high school student in need of ski patrol help

Went ahead and took the survey. I feel a ski braking system is a complete non-issue for most skiers. For anyone who's past "pizza and french fries" skiing, has a decent sense of balance, and comprehension of gravity, they can usually stop pretty danged fast or at least fast enough to avoid collision. If anyone did have to rely on such a system, then I believe it could theoretically become a bad crutch that would keep them from ever advancing properly. Just my opinion.

I can't fathom is this is supposed to be something that the skier pulls on or something to slow down (like the plastic sled we have) or more like a leash hooked to another skier (exists already) or a "force field" like whatever those car ads are talking about, autosensing catastrophe... and if so, then what?  Little brakes go down at ski level (a sure way to produce a fall) or a parachute deploys (look out everyone else).  Surely this can't be serious???? 

I suggested tranquilizer darts

How about stop stix?

There was a place to suggest things?  I hit "done" and it just sat there, so I closed the tab....  Now it tells me I'm done..

Quote:

Originally Posted by sibhusky 

There was a place to suggest things?  I hit "done" and it just sat there, so I closed the tab....  Now it tells me I'm done..

Place where it asked if you'd heard of any other ways to enhance stopping ability other than training, lessons, etc.. 

Wow- a senior design project for High School?  That's fantastic.   I'm wondering what your skiing experience is though.  I'd recommend spending a few days on the snow if possible as you will learn a LOT.

Alternatively, watch a downhill ski race.  When they cross the finish line they're going freeway speeds, and must stop in a very short distance to avoid hitting the crowd.  This is never a problem, despite them being very tired.  Braking on skis by turning sideways and skidding is VERY fast and stable.  It slows you at least as quickly as the brakes on a car.  Most importantly, it allows you to stay centered on your skis, which is the position that gives you the most control.  Too far forward or rearward and you have much less control and stability.  A braking system that works while the skis are pointed downhill would either throw you forward, or you'd have to lean very far backward in advance.  This would make you lose much of your control, possibly even making your fall forward or backward, and may also cause the bindings to release.

Still, such a system might be useful for someone's first day on skis, going very slowly on very small slopes.

What is wrong with your duplicate thread on this topic?

spammy spam

lol ski brakes. really!?

Here you go...

Duplicate threads have been combined into one place.  Note to the O.P. if you are posting this survey in other forums, you will get a similar reaction to posing duplicate threads in multiple places.  I think you would have learned a LOT more if you would have just come here and asked, and participated in a discussion rather than posting that worthless Surveymonkey poll.  Using a forum to get survey participants without establishing any kind of relationship with the forum is just bad form. 

Everyone else, take the poll or not, and you can stop flagging this.

Skis already have brakes, they have long, sharp steel edges on the sides that you can dig into the snow to stop. It takes two hours with a professional instructor to learn how to use said brakes.

That aside, don't get discouraged if you're committed to this as your senior project. You can always design the device and then, in your report, conclude that there is no demand for it in the market or it is unsafe so you don't recommend putting it into production. Do you have to build the device, or just design it?

Something to take into consideration during your design: If you're skiing straight down a mountain, out of control, and you deploy a brake installed on the skis, the likely-hood of lower leg or knee injury as a result of the sudden braking force applied to the feet of an already out-of-balance out-of-control skier is very high. sounds like a recipe for a broken tibia or blown out knee to me. Again, you could design the device and then just talk about "hey, my device works great, does what I designed it to do, but it's actually really dangerous for skiers to use and due the fact that the chances of my device tearing someone's ACL are higher than the chances that the skier will collide with a tree or another skier and injure themselves, I don't recommend its production and release to market"

The parachute idea someone posted is novel, but if it's big enough to stop you fast then it might also lift you off the ground and deploying it will definitely interfere with people skiing behind you, haha.

-Clayton

This is spam of some sort. My guess is they are paid per hit on the monkey or affiliated website.

 This is the second survey in just one day.

Don't encourage these guys.

Been skiing for nine years but has never seen how adept little kids are even at their first lesson.  Our child specialist instructors have them turning and stopping in under 45 minutes.  They don't need any brakes.