FasterSkier

Tag: tech

  • FasterSkier’s 12 Days of FBD Christmas: Day 9

    FasterSkier’s 12 Days of FBD Christmas: Day 9

    FasterSkier's 2016 Holiday Gift Guide: 12 Days of FBD Christmas

    Editor’s note: This year, we opted for a spin on the holiday gift guide. Rest assured, we tasked the right guy — our gear-review guru — with the job of compiling a 12-day list of gift ideas (in various price ranges) for all the nordies in your life.

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    Day 9: Techy Tech

    Tech is to skiing what David Lee Roth is to Van Halen. You can try to remove this part of the equation, but the end-result just isn’t the same (Sammy Hager era, anyone, anyone?) The ultimate checkmate for any technology hater is that regardless of what year and model skis for which they currently launching some unhinged rant — you know exactly about the person and the speech that I’m talking about here — the one that starts, continues and ends with lines like, “This is all you need, all you’ll ever need, I’ve been using these for years and they’re fine….”, the best way to get them off their high horse is to simply point out that at some point, technology made THAT particular pair of skis (or whatever) state of the art. Sure, maybe it was during the Eisenhower administration, but the point is technology drives innovation and vice versa. Do you need new skis every year? If you’re me, yes, but we all know that I’m special. I’ll let each of you out there in the studio audience answer that question for yourself, but the point here is the regardless of your own, personal, technology life cycle, technology is a wonderful part of our sport. Embrace it accordingly, knowing full well that if you’re a fat, lazy, turd, with no style, new skis will just make you a fat, lazy, turd, with no style, on new skis.

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    Under $30: Dermatone Green Tea Lip Balm, $2.75

    Dermatone Green Tea Lip Balm, FBD pick for under $30
    Dermatone Green Tea Lip Balm, FBD pick for under $30

    At first blush, this may not appear to be that ground-breaking a recommendation, but dry, chapped lips have oft been described as “the worst aliment ever.” I tend to agree. Not only is this the ultimate rap killer (who wants to kiss cracked, pasty, lizard lips?), but it’s just downright unpleasant for all involved. Not to mention, do we even need to go into what can happen when you sunburn your lips?

    Do yourself a favor and buy about 10 of these — stick them in your training jacket, your car, your drink belt, everywhere you can think of, as nothing is worse than wanting to apply some nice soothing lip balm and not having one available. Be advised, these are very popular with Great Dane puppies, so please prepare accordingly, though apparently my Great Dane Pwolfgang is in good company:

    Dogs and chapstick

    Usually available at Amazon or even better, come to the West Yellowstone Ski Festival next year and pick up a few of these from our buds at Freeheel and Wheel. This shop does a great job supporting an incredible numbers of skiers in this week, it’s the best coffee in town, and they offer a great assortment of nordic gear for anything you forgot or suddenly decided you need to replace when you wake up to this:

    West Yellowstone weather

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    $30 – $100: Toko Arctic Split Mitt, $45

    Toko Actic Split Mitt, FBD pick for $30-$100
    Toko Arctic Split Mitt, FBD pick for $30-$100

    When it’s cold, I mean really, REALLY cold (like it was this morning in West Yellowstone) (see screen capture of today’s weather, above), you don’t just want these gloves, you need these gloves. The split finger design is the best of both worlds: the heat of a mitten and the dexterity (most of it, anyway) of a gloves. A must-have for all skiers. Go for the dope “Winter Warrior” colourway too, because, well, you can. Available at TokoUS.com.

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    $100 – $250: Salomon Drifter Mid Hoodie, $180

    Salomon Drifter Mid Hoody, FBD pick for $100-$250
    Salomon Drifter Men’s Mid Hoodie, FBD pick for $100-$250

    I know, I know, a few different outwear offerings had popped up in our travels here together, but that’s only because jackets are so frickin’ cool (because they keep you hot). Trust me though, there is most definitely a method to my madness, as each and every one of these pieces is specially designed and surgically targeted for highly tactical strikes on the local coffee shop. There, see what I just did? I got myself on a government watch list, just so you could look cool. The things I do for you people… Available at Salomon.com.

