 Poster: A snowHead
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Hey there,
I hope this message is considered as appropriate by the admins. If not, I apologize.
We always wondered with a friend how effective were the different vibration damping systems that some brands provide. For example, one of the most known ones is UVO from Völkl. We graduated from Uni last year and we seem to have developed a more effective product than them. At least, that is what our measurements say. We are thinking of moving forward with the idea, and try to create a start-up. We would like to ask you to fill a small survey to better understand your perspective. Takes just 3-4 minutes.
[url=https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=w66okETgUky0kJNiGrWua-HWy6s_PgBBnIeuQzB1s5BUNkU5RVQ4R1owTU5TRUFKMEFBQ0lOT1pSUS4u][/url]
Thanks a lot for any help!!!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Racso_21, you might want to put a bit of text between your URL tags, so that we have an actual link to click on 
(And yes, of course I can just copy & paste the link text, but it will dissuade many lazy people who might otherwise click through)
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Racso_21, done. Not the worst online survey I've seen in but you could do with more options, e.g. I might buy skis with your new technology, but it wouldn't be the sole (or major) factor for me. The questions are quite leading, so there's a risk you'll get the answers you want rather than a realistic idea of people's views.
Also, be careful about asking for a respondent's name - this is potentially identifiable information (in GDPR terms) and you have no privacy statement or anything else that indicates how you'll handle this.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Hey,
thanks for the tips, and specially to the kind souls that filled the survey so far. It was the first time that I was posting in the forum so I did not manage to properly set the URL link. Here the updated version (Survey here).
Regarding whether the survey is leading people into the direction we want, let's recognize that we are not experts on this. Both my friend and I are regular skiers, and we were always quite skeptical with all these damping systems on skis. We do agree with most of the respondents, it is just about marketing but the effectiveness of all the solutions in the market is quite poor! Actually, my friend worked last year on a damping technology for aerospace application and we wondered how this would compare to the UVO. We rented some UVO skis and did some lab measurements (just for fun). It turned out that the thing he had been working on could bring more damping into the ski than what it is considered on of the best products in the market (and also for the same weight). It is of course a new technology that we don't fully understand, so we do think we can still improve quite a lot. In terms of potential "manufacturing costs", it is also quite competitive.
It all started as a joke, but now we were wondering if we should try "commercializing" this and how. We just launched the survey to get some idea of what skiers in general think.
Thanks!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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look at Renoun skis - a US startup with a priority non Newtonian damper (something like Silly Putty or D3O AIUI)
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Racso_21 wrote: |
...We graduated from Uni last year and we seem to have developed a more effective product than them. At least, that is what our measurements say. We are thinking of moving forward with the idea, and try to create a start-up.... |
I've completed your survey, and I thought I would give you a viewpoint - the short answer is that I don't think you have anything.
I remember on an old pair of Salomon skis, they suffered from vibrations at speed, mainly because they were soft. I upgraded to a pair of K2 apache which were much better. And I now use Kaestle piste skis, which are buttery smooth, and extremely stable, regardless of pretty much however fast you want to ski on piste.
Kaestle don't have a specific damping device (as far as I am aware), but their (marketing) says they use two sheets in titanal and high quality wood core. Either way, the result feels high quality and nice, which is why I keep buying them, despite the high price.
So the top brands are already producing a high quality product which people like. And you would be targeting people who probably already buy top brand skis (where realistically, vibrations at speed are minimal, at least for the vast majority of recreational piste skiers). I've not spent a lot of time looking the UVO idea, but I suspect it it mostly marketing - the core performance being actually linked to the construction and materials of the ski - which is probably why the device doesn't seem to perform that well in isolation.
And even if you did make something slightly better, I think the marketing spend necessary to persuade people to switch from the established brands would be gigantic. It's like trying to make better tasting cornflakes and then trying to persuade people not to buy the usual Kellogg's.
Sorry if that sounds negative, only trying to be helpful 
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Just had a look at the survey, but gave up half way through, as it's clearly just marketing and not actually trying to gain any useful information.
| Quote: |
| Because of irregularities on the slopes, skis start vibrating specially at high speeds. This results in lower performance (it reduces the grip), but it can also result in injuries. Were you aware of this issue? |
This is a great example of "begging the question" (i.e. using your own assumption to prove your own argument). You're just trying to tell people that there is a problem to be resolved whether they're aware of it or not. Very poor do.
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