Head Peak 84

[jbotti]

What I mean by bowed is concave. When laid flat (on snow) the middle of the ski base is further from the snow than are the sides. This is different that edge high which comes from a flat (o degree base bevel). All three pairs of Fischer ski that I own have some amount of concave base especailly from the toe piece to the tip. When this is the cae in my experience, base grinding actually makes them worse.

All Fsicher skis come from the factory at 3 degrees side and 1 degree base and that's where I keep them.

[jbotti]

Gary, I probably should send the skis back to Fischer and maybe they would send me a new pair. I got 40-50 days out of them and they were great before we ground them. I bought them from someone that had skied them two days and I think I paid $475 for them. I feel like I got my moneys worth but maybe if I feel energetic I will call up Fischer and see what they say.

[Gary]

Sounds good JB...can't hurt.

It's so weird that you found that on 3 pairs of skis....it might be worth looking into if any here own Fischer skis just to see if they have this problem.....if they do, the skis would be noticeably difficult to ski flat, feeling like they need to be on edge all the time.

Which brings up a good point....be aware of your bottoms!!!! Don't just check the edges, get some kind of true bar or straight bar and just look to see there are no gaps at the edges or in the center along the full length of the ski. Makes all the difference in how hard you have to work to make turns.

G

[Svend]

Thanks John.  That's good info to know, and I'll keep a closer eye on our Fischers from now on.  I usually check this occasionally on all our skis anyway. 

And, likewise, I keep the Progressors at 1 & 3, but the twin tips at 1 & 2 (less aggressive tune for our daughter).

Sorry to hear about your problems.  Hope it's just a bad coincidence.  BTW, the only pair of Fischers that had flatness problems were the '08 RC4 Progressors, but the stone grind worked great on those, and they were dead flat afterward (although I only skied them maybe six times after the grind before I sold them).  Likewise my wife's P-8's -- the stone grind worked great on those and they are still flat after a whole season's use. 

All in all, I am impressed by Fischer quality.  Compared to other ski brands, my experience is that the steel edges seem to stay sharp longer and need less fussing with a stone to keep them that way, and the PTEX bases appear to be very durable and resitant to scratches. 

[Gary]

Hey Svend...I know I've been in your shop with both of us checking the ski bottoms....

I think the only thing I've found is that the  bases on the P8's when I skied got pretty narled up after a Clendenin bump clinic.... Hmmm, maybe it was the rocks I found here and there.

I've been told that there are harder bases out there like for the monster fat skis that our backcountry bound.

Even my Kastles after Portillo got pretty darn chewed....I've filled a few spots here and there and have decided that they really skied fine all season and I'm afraid  to have the base ground......I may wait another season.... I think.

So...why is it they don't use harder more resilent bases for all front side and side country skis...any thoughts out there?

G

[Svend]

...I know I've been in your shop with both of us checking the ski bottoms....

And I categorically and emphatically insist that those were the only bottoms we were checking out!!! No Lange calenders on my basement wall!      Phew! Marital crisis avoided......

Gary -- those P-8s never had a problem with warped bases.  They were just kinda chewed up from that bump clinic of yours -- scratches, knarly edges.  The stone grind made 'em look like brand new again.  The shop did a great job.  Beautiful structure, too.  They are running sweet now.

But, this thread is kinda drifting away from the Peak 84.....Sorry John.

I was actually hoping to find an inexpensive pair of used iM78s in Banff or Calgary to leave at my sister-in-law's house there, so that I could use them at Louise and Sunshine instead of rentals when I'm out there on business..  But those skis are almost impossible to find used, so no luck.  Oh well, I now have the Mach 3's there instead, and am very happy with those. 

Let us know how the Peak 84 performs.  If Head is back on track with bringing the Peak series back to where they were, or better, then that is good news.  All the reviews I have read about this past year's Peaks with the FLR tip have said they are pretty lame.  All energy, life and spark taken out.  Shame.....

[jim-ratliff]

Thread drift (aka hijacking) is the norm more than the exception here; and I think we are all ok with that?

