Do you agree that velcro ski ties are utterly useless?...

A snowHead

The Salomon ties have the foam rubber tongue - they all work just fine. I'm with ssh on this, nothing wrong with rubber, it's all down to where you put your tongue. Shocked

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

For the record, it was PG.

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Sorry ise. Won't do it again.

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ise, That bad eh, being mistaken for me Wink

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Jonpim, ise, see snowboarding, 9-11 year olds, for cases of mistaken identity! Once may be a simple error ... but twice?

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David Goldsmith, Try visiting Soll, every pair of hire skis from the Stoll ski shop is held together with the beloved rubber fastener.

After all it is free

Excellent, Paul! I had a funny feeling that there was a little factory somewhere still making the little treasures.

I propose a Snowheads rubber ski tie, as a true symbol of this community's ski cred.

Well, this thread has been an education. I've always fastened my skis together with velcro ties (tongue slipped firmly in place!) - rubber must have been before my time. I shall ask Mr Ski Bunny tonight, he's been skiing since boots were leather & lace up. It's highly likely he will be able to delve into a bag/drawer/box in the loft & find one. If so, I will sell to highest bidder!!!

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So we'll be getting a snowHead hat and a rubber ski tie. Wonderful, wonder if the tie will match the hat Very Happy

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We'll have to club together and get Sir David some bungee ropes, should satisfy on all fronts!!!!!

My attempt at mutilating fellow skiers is not down to the skis over shoulders, it is the swinging of the poles in the other hand as I walk along (I maintain that it is to keep myself in balance). But my husband says that I am going to do some poor chap serious harm before long!

You know it makes sense.

*whispers*
Rhys, Don't shout so early in the morning. You'll wake people up Smile

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Wha? Eh? Grrrr! Who's making such a racket at this hour? Evil or Very Mad

A snowHead

I use a Da Kine helipack, which has a really easy way of strapping your skis to it. Really handy for walking around the resort, also for looking like you're about to engage in a spot of ski mountaineering.

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Rhys. I wish Ski Strap every success with the product - it's an original idea, which could appeal to some skiers. No offence, but it's not for me personally. I'd be concerned about the side overhang of the skis by the legs hitting another pedestrian, and any possible discomfort of ski edges against the back etc.

I carry skis in the same way that I carried a pack of 2.4m timber from B&Q at the weekend - on my shoulders. It's the time-honoured way to carry skis, involving no accessories. I find it totally comfortable. The only hassle - which triggered this thread - are useless ski ties.

Although I can see the attraction of a Ski Strap in specific situations, 'hands free' is not normally a requirement.

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David Goldsmith, In answer to your original question: YES

Lorraine Agass, I got stabbed just last week, was it you? Wink

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If I'm teaching an inexperienced group, I usually spend a moment on the various methods of carrying skis. If there are a bunch of kids in the group, I usually try to include a slapstick segment where I throw my skis over my shoulder (like a posturing, hyper-macho skier), and then pretend that two people 180 degrees apart from each other in the group have a series of questions for me. This, of course, causes me to whirl around (seemingly) madly with my skis skimming over everyone's head. Fortunately, I haven't decapitated anyone yet and it never falls on deaf ears when I tell them to carry their skis vertically in front of them whenever the situation gets the least bit congested. It's especially important for short kids/adults to follow this rule.

Finally, just to keep the discussion going, if you are going to carry your skis on your shoulder, do you think you should you use the more modern tips forward (and down) style or the classic method with the tails forward (and down) ? (I actually have a serious opinion on this.)

When we have beaten this to death, we can then provoke our bretheren on Powder and TGR by initiating another round in the classic discussion of whether tip or tails should be forward in roof racks. Twisted Evil

Tom / PM

PS - I almost always use ski straps whenever I'm carrying my equipment more than 100 m or so, and have no problems with the cheap Velcro ones. I do find that they will slip if you position them all the way out at the tip and tails of deeply sidecut skis (where one would have always positioned the old rubber ones or "bones"), but they work just fine (and don't slip) when positioned just in front and just to the rear of the bindings.

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Tips forward and down. Any variation on this and the kids accuse me of looking like a tourist (horror of horrors) and pretend not to know me. Practicality doesn't enter into it.

After all it is free

OK, one vote for tips forward and down, driven by style considerations / social pressure. Anyone else? Give reasons.

