My Custom SL Skis...

This is to be my second pair from Kyle... basically all of the same goodies as before, except no 7075 alu (aka untreated titanal). Here are the specs:

Length: 1650mm
Radius: ~13
Tip/Waist/Tail: R&D
Carbon Flex Control
Electra Racing Sintered base with Graphite and Gallium
Epoxy Treated Maple Vertical Sidewalls
Marker WC Piston Plate Titanal Reinforcements

As for the graphics, basically the same thing as the GS skis. A few things will be changed, like the text on the tails of the skis will get cut shadows like the GS skis, as well as some of the font up front. Kyle will add his stamp, and something funny will go underneath the plate, as well as some signatures. Here is what I have so far...



I plan on having tip guards added for security, hopefully that can be done.

As of now, I am waiting for money to come in so I can start making payments, which will hopefully be soon.

Will you be taking any learning from the GS skis you had made?

I wish you luck on these, yet there is a reason that "race room" skis are not made in garages.  I hope I'm proved wrong on this one, but in the last 5 seasons I have skied all kinds on home brew skis, even when a certain person was pushing a reclaimed Vintage brand here, none of them were fun (or safe) at speed.

 Good Luck

Nice looking boards. ^Agree,I bought some handmade skis last year and well they just are not performance orientated.

Yes, the tip profile is going to be slightly lower than the GS skis, and the "Titanal" is being removed for stiffness reasons.

Well, the GS skis were based entirely off of other race skis out there, and they are very much like any other race ski when you look at them, aside from the higher tip profile. I can't vouch for their performance yet, but I have a feeling that they will measure up quite well.

I've had a conversation with slider about his experience, and he has allowed me to post some more details. Here are his skis:



And a link to the manufacturer: Lightning Boards

Ouch 

 Did you feel a little funny stamping "World Cup Race Stock" on them when they're clearly nothing of the sort?  Seems like an odd choice of language there.  Seriously tho, good luck with these!  I can't wait for some reports of how they perform once race season starts.  One question for you tho R.T.T.T.... if you ski a few races on the GS and/or SL and they suck for whatever reason, will you come back here and accurately report the failure, or will you feel bad/sympathetic for Kyle and sugar coat it?  Not trying to put any bad vibe on the skis or builder or anything, just wondering how this will be handled it it ends up being a FAIL.  Here's to hoping it's not!  

I had a pair of "Lightnings" I broke them both in ONE run. With trying NOT to. 

I plan on having issues with the skis. I have issues with skis every year. I've had two pairs of SL's give out last year (1 pair of Volkl's that had a sidewall blow out, and one pair of Blizzards that delaminated), and had issues with GS flexes, etc. These are the first pairs of race skis that Kyle is making, so there are obviously going to be issues. I can already see one slight problem with the GS skis, being the tip profile, but other than that they seem pretty solid. I'm really in it for the experience and having something of my own. I'm not looking for these skis to be the fastest or best on the hill, but rather something unique, something that sticks out of the crowd. I have a handful of backup SL and GS skis that I have to fall back on in the event that they are really bad, but I honestly don't think they will.

As for WC stamping, it is seen everywhere. Hell, they put them on the free-racing skis of Volkl and Atomic. I really placed it there to avoid having a dead space.

I would think that the skis aren't likely to fall apart or blow up.  Kyle's been testing his builds for about two years now from what I see posted here.  And, he skis in the East where the surface is often pretty brutal.  I'd be more concerned about skis built and tested out West blowing up on an icy, rutted, chattery course than skis mostly tested on softer stuff.  Regardless there isn't a ski made that is invincible.  I've glued and screwed plenty of top of the line ski tips to keep them in use.  When the edge pulls out, that is usually the death sentence.

I managed to avoid your last "custom race skis" thread, since I have bad experience with people who saw web with 3 movies of some garage ski maker, and who proclaimed those skis as God's gifts, even though noone ever ski them, and even though noone of them ever managed to see inside of ski factory, and even less inside of race department.
But that was about "normal" skis. This is about racing skis, and you obviously go pretty deep into "catching" 1/1000sec with every possible thing, but on most important one, you rather go for a unique ski, then for fast ski. Even though making skis looks easy, it's far from simple and easy thing (at least when it comes to race stock skis). For example, one single sheet of carbon, which is rotated for 10 degrees different way, can make huge difference. Racing departments are putting huge amount of money and energy into design (not talking about visual design now) and testing of new skis and new technologies. Skis are tested by top WC skiers, and then after all this, you expect someone will build better and faster skis in garage, without any serious testing, without any serious calculations, and afterall without any serious experience (being 20 years in custom ski building doesn't really count as experience ;) ?
I believe custom skis can be perfectly fine for Sunday skiing, even though I have my own opinion even about this. But when it comes to racing, custom skis are worse way to go.... especially because with racing only thing that matters is time, not artistic look, or unique look of your skis.

