 Poster: A snowHead
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...or am I simply incompetent in using these infernal, cheap, crummy strips of furry plastic?
If I had to nominate one fantastically poor invention it would be the velcro ski tie. They don't hold the skis tightly together because the velcro isn't strong enough. After a couple of days they lose their grip completely, and then I feel like jumping up and down like John Cleese on acid, wishing I could throttle the person who came up with the idea of these pathetic excuses for a ski accessory. All they are fit for is filling dustbins.
I'm doubly annoyed by velcro ski ties because they replaced excellent rubber ski ties with a proper metal flat hook that held the whole thing in place on the ski, and was very quick and effective to use. You're probably too young to have seen rubber ski ties, but I hope there's at least one ageing Snowhead who can back me up on this.
Rant not over.
P.S. I pay good money for rubber ski ties, and other rubber accessories.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Legal note: I'm certain that John Cleese has never consumed acid.
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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 used to have a lovely green rubber ski tie - I heartily agree it was much quicker to use than the velcro ones which stick to everything you don't want them to. That said I've got some rubbish ones I got free after a service from S&R and they do at least stick to themselves....they're just so fiddly to use!
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| David Goldsmith wrote: |
| P.S. I pay good money for... other rubber accessories. |
Care to expand on this, DG? It'd liven up an otherwise dull Monday afternoon...
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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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It's Tuesday in England.
But I'm agog too.
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| DavidS wrote: |
| David Goldsmith wrote: |
| P.S. I pay good money for... other rubber accessories. |
Care to expand on this, DG? It'd liven up an otherwise dull Monday afternoon... |
Must be a nasty hangover, David. Something tells me it's Tuesday (at least it is in this time zone)
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DG Your knowledge of skiing matters is legendary. However I never knew this knowledge extended to other areas such as rubber fetishism. 
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nothing wrong with a bit of rubber worship.......................... 
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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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Especially as they were only very small pieces of rubber. David, I have some very strong nylon ties with spring loaded metal clips, very upmarket very Italian made by Ellese. I'm more than happy to donate you one or two. Although I'm not sure that they would work on skis longer than 2 metres!
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David. I've said it before, and I'll say it again. You're a very generous man. Do you prefer those to rubber?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Now, now, David you're going off-piste. Seriously though do you think these little gizmos will work with vintage skis?
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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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As I recall the rubber ties were simply that - ties. Proper velcro ties are quite wide and have a pad of firmer stuff which fits comfortably between the bottoms and prevents the pair rubbing against each another, thus avoiding unintentional grinding and loss of vital razor sharpness.
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| Quote: |
unintentional grinding
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Rubber? What is this?
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You know it makes sense.
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Ah, we're on to vintage skis. 2m to the right of my desk is a pair of authentic Swiss-made wooden Harrods skis with Kandahar cable bindings. For these I was looking for something a little more contemporary, perhaps made from crocodile skin.
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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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alright, adventitious grinding then.
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Poster: A snowHead
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That's before Christmas then?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Rubber ski ties in fact incorperated a clip and a device that held the end between the two skis, Good velcro ski ties work very well, bad ones last only a few weeks before coming apart, however since I'm on fairly good terms with a certain ski shop all I have to do is ask and they give me a new strap, also get one every time I take the skis to be serviced so why worry
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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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Don't tell me, the first skis you used and I'll bet you've still got a nice pair of leather boots.
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harryhallcycles.co.uk
pedal bits
black leather toe straps £3.99, a pair should solve your problem.
And you can use them to fasten skis and bikes to roof racks or as a tourniquet. No furry bits guaranteed, even after thousands of miles of cycling.
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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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D G Orf, I have no problems with ties (the proper sort). The kids used to though. Apparently they have a knack for vanishing into thin air. However in the current race club if they turn up with skis untied they get a stiff bollocking. Amazingly they no longer seem to disappear.
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David. You need to type faster. No the first skis I used were Erbacher, also Swiss, also with cable bindings. Sadly my first leather lace-up boots must be in a landfill site, along with millions of others.
I shall be reunited with them one day, and I hope to find some rubber ski ties in there as well.
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David Goldsmith, excuse my ignorance, but just what are these ties for? Only time I ever used ties was during transport. With "ski tube" (tm) the ties were just to keep the bindings flat. Velcro worked fine for this. Chat nicely to S&R technician and you can get them for free.
You don't use ties for storage or while in the resort. So what are these ties for?
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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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They just hold the skiis together, tip to tip and tail to tail, I use them only when my skiis are in transport myself.
I have seen and used the old rubber ones so I must be old as well. Kinda worrying. 
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Don't worry, marc. You probably used them because they have such a long life.
On that note, if you ever find a rubber ski tie, cherish it...and you, too, will enjoy a long life.
BTW, Jonpim, I find ski ties useful even if you're just carrying skis because they hold the pair together more securely and prevent the tips splaying apart. In the days before ski brakes (which entered skiing in the mid 1970s and replaced safety straps), ski ties were essential for holding skis together on your shoulder.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Jonpim, yes, I'm also not sure what these ties are for. Only really used one on the skis whilst transporting said skis in a ski bag, and then my ski bag has straps that I tighten around the outside effectively binding tips and tails together anyway.