Tom / PM

Physicsman, I've never really thought about this before, but to get skis from vertical standing position to shoulders with tips forward requires a dangerous swing manouvre; to get the tails forward is just like "Shouder Arms!" and would seem far less likely to clobber someone in the process.

I have taken to carrying skis vertically holding the binding foot plate.

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I used to have a very nice ski strap with a buckle, but I made the mistake of leaving it on the skis when I dropped them into a shop to be tuned. It mysteriously vanished.

However, the shop was sufficiently contrite to give me TWO velcro ski straps by way of compensation.

And No. They are definitely not useless. In fact Ms. Acacia and myself have been using them for the last 4 years, and they still stick together just fine.

They are made by Swix and have the foam-rubber tongue. This year, when I dropped my skis into Ultimate, in Banff, I was advised that if I left them on the skis they would almost certainly be half-inched by the techs, because they were without doubt the best straps around.

(To anyone who knows Ultimate, this advice came from Max: a man who really knows his ski equipment).

As far as carriage is concerned, my style depends on circumstances. Over the shoulder, tips forward, if I've got a long walk. Otherwise held into my side, vertical, tips upward, hand under the binding heel-piece (a bit similar to the way we used to carry the old Lee-Enfield .303 by the trigger guard, in the school CCF, for those who go back that far and had the dubious delights of militery training as a part of their expensive education). - This is by far the best method for negotiating crowded areas like bus queues and lines for the gondola.

For the roof rack, tips backwards of course. You don't want the tips damaged by flying chips.

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I always carry my skis with the tails forward/down, so the brakes hold the skis together naturally. You don't need silly velcro straps if you do it this way. Whichever way you carry skis, the important thing is to be aware of people around you.

However, it has come to my attention that this entire discussion marks us all out as sad punters! Watching various ski movies this season, the new way to carry skis is one in each hand, with your arms down at your sides, and the tails dragging along the floor. This works best if you have twin-tips, wear only goggles (especially after dark or being interviewed on TV, never sunglasses), ski only on rails never on mountains, and use the words "super-stoked" and "whistlerbeecee" as often as possible.

Carrying skis on your shoulders is just not cool anymore Wink

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It's a good idea to use the velcro ski ties as often as you can: A. They protect the bases and edges from bashing each other up. B. They keep the skis from slipping around whichever way you opt to carry them walking to and from the lifts. Make sure that they are wide enough to wrap securely around your skis and sturdy enough not to fail after a couple of uses. When packing skis for travel, it's a good idea to take a third tie and wrap it around the waist of the ski as the the tip and tail straps can slide around as your ski bag is tossed by baggage handlers. You'll notice that racers will put these straps on their skis every time they finish skiing. It's a low cost way to protect the baes and edges with the added benefit of making them easier to carry.
Don't leave the staps on in the ski room after you get back to your hotel/chalet. The foam pad between the bases retains moisture and will rust the edges. Take them off, stash them in your parka pocket and strap them back on when you head back out in the morning. If you're in a ski/out place don't worry about the straps except for packing for travel, but if have a walk to the lifts or a ride on a shuttle or a taxi to the lifts, it pays to use them.

You know it makes sense.

Physicsman, the main reason I ws given for carrying skis tip down is that you're less likely to take someones eyes out when you bang into them!!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

> ...the main reason I ws given for carrying skis tip down is that you're less likely to take someones eyes out when you bang into them...

I'm not sure I can envision why this would be true.

When over your shoulder, whether the tips are forward and down, or the tails are forward and down, the part of the ski that's in front of you is well below eye level for anyone except kids, and the part that's behind you is always way up in the air (unless its a kid carrying them ) and hopefully also away from people's eyes. Thus, the comparison of these two possibilities would seem to be a wash to me, at least with respect to eye injury. Can you expand on what you said?

A snowHead

Physicsman, not really....as I said, it was what I was told. However if you are 5'2" and I am 6' then your skis will probably be at my eye level.

A snowHead

And make sure you're well away from the bus exit before you hoist them up. The people getting off the bus are higher up. The same is true for descending steps, the people behind you could be at ski-tip height.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Thanks for all the positive feedback for us here! We do appreciate however that ski carriers aren't for everyone. It's just been developed for skiers who wanted an easy one to use. Little Angel

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Jeez prize winner for the longest time elapsed resurrection of a dead thread by a spammer - well done jockstrap

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Indeed

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I'm impressed.

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Do you agree that velcro ski ties are utterly useless?...

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