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Newbie question alert - left and right skis?


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great question.

 

Skis and bindings are symeterical, (apart from a very few race skis)

 

Why do some skiers have a left and right ski? Well you need a sharp inside edge to carve and nearly all skiers will not use the outside edge at all. Therefore in theory you only need to tune this inside edge of the ski saving time and costs!

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Skis may be symmetrical, but the wear on your boots is not.

 

Good ski techs will require both right and left boots so that they can check and set up each binding independently.

 

Google is your friend and a search on "right and left ski" turned up your answer, but then again, we like to chat on SJ, don't we?

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Originally Posted By: stemik
great question.

Skis and bindings are symeterical, (apart from a very few race skis)

Why do some skiers have a left and right ski? Well you need a sharp inside edge to carve and nearly all skiers will not use the outside edge at all. Therefore in theory you only need to tune this inside edge of the ski saving time and costs!



Don't know if this is a pisstake or not.

The outside edge going right to left becomes the inside edge going left to right. I use all four edges.
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Quote:
Google is your friend and a search on "right and left ski" turned up your answer, but then again, we like to chat on SJ, don't we?


Is that sarcasm at the end there, and if so, why?
I don't really understand why some people insist on posting things like this?
Do you really think that people do not know about the existence of search engines and what they do?
confused

Of course I can find some info - and I did after I posted - but I was looking for more personal comments and that is why I posted here which I feel is a very friendly community..... is that ok?

Thanks for the comments people, appreciate it.
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Originally Posted By: MikePow
Originally Posted By: stemik
great question.

Skis and bindings are symeterical, (apart from a very few race skis)

Why do some skiers have a left and right ski? Well you need a sharp inside edge to carve and nearly all skiers will not use the outside edge at all. Therefore in theory you only need to tune this inside edge of the ski saving time and costs!



Don't know if this is a pisstake or not.

The outside edge going right to left becomes the inside edge going left to right. I use all four edges.


I only ski on the edge of the downhill ski....
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Thank you for asking this question I have always wondered when I throw my ski's on the ground and clip in if there is a left or right. Being blonde I have never been game to ask anyone in case they died laughing.

 

I would always ski down and think yeah they feel good must me on the right feet. lol

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Not a silly Q .... for alpine skis they are both the same - but for some tele bindings it does matter - there is a L & R binding.

 

As for the "only tune the inside edges" ... hmmm .... there is a time and place for only weighting the downhill ski but then there is the transition - I sure wouldn't want one edgy ski going one way and the blunt one the other.

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I always use the same for left and right - just habit, though I did hear when I started out that I should do that. One has a mark on it that the other doesn't so it's easy to tell.

 

Very technical, is me.

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Patricia, my comment "we like to chat" refers to the various responses that you would get from this community. It is not sarcasm.

 

Out of 12 responses, you got only one correct answer.

 

The chattiness is the noise of the incorrect answers. Note that in your other threads, I offered spot on advice in each case.

 

Did any other posters add value to your thread?

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"Correct" or not, I enjoy the friendly chat. I hadn't noted who was offering spot on advice, it's not a competition.

 

Anyway thanks folks. Soon I will be trying it out for the very first time! friend

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First of all, thank you grungy-gonads! lol

 

Patricia, my post was not meant to be "competitive", as you point out that it is a "newbie" question. My comment that "we like to chat" is that there are a lot of frequent posters that can offer up lots of differing opinions and advice. As in any internet forum, you must then inspect the different responses and decide exactly which one(s) are correct, i.e. read with a grain of salt.

 

Here is additional information for your perusal.

 

First of all, do you have your own ski equipment, or will you be using rental gear? In most cases, if you are renting boots and skis, the rental shop will adjust the bindings for the boots. The better shops designate the left or right ski because they set each binding individually with the left and right boot, due to variances in the wear of the boot sole as well as the actual size differences in the length of the boot. However, in my experience, there are very few shops that do this, and only use one boot to adjust both bindings. The better shops that carry performance and demo equipment are normally the ones that take the extra time and additional step of individual adjustment.

 

If you have your own equipment, it is important to get the bindings adjusted every year in order to compensate for the wear on the boots. Some boots have replaceable sole lugs so that you can just replace the bottoms rather than have to buy new boots. I use Serius Cat Tracks which are covers to slip on the bottom of the boot soles to improve traction and grip as well as to prevent wear and tear.

 

Finally, there are a few skis out there that are indeed designated left and right, and they normally have "left" or "right" marked on the ski.

 

HTH,

 

See you on the slopes!

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  • 2 weeks later...

The trivial answer: depends if you want the design on your skis to match up - some park & pipe skis (e.g. K2s) have designs which fit together if the skis are on the "correct" feet.

 

Otherwise - with the vast majority of skis being symmetrical and tuned accordingly, it makes no difference at all.

 

SdS

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