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Salomon Using Plant Fibers for Skis

James

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This is interesting. Salomon is using flax grown in Normandy as part of their skis. Layered with carbon fiber. We went through basalt fibers, rocks, several years ago and now we're on plants.

 

Josh Matta

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its works surprising well, I do wish they would take the XDR construction and put it on the QSTs and give the XDR one more sheet of metal. All of their skis are surprisingly damp with out being dead.
 

Jacob

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I think the ski industry is following the same path as the tennis industry.

For a while in the 80's and 90's, tennis rackets went through an experimental phase with head size, beam thickness, and weight/balance. But once they found which designs worked best for which types of players, racket designs pretty much stagnated. For the last 15 years or so, nothing has really changed on that front aside from a brief experimentation with strange string patterns. So for the last 15-20 years, the marketing has been all about which wonder material is being used, even though the frames are still almost entirely graphite.

Just using Head as an example, they've had Liquid Metal, Microgel, Graphene, D3O, and now Graphene 360 with Kraibon. But essentially, their rackets haven't changed. The 98" racket with the 18x20 string pattern that weighs 295 g unstrung from 15 years ago plays pretty much the same as the 98" racket with the 18x20 string pattern that weighs 295 g sold in shops today.

I think ski manufacturers are starting to reach the same point. They've gone through the experimental phase with widths and rocker/camber profiles, and they've worked out which designs work best for which types of skis. Now, they've got to find a new way to market their skis, because width and rocker aren't new anymore.
 

Wilhelmson

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Isn't there a tight lumber market in Europe right now?
 
Thread Starter
TS
James

James

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They're using it instead of fiberglass fibers. Several years ago Dynastar was using fibers made from basalt.
 

LuliTheYounger

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They're using it instead of fiberglass fibers. Several years ago Dynastar was using fibers made from basalt.

That's super cool! My materials professors are always going on about how fiberglass is the absolute bane of their existence.
 

LuliTheYounger

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Why is that?

My understanding is that the threads break off & basically act the way you would expect tiny glass particles to act; they'll cut up pretty much anything they come in contact with. If you inhale it it'll cut up the airways, and there's some argument about whether it acts similarly to asbestos. You also have to all of your skin covered so that it doesn't cut up the skin, but it also gets permanently stuck to clothing fibers, so they have to do a whole song and dance with disposable coveralls and rotating gloves.
 
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James

James

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My understanding is that the threads break off & basically act the way you would expect tiny glass particles to act; they'll cut up pretty much anything they come in contact with. If you inhale it it'll cut up the airways, and there's some argument about whether it acts similarly to asbestos. You also have to all of your skin covered so that it doesn't cut up the skin, but it also gets permanently stuck to clothing fibers, so they have to do a whole song and dance with disposable coveralls and rotating gloves.
People spray it in boat shops and tub factories and all sorts of things. Nowadays they'll wear masks and tyvek.
These guys don't even wear long sleeves or masks.
 

Doug Briggs

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My understanding is that the threads break off & basically act the way you would expect tiny glass particles to act; they'll cut up pretty much anything they come in contact with. If you inhale it it'll cut up the airways, and there's some argument about whether it acts similarly to asbestos. You also have to all of your skin covered so that it doesn't cut up the skin, but it also gets permanently stuck to clothing fibers, so they have to do a whole song and dance with disposable coveralls and rotating gloves.

Oh. That part I knew. I discovered rock wool insulation when I was do an office makeover as it has better R value per inch and has none of the problems you described. I think rock wool is a mineral so similar to basalt and graphene
 

Doug Briggs

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People spray it in boat shops and tub factories and all sorts of things. Nowadays they'll wear masks and tyvek.
These guys don't even wear long sleeves or masks.

That's nuts. On top of the fiberglass they are also potentially (quite likely) inhaling the fumes from the resin. Not good.

Not all are eschewing protection in the video, but for that to be a promotional video for a business is ludicrous excepting that is from China. So much for safe practices for US companies with manufacturing there.
 

Doug Briggs

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jmeb

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Flax has been available in bCores blank cores for a few years now. Blizzard has been been using them, as have numerous brands who have blizzard make their skis like black diamond. My Down skis use flax as well.

Salomon ain’t the first here; though they are the biggest.
 

DanoT

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Any time that land that can used for food production but instead the land or the crop is used for other than food, be it bio fuels or skis, I'm against it.
 

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