 Poster: A snowHead
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I finally bought a Skier's Edge trainer at the ski show late last year, after several years of pondering. It arrived in time to get in about a month of training in preparation for my first ski trip of the season. I started off with daily 10 min sessions and worked up to 20 and 30 min sessions by the last week. After a session it feels like you've had a good workout and all the right ski muscles are burning nicely. Technique feels quite natural too, although it can't really simulate sustained long radius turns. It basically simulates short slalom style turns only.
So did it work? I'd say a resounding yes! First run on the hill (having not skied for 9 months) I felt much stronger than usual and it felt like I'd been skiing far more recently. I was still going strong at the end of the day and had none of the usual first day aches or pains. Got to say I was very impressed. Ski fitness is normally my main limitation, so my skiing improved significantly simply from being a bit stronger and less tired.
Maybe you can condition yourself for skiing in other much cheaper ways, but this machine gets the job done fast and efficiently and it's almost (not quite) fun too. I've found all other ski fitness exercises deadly tedious and not very effective. My normal fitness regime consists mainly of regular fairly hardcore mountain biking and a little tennis, which must both help with skiing, but the Skier's Edge has still made a big difference, probably from more direct targeting of the ski specific muscle groups.
To conclude, not a cheap training option by any means, but if you want to ski hard from the start and you're not lucky enough to live in the mountains, this is a worthwhile investment for any keen skier. The machine looks like it will last forever, so the cost over time diminishes if you keep using it. It's also a good workout for any time of year.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I had a few minutes on one at Profeet in London - it felt good. Asked about the price and was shocked!  But I can see the long term benefits even if my accountant insists it's not tax deductable...
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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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uktrailmonster, how much do the skiers edge machines cost? I believe you can get different versions of it too an idea on the different prices?
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Zero-G, yeah, the cost is what made me think about it for a good few years! You have to think of it as a long term investment and make sure you actually use it. You see the odd one for sale on ebay, so might be worth looking there.
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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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Anything that Graham Bell has anything to do with is bound to cost a lot.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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uktrailmonster, which bindings did you use 
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skir67, I can't remember exactly, but roughly £1000. There are 3 versions - classic, big mountain and world cup. I thought the classic version was a bit too easy, so I went for the big mountain version which is taller and allows more angulation. The world cup version is even more aggressive and aimed at race training. I don't think there was much difference in price between the classic and big mountain models. There are also loads of expensive accessories which I thought were unnecessary for basic fitness training.
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Zero-G,
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I had a few minutes on one at Profeet in London - it felt good. Asked about the price and was shocked!
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Ditto. I'd love to have one, but too expensive and also there's nowhere suitable in my house to keep it. I've been trying to persuade the owner of my gym (who's a very keen skier, an Austrian who learned to ski as a small child) to buy one for the gym, but so far without success!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Hurtle, does he have a PowerPlate yet?
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comprex, absolutely - three of them.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Hurtle, are you -sure- he's really Austrian?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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comprex, yes (the fact that he's called Klaus is a clue that he isn't English) or maybe only half-Austrian, and he's lived in the UK since he was very young.
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Hurtle, <sigh> pay no mind, if one has to explain teh funnies...
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Poster: A snowHead
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uktrailmonster, blimey knew they were pricey, but that seems somewhat over the top, guess I'll have to wait for a windfall from somewhere, do they tend to hold their value when they come up on ebay?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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skir67, I don't know, I never found one when I was actually looking. But I would imagine they do hold their value quite well. I got mine at the ski show with a small discount (10% I think).
They're no more expensive than quality rowing machines or other commercial gym equipment. In terms of parts, it wouldn't cost very much (maybe £100 in materials), but it would take a bit of effort to fabricate it. It's an effective piece of kit, so you're paying for the concept and low volume production. If money is tight, there are far more important things to spend £1K on, but if you can comfortably afford it and want to arrive at the slopes in better condition, it's worth considering.
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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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I have a price list that is about three years old they start at £950 and go up to £1420 for a complete kit, plus posting about £45.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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clive5, thats just ridiculous, i mean you can spend up to £1420 on something yet they still have the cheek to charge £45 for you to get it!!!!!
