Santa Cruz

More power & stability where you need it!
Unique to this model ski, I'm using a titanal metal laminate on the top and bottom of the core. Instead of running it edge to edge, tip to tail, I've optimized the metal laminate’s geometry & location running only narrow strips down the center and ending it before the tips. This way there's enough metal to dramatically increase power, stability & dampening over the length of the ski in contact with the snow, however the tips are lighter for dramatically reduced swing weight to maintain a nimble, lively & fun feel. You'll notice the tail of the ski metal geometry has slightly less metal to allow for a more playful and forgiving exit out of your turns while the tip has more for powerful initiation and reduced chatter in the tips. You'll feel like you're on a GS race ski when you're carving it up, yet be shocked how fun & nimble it feels in tight trees, chutes and even the bumps. Enjoy!

Highest quality wood for a lively energetic feel & long life
The factory is located in Quebec Canada, so we got Maple, eh! Maple is a very expensive high quality hard wood, thus the reason it’s used to build floors and furniture in your house that lasts a lifetime. Maple absorbs impact, and has a ton of energy for a very ski feel and long life. We run 4 – 20mm wide Maple laminates the entire length of the core, plus 100% under your foot for unprecedented energy, durability & binding screw retention. At the tips of my skis you’ll see more of the light colored Aspen which is incredibly lightweight with plenty strong when laminated alongside Maple for reduced swing weight at the tips.

Maximum impact resistant & vibration dampening
We’re using super durable, high impact absorbing Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) polyethylene for our sidewalls. This is the same material we use on our ski's bases. It’s very impact resistant and since it’s full height, it also absorbs more vibration like using a longer spring in your car’s suspension. Take a metal pipe and hit it against a rock, then do the same with a piece of plastic. The metal vibrates through to your bones & the plastic absorbs the vibration for you. That’s the difference of having full height plastic shock absorbing sidewalls over your edges or not. We’re cutting the sides of the sidewalls to a 10* angle, with a nice step at the bottom for easy tuning like race skis.

The thickest, most durable edge in the industry
We use the thickest hardened steel edges in the industry 2.2mm x 2.5mm. More metal = more durable. Whether you’re accidentally hitting a rock or purposely sliding a rail, you’re edges will live a much longer life. You’ll also be able to re-tune many more times or file them round to slide rails longer.

The fastest, thickest, most durable base material
I don’t match my clothes, but I always match my base & edge. We use the thickest edge so I also use the thickest base in the industry 1.8mm. I use sintered Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) Polyethylene, the highest quality base material available. It absorbs wax better, slides faster, and is more durable than any other base material. Basically it’s super hard & fast, like your _______ likes it.

Absorbs vibration and dramatically reduces risk of delam
Think of a ski’s construction like a magazine, each page = layers of material in the ski. Then bend your magazine you’ll see every page slide against each other, this is “shear”. This shear force trys to separate, thus delaminate all the layers in your ski every time it’s flexed or the tips are slapped down on a jump landing. This is why I run a layer of thin rubber around the full perimeter of the ski over the entire edge, plus the full width of across the tip and tail. The rubber acts as an insulator so that the edge and other materials can slide against each other when flexing without delaminating. This dramatically improves durability & reduces vibration.

Fibers run in 4 directions to maximize energy & strength
Fiberglass works like a guitar string, when it is flexed it wants to spring back, that’s the energy or pop you feel in a ski. However this energy can only be applied in the direction the actual fiberglass is run. This means the more directions of fiberglass, the more energy, pop & responsiveness. Industry standard “Triaxial” fiberglass runs in only three directions, we use a Quasi Isotropic fiberglass configuration, same as the aerospace industry to maximize energy & strength in as many directions as possible, 4 different axis 0, 90, +45, -45. It costs more, but it’s worth the performance.

You already know I put a lot of value in graphics! So instead of traditional silk screening with low resolution image quality, you’ve seen the dots! I’m using a state of the art, Fuji UV Flat bed printer, a $170,000 machine that enables me to print high resolution from my computer directly to the plastic top & base. The resolution is unbelievable photo-real so you’ll be one of few skiers in the world with skis looking this good on your feet.