Primoz,
   we're not talking about a WC skier here, he's out there having fun and trying to learn about skiing and his gear while he's racing at, what I assume, is a High School level? He'll be just fine on Kyle's skis.

I'm happy to test any garage ski any time. Testing's not really complete until you get some feedback from the Alps, after all.

Whiteroom I agree. But then again, if you read his writing in Tuning and Maintenance section, he goes, or at least he tries to go, as far or even further then many WC guys ;) So that's why choosing custom skis for racing sounds pretty funny for me.

 I looked into ski building a few years ago.  I really would like to do it as I am an epoxy geek.  What I found is that I could build a ski as good or better than most out there.  What it would take is about $1,000 to build a really good heated press.  The press would be heavy and large.  It would be constructed of parts that I would have to order from all over the country.  It would consume a large chunk of the available shop space in my garage.  I would have to design and build jigs and templates for the mold.  I would need to fabricate edge bending tools and other specialty gizmo's.  I would have to find suppliers for all of the materials that go into the skis and stock enough to complete a few pairs plus waste.  In the end I calculated about $150-$300/pair for materials.  When I factored everything, it made a lot more sense for me to use my Pro Discount on non custom skis and not reinvent the wheel.  It was too bad because I have a few ideas on how to build a light ski using carbon fiber tech.  The guys over at Igneous offered to press my skis for me, again it comes at a price in time and materials that I figured as prohibitive.  I could build a ski as good as any other using the best technology.  It would be less good if I skimped and vacuum bagged it or didn't use a controlled heat cure for the epoxy, etc....  It's not that hard to build a strong ski.  It's not that hard to clone many existing designs.  Coming up with something new and original that will stand up to the best production skis is a lot harder and would require a lot of test boards to tweak the concept.  You could get a custom looking ski with a can of spray paint and a box of stickers for a lot less money and time.

Hey, that's a pretty good idea!
=)

I don't want to beat up RTTT, or see others do it, over his interest and commitment to have Kyle build him a couple of pairs of custom skis.  I remember as a kid my dad telling me the story of Howard Head contacting him about purchasing adhesives for, get this.....a ski with METAL in it. My dad, having been a life long skier and competitor, who was loving his wooden Kastle's in the 1950's, evidently thought he was just nuts. Should have invested in it, instead of just selling HH the glue. So you never know. Real long shot, but who knows?

People love different elements of sports for a variety of reasons. RTTT is very obviously unusually interested in the gear and tuning aspects of the competitive {racing} side of this sport. That's OK. I'm not sure if he's thinking that his new custom skis are going to perform better for him than a race stock ski perfected by a large company, or not. I don't think he's going to the bank on that. It's pretty obvious that none of the rest of us would make that bet. I'm guessing that the largest part of this has been the experience of working with Kyle to build these skis, and to be in on the ground floor of seeing how the skis were designed and built, designing the topskins, etc. Which is a pretty cool experience, I imagine.

My impression is that he did not go into this with the opinion that "these skis are going to smoke my Volkl's, Blizzard's, Nordica's, {inset company name}...."  Maybe I'm wrong, and he'll weigh in. My sense is that it's been about the experience more than anything. And maybe just having something different and unique.  I've skied on some prototypes over the years, and most of them weren't great....at all. And they included some "exact clones" of other skis, which turned out to not be that close at first.
 
I don't think that there's a question that comparing this effort to a factory race development process is like comparing grapes and watermelons. Primoz, and his experience makes that clear.  It's amazing how many variations some of the race rooms will try, and test to get it right. All of the recent stories of Head working with Bode, and pressing something like 100+ SL ski designs to test, points to what can be involved. Who knows what's been going on with LV?  I guess we'll hear later on how RTTT's skis work. Hope they're great.

