“The SuperPowers Ski: A Failed Revolution in Ski Technology”
“The SuperPowers All-Conditions-Powder-And-Ice Ski”
On or about December 1, 2017, Richard Gid Powers, the deluded inventor of the “The All-Conditions-All-Kinds-of-Snow-and-Ice SuperPower(s)Ski,” turned his invention over to Travers Smith, Ace Ski Instructor, Guide and Ski Tester
On Dec 5, 2017, at 7:27 PM, Travers Smith <TraversSmith@hotmail.com> Ace Ski Instructor, Guide and Ski Tester at Jackson Hole, WY, submitted his report on “The All-Conditions-All-Kinds-of-Snow-and-Ice SuperPower(s)Ski.”
Ski Review by Travers Smith, Ace Ski Instructor, Guide and Ski Tester, Jackson Hole, WY
Date of Test 12/4/17
Temp: 16 F
Snow surface: Powder
New snow Depth: 6″ to 12″
New snow Density: 9 % (very light)
Area skied:
Teton pass, Jackson WY
Boot pack access
Slope angle ranged from 36 degrees to flat
Overall impression:
Skis were not overly heavy, even with a rental binding. Hiking was not overly difficult with the skis on my backpack. They also did not feel heavy on my feet.
Once skiing, the skis were very difficult to turn. They only wanted to go straight.
They also did not seem to want to float. They wanted to dig themselves deeper under the snow while traveling forward.
Thoughts:
At the front of the ski, the Carbon Fiber (CF) wing stops before the rocker in the ski shovel. I believe this CF wing shape ending behind the shovel does not promote the ski trying to float to the surface and actually causes it to dig deeper and deeper into the snow, almost acting like and airplane wing during landing. Powder skis have a wide shovel combined with the front rocker that is solely to keep the tip of the ski floating out of the snow.
The shovel of the ski is fairly soft and the tail is quite stiff. This probably has a little impact in the ski only wanting to go straight.
CF runners- the oblong slots on the CF runners are designed to allow the ski to flex in a turn. Behind the binding (tail) the oblong slots should face the opposite direction. The ski bends from the binding which is located in the center of the ski. Everything in front of that flex point moves in one direction, everything behind that flex point moves in the opposite direction. In trying to flex the ski tail, it is visible that the bolts through the ski get hung up on the CF slot. I loosened the nuts on the tail section to try to get more available movement out of the ski, however the end point in the oblong slot was not allowing any additional movement of the ski tail.
Conclusion:
I believe the most helpful changes to consider with the next generation of this ski will be:
1) Having the CF wing continue all the way through the ski tip
2) Facing the oblong slots behind the binding facing the opposite direction
3) Consider adding a bit more taper to the CF shape (keep the tip width and narrow the tail slightly)
It was really fun to try these skis! Please let me know if you have any question about my experience with them.
Conclusion of Richard Gid Powers the Deluded Inventor of “The All-Conditions-All-Kinds-of-Snow-and-Ice SuperPower(s)Ski” : The skis are a flop. He is undecided whether to proceed with another generation of the design incorporating the ideas of the Ace Ski Instructor, Guide and Ski Tester, or to just give the whole fucking thing up and turn his attention to a more promising invention: The Gibitini.