Suspension programs are utilized in bikes, bicycles, automobiles, child strollers, camp chairs, and even sneakers. However why not skis?
That query led Nick Foster and Ken Nichols to create ShredShox — the primary and solely full-suspension ski platform. Like a mountain bike makes use of air shocks on the entrance fork and tail, ShredShox makes use of them to droop bindings above the ski. The model claims the suspension enhances management and soar capabilities whereas decreasing fatigue.
To name this concept “unconventional” could be an understatement. ShredShox is likely one of the weirdest developments in ski know-how we’ve seen in a very long time. However the model instructed GearJunkie that this shock-absorbing air spring platform system makes snowboarding smoother and extra snug irrespective of the place you’re ripping.
“Based mostly on mountain testing and testimonials, riders reported stability at excessive speeds, ease in setting and sustaining carves in all situations, and excelling in variable snow situations,” Jarrod Kirsilof, the pinnacle of brand name at ShredShox, instructed GearJunkie. “Efficiency and tune-ability is the muse of the product.”
If ShredShox can really assist skiers attain the subsequent stage of efficiency with higher consolation, it might change snowboarding, similar to full-suspension programs modified mountain biking after they began being built-in within the early Nineteen Nineties. That’s a really large if. However it isn’t past the realm of chance for this to explode in the suitable circles.
ShredShox Full Suspension System: Recreation-Changer or Over-Innovation?
To be crystal clear, GearJunkie has not examined these — but. However they’re a wild thought. We’ve already booked a demo and plan to check them within the coming weeks. So hold a watch out for a overview coming quickly.
ShredShox developed its design in Indianapolis, Ind. Based on Krisiloff, it’s in its sixth yr of improvement and on the sixth-generation pre-production prototype.
The system makes use of motorsports fundamentals in its design. It supposedly gives added static stress so the skis have higher, extra fixed contact with snow and ice. They’re additionally customizable with compression and rebound changes to tune them primarily based in your snowboarding.
Nevertheless, skiers depend on the bottom really feel to manage their descent over altering terrain and situations. Placing a shock-absorbing damping gadget on a ski would mute and will even distort how somebody discerns what’s beneath them. To some, which may appear to be a method of blindfolding your self.
Krisiloff mentioned that could be a quite common skepticism, and that’s why it’s so necessary to get acclimated to and tune your ShredShox.
“The impression of the suspension and damping will [provide] a barely completely different expertise. However it has not been reported to negatively impression the ski operate,” he mentioned. “The mix of the torsionally steady carbon platform and the air shocks gives a really stable feeling to the rider because the platform compresses and dampens forces being [created] by velocity, situations, and impression.”
Krisiloff said in no unsure phrases that this isn’t a binding system. It’s appropriate with any downhill alpine ski binding you wish to placed on it.
“We imagine we’re bringing a stage of know-how not attainable on the ski or binding stage,” Krisiloff mentioned. “Due to this fact, we’re a complement for many who search for extra customization, very similar to off-the-shelf boots versus custom-made boots.”
The model is assured this know-how will turn out to be “probably the most important development in ski tools in a long time.”
That could possibly be true. It is also a solution to an issue that doesn’t exist — innovation for innovation’s sake. Solely time and consumer experiences will inform, although.
If you wish to attempt ShredShox, you possibly can guide a demo on the model’s web site. Or, for those who’re going to be at Beaver Creek this weekend (Dec. 6-7) for the lads’s FIS Birds of Prey World Cup ski race, ShredShox will likely be demoing its system there as properly.
When you can’t buy your ShredShox full-suspension ski platform package but, you possibly can preorder one. The deposit is $500; the items are anticipated to ship someday in 2025.