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    Over $250: Pursuit Fork Flex Roller Skis ($249.99) and IDT rollerskis ($386.74)

    Pursuit Fork Flex Roller Skis (top) and IDT Classic Elite Rollerskis, FBD pick for $250+
    Pursuit Fork Flex Roller Skis (top) and IDT Classic Elite Rollerskis (bottom), FBD pick for $250+

    On Day 6 we very clearly covered why summer training tools are in play in this holiday gift guide, so if you’re arriving late to the party and you’re getting your panties in a wad about this…

    One of my Princeton rowing teammates used to say, 'Don't be a rhino' to people who were being stubborn or uncooperative, so this image is therefore appropriate at many levels.
    One of my Princeton rowing teammates used to say, “Don’t be a rhino” to people who were being stubborn or uncooperative, so this image is therefore appropriate at many levels.

    … the very cogent and logical line of reasoning supporting this theory can be found here.

    Regardless of whether you went back and read my recommendation for summer rollerski boots just now or if you’ve been playing along at home to this game all along, I bet you can see where this is going: if you have sweet, new summer-specific boots, you’re most certainly going to need some new whap sticks, right, as the last thing you want to have happen is you show up looking all funky fresh but then get laughed out of the workout due to your clapped out rollerskis? You know the drill by now, do it right and go for the best. How do I know that these are the best? Because we tested them, silly (classic and skate). All of the top three skis in each review are “da bomb,” but if you’re tight on cash the Pursuits are a great value and the IDTs are just SO silky smooth, you’ll hate yourself forever if you don’t buck up for these. Available at RollerskiShop.com and IDTSports.com.

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  • FasterSkier’s 12 Days of FBD Christmas: Day 4

    FasterSkier’s 12 Days of FBD Christmas: Day 4

    FasterSkier's 2016 Holiday Gift Guide: 12 Days of FBD Christmas

    Editor’s note: This year, we opted for a spin on the holiday gift guide. Rest assured, we tasked the right guy — our gear-review guru — with the job of compiling a 12-day list of gift ideas (in various price ranges) for all the nordies in your life.

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    It’s only Day 4, but we’re getting picking up steam here, I can feel it. We’ve teed up a vast array of skiing-related products and gear, but no self-respective gear review is complete without diving headfirst, like Billy Demong into a shallow pool, into tech. And not just tech, TECH. Kinda like when Billy Ray Valentine fought off the police. “It wasn’t COP, it was COPS, with an ‘S’.” (Fast-forward to 7:30 in). This isn’t tech, it’s TECH (still not with a ‘s’, though)!

    Day 4: Tech

    Under $30: Holmenkol Natural Wax Stick ($17) or Fluid ($20)

    Holmenkol Natural Wax Stick (l) and Fluid (r), FBD pick for under $30
    Holmenkol Natural Wax Stick (l) and Fluid (r), FBD pick for under $30

    Like any good prima donna ski racer, I hate working on my skis. I just want them to be fast. Nathan Schultz and the gang at Boulder Nordic Sport have gotten me race-ready many-a-day. Usually if I ask them what they did, they tell me to STFU. This might seem a bit harsh, but it reality it works out well for everyone as I really don’t want to know, as this would perhaps lead me to think that next time I could do it myself, which we all know that I cannot. Thanks to some “tough love” from both Nathan and Zack Caldwell, I learned long ago that I’m actually better off NOT knowing what’s happening out there in those mysterious shipping containers, as I need to focus all of my energy into skiing fast. Since it’s the holiday season though, Nathan seems to have let his guard down a little, as he gave me one of his secrets, Holmenkol Natural Wax (comes in solid & fluid). I believe his exact quote was, “This stuff is amazing, not only it is fast, but even you can put it on, FBD.” No offense taken, as I’m still going to have him do it. I’m no dummy, this way I can blame him if the race doesn’t go well. #SoPro. Available at Boulder Nordic Sport.

    FS Staff Pick* (*Not necessarily FBD tested): Vauhti K-Base Binder, $25

    On those warm, transformed days when any hard wax that grips wears too fast or ices, this binder lets you run a harder grip wax, solving both problems. A shoulder-season star. Available at CaldwellSport.com.