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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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clive5, You really don't need the complete kit. The basic machine is fine on its own. Even the rep at the show advised me not to bother with the various add-on accessories.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Zero-G, I'm hiring one for the last 2 weeks before going to Banff. Currently spending an hour at 85%hr on a cross trainer, but feel the Skiers Edge will further help increase the still needed stamina..
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For £1500 I belive I could go skiing. That's pretty good training for skiing, in my experience...
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This is costing £140 for the fortnight, and I believe (hope!) that it will prove to be a very good investment prior to hitting the slopes.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| ski-bums wrote: |
| This is costing £140 for the fortnight, and I believe (hope!) that it will prove to be a very good investment prior to hitting the slopes. |
Fair enough. I used to drag the family to Tamworth a couple or so times before a hol, at about £50+ a trip.
Let us know if it makes much difference, ski-bums.
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| andyph wrote: |
| For £1500 I belive I could go skiing. That's pretty good training for skiing, in my experience... |
Great idea except my skiing is limited by time off work rather than money. Unfortunately the cash saving isn't going to increase my time on the slopes. So I want to rock up there as fit as possible.
For fitness training I'm finding it far more effective than a couple of token trips to Tamworth, where you might get as much skiing action in as your first warm up run in resort. At least on the trainer you can bang out thousands of turns, limited only by your fitness and boredom threshold.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| ski-bums wrote: |
| This is costing £140 for the fortnight, and I believe (hope!) that it will prove to be a very good investment prior to hitting the slopes. |
From experience, I'd say a fortnight is not really enough. But as you've been on the cross trainer it might make a useful difference if you hit it pretty hard. But I reckon you need a month on it to really get the most benefit.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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The skiers edge is relatively cheap but it's the 56" flat screen to put on the wall so I can pretend I'm actually skiing which cost a bit. I've also found that a couple fans and some polystyrene out of a bean bag works great for those powder days.
The other day I took a tumble and lost a ski under the sofa. I'm going to crank my bindings up before I go skiing again.
The next thing is a large ceiling mounted fan to simulate heli-skiing.
Anyone else got any suggestions.
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| skir67 wrote: |
| uktrailmonster, blimey knew they were pricey, but that seems somewhat over the top |
True,not cheap.Over the top? well,that's one point of view.I bought one about 5yrs ago when GB had not long started to sell them.Has had loads of use...and still looks as if it just came out of the box.Bombproof.Short of taking a sledgehammer to it I fail to see how you could damage it.Will most definitely outlast my skiing days.So,in terms of life cost,its cheap.Effective?Its ski specific,good aerobic,but just as boring as any other machine.But it certainly gets to the legs(and the heart & lungs)if you drive it hard so,all in all,I consider it a good investment.
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You know it makes sense.
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| dme wrote: |
Anyone else got any suggestions. |
Yeah, don't give up your day job to become a comedian. A clown maybe, but defo not a comedian.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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uktrailmonster, calm down old boy - shouldn't you be skiing in your front room
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Poster: A snowHead
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uktrailmonster, you using that thing one-footed yet?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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uktrailmonster, agreed - they are very good - but now I seem to use going out on the bike as an excuse not to use it 
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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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| dme wrote: |
| uktrailmonster, calm down old boy - shouldn't you be skiing in your front room |
Shouldn't you be lurking under a bridge with the other trolls?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| comprex wrote: |
| uktrailmonster, you using that thing one-footed yet? |
Not tried that yet. Might give it a go tonight.
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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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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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uktrailmonster, I agree - no abductor/adductor benefit at all on the bike. But I find I would rather spend 2 hours on the bike in mud than 1 hour on a rowing machine and the SE in a warm room even watching videos with a glass of red wine...
Must use it tonight...
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stoatsbrother, Oh yeah, mountain biking is far more fun. The SE is nothing more than a means to an end for ski specific training. I very much doubt I'll use it at all over the summer months.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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ski-bums, That's a shame. At least lunges and squats are free!
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Get some roller blades like that old boy who got done for causing a nuisance. Lots of similarities there. In all honesty though if you're skiing 10 or so weeks a year you can forego that first week and just put it down to getting fit.
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FAQ
The transportation - I'm well out in the sticks - was much more than the cost of the machine for a fortnights hire.