[Svend]

Yes, quite true.  Many a perfectly earnest and serious ski thread has wandered into the realm of cars, espresso, bicycles, ED....you name it...with the poor, unfortunate original poster desperately trying to bring it back on track....."But, what about my binding position?" "Who cares! We're talkin' espresso now, dude."

Speaking of ED, if any thread is plum for drift, it's Gary's recent bootfitting thread.  Good heavens, someone get that man a prescription! Perry, be a good Samaritan, would you? and put the lad out of his misery.....

[jim-ratliff]

..."But, what about my binding position?" "Who cares! We're talkin' espresso now, dude."

Speaking of ED, if any thread is plum for drift, it's Gary's recent bootfitting thread.  Good heavens, someone get that man a prescription! Perry, be a good Samaritan, would you? and put the lad out of his misery.....

Wonderful.  ROTFLMAO.   


I've gone back and read this 4 times, and I start laughing all over again each time.  Dr. Perry, do you think Aleve would help??

[midwif]

I think Svend is thinking more in the line of Haldol.
Prescription only. Used for those with pretty severe psychoses.
You know, like the ones we see on this forum!!
Talk about stream of consciousness, or is it unconsciousness??
 

[Svend]

Er, well, actually I was thinking more in the line of the little blue pills........you know....those kept in the bedside drawer.....    I mean, just read the title of his thread.  Honestly, do I have to spell it out for you?     

[Gary]

Has anyone heard that Fisher skis warp when exposed to sunlight?

And as far as boots...mine are now sitting in my gym, in hyberation so to speak, urging me on to keep in shape, soft yellow clothes stuffed into each boot to keep out the spiders, looking oh so forlorn....

AND.....we just bought the new Lexus Ch200....fun car...

AND is anyone watching the Crown of Thornes....

AND if you are Catholic...do not watch the Borgais.....evil evil evil.

There...sufficientl y highjacked..now...w here's my medicine! 

[Svend]

Has anyone heard that Fisher skis warp when exposed to sunlight?

Only when exposed to the blinding glare reflected off the gleaming, waxed, buffed and polished topsheets of a certain pair of Kastles.  And that from the waxed, polished, and gleaming teeth of their grinning owner.     The combined heat from those could melt an iceberg.   

[Gary]

Yes....UVA and UVB are dangerous threats to ski topskins my good friend!

[jim-ratliff]

So...why is it they don't use harder more resilent bases for all front side and side country skis...any thoughts out there?

G

Alex, I'll take "Gary questions for $80".


Gary, I'll offer three five possibilities. 
1. You're Mistaken - Maybe there aren't harder and softer bases? 
2. Cost - If harder bases exist, they may be considerably more expensive and the average customer would be unwilling to pay more for those skis with better bases (and all manufacturers advertising says they have the best bases?). 
3. Trade-offs - There may be adverse trade-offs associated with harder (more dense) materials such as resistance to  accepting wax since the material is less porous or creating excessive suction due to inability to create good structure in the base.
4. Car dealers sells cars, but make their money off of service. Maybe they WANT you to take your skis in for grinding?     probably not.
5. You paid good money for the expensive part of the skis, the edges.  Ski on those instead of the bases?   


My guess would be somewhere between 2 and 1.  It would not surprise me to find that more expensive skis have somewhat better bases, but I don't know what "better" means.  The Ski Logik construction tab says:


After testing countless formulas, our clear favorite is the hardest sintered base material produced on earth with graphite added in for a racing glide. Our base is made for us in Germany and has excellent wax absorption and is extraordinarily durable against rocks. We take the time on each ski to get them perfectly true on the bottom. Each base is then finished with a fine linear stone grind and a penetrating hot wax done by hand.

Does the comment about graphite imply that without the graphite the harder ptex wouldn't glide as well?  Or does the hand waxing imply that it doesn't accept machine hot waxing well?
Or does it just mean that he decided to spend an extra $10 per ski getting the best base materials shipped from Germany to China -- and interesting that few of the materials for his skis comes from China, except the wood.