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    $30-$100: Red Creek Golden Magic Ultra Steel Brush, $87.50

    Red Creek Golden Magic Ultra Steel Brush, FBD pick for $30-100
    Red Creek Golden Magic Ultra Steel Brush, FBD pick for $30-100

    Speaking of Zach Caldwell and ski-tech curmudgeons, when Zach’s not busy shaming Tad Elliott and me into attempting to properly apply klister (in case you missed it yesterday, here’s the video again), Zach spends his free time putting together what is perhaps simultaneously both the most nerdy and the most awesome article on brushes ever written (be sure to watch the embedded video, too; it’s totally worth it). This of course begs the question: is this the only article on brushes ever written? I sure hope so, but regardless, it’s excellent. I’ll save you the humiliation of having a link to this video in your browser cache by cutting to the chase and telling you to simply get one of these: Red Creek Golden Magic Ultra Steel Brush. Available at Caldwell Sport.

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    $100 – $250: Holmenkol Syntec Race Nordic Fluoro Powders, $189

    Holmenkol Syntec Race Nordic Fluoro Powders, FBD pick for $100-$250
    Holmenkol Syntec Race Nordic Fluoro Powders, FBD pick for $100-$250

    Now we’re approaching super-nerd territory. Love it or hate it, fluoros are like pesticides and condoms — necessary evils. Again, I must have caught the head honcho on a good day, as Nathan was doling out all sorts of secrets. As noted earlier, I hate every part of this process (burning my skis, burning my beautiful, expansive eight-liter lungs, and burning a hole in the Ozone layer just so I can put Smullin in his place in races), so I made Nathan write the description on this one. I’ll see you in Hell, Schultz.

    “These new fluorocarbon powders from Holmenkol are the result of 3 years of development and testing. The investment seems to have paid off – in testing over the winter of 2015-2016 we found this new line to be consistently at the top of our results, and many times far superior to everything else. As a bonus, the new raw materials in the Syntec line are not subject to the pending EU environmental fluorocarbon ban.” (After reading just this one paragraph, I bet you miss me already, right? Don’t lie.) Shop options (cold, mid & wet powder) at Boulder Nordic Sport.

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    Over $250: Star Digital Pro 200C Iron, $399

    Star Digital Pro 200C Iron, FBD pick for $250+
    Star Digital Pro 200C Iron, FBD pick for $250+

    Back to the ultimate ski curmudgeon, Caldwell (hell, his Twitter handle is @GrumpySkier, which pretty much says it all). I love talking to Zach as he’s perhaps the only person in the world more cantankerous than me, which is probably why we get along so well. You know how the saying goes though, “It pays to have friends in low places,” and trust me Zach excels here. He’s logged more time in World Cup wax cabins than almost anyone I know, so when I recommends an iron, you KNOW it’s legit. So legit, that I bought one. (Yes, yes, I know, you’re thinking, “I thought FBD never preps his skis…” HA, I got cha! I rarely race prep my skis. I prep my skis all of the time. So if I am going to be forced into this dreaded task, why not bring a gun to a knife fight and tackle the task with the best iron available to man. Thanks to my incredible foresight and vision, there is mind-blowing continuity in this recommendation as well, as this is the iron of choice when applying fluoros. #MindBlown. Available at Caldwell Sport.

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  • FasterSkier Podcast: Tech Roundtable Part 1

    FasterSkier Podcast: Tech Roundtable Part 1

    In what may be a first in the North American skiing, FasterSkier brought together four of the best ski technicians around for a roundtable discussion on a variety of issues.

    Nathan Schultz of Boulder Nordic Sport, Mark Waechter of Nordic Ultratune, Zach Caldwell of Caldwell Sport, and Patrick Moore of the Alberta World Cup Academy digitally joined FasterSkier Editor Topher Sabot and Associate Editor Audrey Mangan from all corners of the continent.

    The discussion is split into two segments. Part 1 focuses mainly on the World Cup and associated issues, while Part 2 tackles topics relevant to racers at all levels.