I say we settle this with a Throwdown! 
RTTP on Customs
VS
Primiz on what ever skis he can round up

2 runs SL, 2 runs GS, lowest cumulative time wins

Crgildart, that wouldn't be fair race :) I was never any good of a racer, not to mention I quit racing more then 10 years ago. But then again I was suppose to be damn good serviceman (based on this what pretty much everyone else said, not based on this what I say  ) So with my today skiing, it really wouldn't matter, if I would ski on Bode's skis or on custom skis
But no matter what, I easily admit RTTP would most likely kick my as* racing, no matter what skis he would have, or what skis I would have. And I admit this without any problems. :)

PS: Just to make one thing clear... I don't have anything against RTTP or his interesting in skis, racing or waxing and tuning skis. I actually like this, since today there's more and more people who rely on others, when it comes to this. And if some day, he will be lucky, and have chance to be in WC, this knowleadge and interest will help him.
So I'm sorry if my writing looked like I have something against all this. English is not my native language, and sometimes my writing looks different, then I really wanted to. So please bear with me, and my English.

Primoz, no worries.  I think everyone here knows it's all in fun and just casual discussion.  Or they do now anyway!

ive seen that Folsom Custom Skis are going to offer a fronside lineup. i bet these will be incredible. these skis are so burley from what ive seen. they are claming that nobody has broken a pair (of freeride skis) except for their sit-skier who bent one and rips. for wooden skis i would ski on the fischer wateas they look wooden! i like the idea though!

think snow

Really?  You should try that some time. 

Got it right on the dot. I do not expect the GS skis that Kyle has made to be faster than my old Racetiger GS skis, or these SL skis to be on par with the Volkl Racetigers and the Blizzard Mags that I raced on last season. I actually know for a fact that my Racetigers are faster, and always will be. I am not in this to make myself the fastest pair of skis on the hill. Hell, there are many easier ways to get faster skis. I am honestly in it to try something new, and make my season a bit more interesting. If these skis are not all that great in the grand scheme of things, and significantly slow me down, then I can simply revert to using my back SL or GS skis.

And when I say unique, I am not talking solely about the top sheet, I am talking about the ski itself.

Thought that was it. We'll all be interested in how they ski. I'm sure it will be well. And there are very few guys who have worked hands on with a builder on custom made skis. Very neat experience. Maybe you'll be designing them for a career some day.

I have some hand-made, garage-made skis that I'm anxious to try out. I picked up a pair of 'the Claw' 185cm, 18m sym skis for $15 at a rummage sale. They were made in Jay, ME as the answer to NE ice. As soon as I kick my cold and hacking cough, I'm going to the Basin to check them out. The white ribbon of death isn't NE powder, but it'll be a good test.

I hope Kyle's skis are good and hold up. It will be interesting to hear the on-snow report and comparison to the RTs.

MR

Have at it!

When I was in junior high there was a residual debate of Wood vs. Fiberglass Vs Metal as the best ski material.  Ski reviews always had big sections on construction and bench tests.

For a science fair project, I laminated up lots on mini-skis with fiberglass, aluminum, steel, layers of rubber, etc, and tested them for vibration, longitudinal vs torsional flex etc.  It was great fun, and in the end I found it was tough to make a better ski than a wood one.  I still raced on fiberglass.

It was great fun though and beat the heck out of other projects, such as measuring the growth of  beans when exposed to classical music.   I would have loved the opportunity to actually put together a usable ski.

The Claw is an interesting ski. You've got the facts right on them. I ski in that part of the world, lived up there, etc. Designed by John Howe, who had designed for Head, and for Atomic. Also designed the Prince tennis racquet. His "deal" is vibration dampening as I recall. His partners on the Claw were/are the Jacques brothers, who own the Ski Depot aka raceskis.com  Very interesting guys who grew up skiing and racing at a tiny area in Jay, in the shadows of a big paper mill. This is no resort area, at all. I've skied the ski. Very damp, pretty ugly (as you know) and in the day weighed a ton. They may have worked on that. I'll be interested in what you think. When my son was a J4, about 10 years ago, both of his coaches were on the things, and they would just rip. Very stable.  The 185 is about as long as they were made, I think. $15 is truly a "score." 

There's a very interesting YouTube video; you may have seen it. Claw Skis.  

MS, I've been in touch with one of the brothers and he claimed the ski was his favorite. I found the video the day I found the ski. I am always on the look out for innovative, unusual and often defunct projects. They aren't making skis anymore but from the looks of their site they are selling a lot!. I'll post a review when I am well enough to put them to the test. MR