I do have a rubber one though - but it's rather old now and when I gave it it's annual exercise this year I noticed that is is becoming cracked and perished should I be worried ?
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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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| marc gledhill wrote: |
They just hold the skiis together, tip to tip and tail to tail, I use them only when my skiis are in transport myself.
I have seen and used the old rubber ones so I must be old as well. Kinda worrying. |
I've still got some. You do see them on sale, I'll buy a job lot next time I see them and flog them as ski nostalgia.
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ah, and I meant to say the reason reason rubber ties are useless is you can't use them with gloves on which you can with velcro.
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You know it makes sense.
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David Goldsmith, I have started to wonder about the traditional skis-on-the-shoulder method of carrying skis. I remember when I started skiing reading that wimps and noobies would carry skis vertically holding them in their hands, while Real Skiers slung them over their shoulder and swaggered off. But I have seen many near misses and some actual damage with this method. The carryer often forgets just where the back of the skis are and threatens all within a metre radius. And, as you say, it is impractical because should the skis start to rotate on each other there is not much to prevent complete detachement.
There is in fact an easy, practical and comfortable way of carrying skis vertically. The secret is to use the ski brakes (introduced in in late 1970s according to HeritageAspen ). These lock the skis together, lie one below the other and are linked to the foot plate. Put the skis together, pick up the skis with the lower footplate, and both skis stay together, skis stay safe and carrying position is comfortable and not tiring. Try it.
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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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I have used them when the kids were youngeer, as their skis were always separating when they carried them. In theory, Jonpim, your method should work, but the skis still kept separating, then sliding into an X shape, andd then crashing to ground. Result-Mum and Dad carrying 2 pairs of skis. It don't improve with age either, 14 and 15 now and still moaning about their skis. I don't have any trouble with mine. MInd you, mine are 150's and thiers 170.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Jonpim. Heritage Aspen are quite wrong about ski brakes being introduced in the late 1970s. They were universal on new equipment by 1975. Everyone wanted to be free of cartwheeling skis hitting them in a fall, which meant getting rid of safety straps. For the first few years ski brakes were sold as separate items to the bindings and were mounted between the toe and heel of the binding.
But I digress...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Jonpim wrote: |
| There is in fact an easy, practical and comfortable way of carrying skis vertically. The secret is to use the ski brakes (introduced in in late 1970s according to HeritageAspen ). These lock the skis together, lie one below the other and are linked to the foot plate. Put the skis together, pick up the skis with the lower footplate, and both skis stay together, skis stay safe and carrying position is comfortable and not tiring. Try it. |
Try it with some of the Atomic bindings, it won't work. Just an oddity of some brake designs.
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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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Jonpim,
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Real Skiers slung them over their shoulder and swaggered off. But I have seen many near misses and some actual damage with this method
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Then they only think they're "real skiers"! the pivotal point should be such that the back of the skis are well up in the air, so unless you're very small or a kid, you're only a threat to people 7 ft and over!
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Thank you ise, just goes to show how easy to make grand assumptions. I ski mainly Salomon, it has always worked with them, and I assumed therefore would work with all skis. Never considered bindings could be different. Silly me.
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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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Yes, my Xscreams with Salomon bindings wedge themselves together and it takes some force to pull them apart. The Atomics vary, one pair is not too bad and the other just don't stay together at all.
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ise, I usually pick up the wrong ski with that method, and they fall apart. Even after checking. No I'll stick to slinging them over the shoulder, now I've been informed by kids that I'm actually doing it properly and don't look a prat any more.
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PG, 997 posts sooo close.....
I really meant slinging them over the shoulder, the kids are right, anything else, straps, slings, cradling them in your arms and you look like a punter....
It's just some Atöminc bindings spring apart
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Gotcha. As with this post I'll be on 999 posts, it'll be my last one for the night just to prove I'm not actually trying to boost my post count!
Trouble is according to kids carrying my skis in the wrong way wasn't the only thing I used to do that made me look like a punter. On a good day daughter will actually deign to ski within 50 metres of me, on a bad day she pretends she doesn't know me from Adam. Falling off the drag the other day was the last straw. I pleaded in mitigation that the 20 extremely heavy GS gates I was attempting to carry on my shoulder at the time were a major contributory factor, but she wasn't having any. Didn't speak to me for the rest of the day. 
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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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| Ise wrote: |
the pivotal point should be such that the back of the skis are well up in the air
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Quite right, but swinging them round and getting them up there can be a very dangerous manouver, catching anyone unlucky enough to be close behind.
I know - I have been that unluck one!
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David Goldsmith, I like my Marker tie, but it has a foam tongue that goes between the skis and the Marker bindings seem to do a good job of being a companion to it.
BTW, I used to have the rubber ties. I never liked the way the metal hook messed with the ski edges, but it did hold. I like my Marker tie better, though. Sorry...
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