ever used have L or R on them, and the only thing to prompt which foot to put them on are the graphics, although I have seen the odd and rare pair of skis with L and R marked on them. Rare though.

Which brings us back to Snapzz original question.

IMO if you have identical skis, surely it doesnt matter as youll never notice.

My skis have grahoics that flow left to right, and they have Scott on one, and Neo on the other, so logically I put Scott on the left and Neo on the right. But every so often, after a bad morning maybe, I swap them over and see if there is a difference. Again, IMO only, I do not believe there is and that it is in the skiers head (awaits techincal reason from engineering background to be posted.....)

So, whilst I don't have OCD Snapzz, looking down at my skis I do think they look correct one way and incorrect the other, and I always lay them down in the same order before putting them on as a result of the graphics only. My wifes skis are impossible to tell apart, and she skis precisely the same whichever way she uses them which simply reinforces my opinion to myself that there is literally no difference.

I don't know if, when being manufactured, they have a mould or line for left skis and right skis, so that at the end of the line the left ones have one graphic put on them etc, or if they all are made together and at the end of the line all the skis simply have whichever graphic is being printed at that time on them. My feeling is it would more likely be the latter.

You will notice that those graphics are mostly on powder/fun park skis!

In powder rare will be the skier that will wear out skis since you tend to be more with vertical motion.

I have a pair of Cochise which have this type of graphics and I do not like it but,,,,,performance forces me to keep skis!

Hope tendency does not spread to other models !

Soon we will have ski pants and jackets that "interface" with ski logos.

The new all together look .