ScottyBob skis

[lilcliffy]

Anyone tried ScottyBob Telemark skis?

Didn't know anything about them...Just been reading their design website- kind of blew my mind over my coffee break!
http://www.scottybob.com/skiworks/design/bobtail-design

[Woodserson]

The people I have met that ski them, love them. They can be polarizing, I think. I would like to try a pair, definitely. There was a local pair for sale recently that I passed on, unbelievably.

[Coolwhip]

Anyone tried ScottyBob Telemark skis?

Just the ones they made when they tried out overseas production. I like them - fairly light weight, turn easily. They're good on moguls/soft snow. Not the best on ice/crud.

[connyro]

We had (have? not sure) a pair of the SB Fat Bastards hanging on the wall at ski-camp. They are beat to shit but still, on occasion, get pulled down and used when there's super-deep powder. They are a very ascetically pleasing pair of skis with wood-grain topsheets and very wide, soft tips and the funky tail. My experience skiing them is they are very light and a total blast in deep powder: very turny. Skins are a little tricky to anchor on the tails, so if you don't have a pair of skins dedicated to them (no tail clip?), it gets awkward.

[teleclub]

I skied a pair of the original version some years ago. Fun, good float, easy to initiate turns, loud and chattery on hardpack, not damp but not highly lively either--not a lot of spring out of a turn. Skied them with gen two T2s (blue two buckle), G3 binding, Alta and Sundance resorts with both powder and groomed carving.

I prefer lively skis that spring out of a turn (Atomic beta skis) but also like damp skis that are smooth and calm (Volant, K2 tele boards generally, Dynastar 4x4 ATL). The ScottyBobs weren't either of those but still fun easy to initiate turns (which is a kind of liveliness too I guess). This different character is a result of their unusual construction I think.

As for the bob-tail shape, I was most interested in how this would affect turning, especially on groomed snow. As I understood it (from reading up before I skied them) the asymmetrical shape is meant to make tele skis carve better by having a different turn radius for the rear ski than for the front. Such a great idea and experiment so I was surprised I couldn't feel much difference in arcing carving-style tele turns. The rear ski edging does feel different but the resulting arced turn felt the same to me as it did with other skis I tele. In other words, interesting feel but it didn't transform my turn (the couple days I skied them).

I say "carving-style tele turn" because tele turns don't produce a pure carve like you can get in a parallel turn or on a snowboard, where you can make one carved line arcing into another single line (see Harris's thread on carving for more on this issue). To make a real carve you put all your weight onto one edge but in a tele turn you're putting your weight on two edges in a more balanced way so you're approximating a carved turn on two edges with different shaped curves. The bob-tail logic is to make these two carved lines more concentric and the rear ski edging does feel different on hardpack even if the resulting tele turn is not very different for me. ScottyBobs might be good for someone who does a lot of skidding in tele turns and is trying to feel more carve as they approximate a pure carve.

[lilcliffy]

Very interesting.

I didn't know anything about them! The description of the design and engineering on their website is fascinating.

[telemarkmark]

I have had a pair of Headrush for a few years, love them. Very lively fun ski, looks so cooool.
You would think that the tail cut out would correspond to the difference in where you weight the flat outer boot and the raised inner boot, but in fact it is far more. What the tail cut out really does is put the weight on the inside ski further back making it easy to angle the inner ski a wee bit more more than the outer, so you can really work it.

[teleclub]

I have had a pair of Headrush for a few years, love them. Very lively fun ski, looks so cooool.
You would think that the tail cut out would correspond to the difference in where you weight the flat outer boot and the raised inner boot, but in fact it is far more. What the tail cut out really does is put the weight on the inside ski further back making it easy to angle the inner ski a wee bit more more than the outer, so you can really work it.

That makes sense--so your rear ski is being pressured in the center of its edged length by the ball-of-the-foot.

[Bri7]

Anyone tried ScottyBob Telemark skis?

Didn't know anything about them...Just been reading their design website- kind of blew my mind over my coffee break!
http://www.scottybob.com/skiworks/design/bobtail-design

I do own a pair of well abused Scotty Bob. They are a great ski from every perspective...

The asymmetrical shape of the skis is just awesome. The theory behind the design of the ski makes a lot of sense. They probably have a patented that prevent other ski makers to copy this idea but every telemark ski should have a different length and shape on each side.

The ski construction, its shape and its beauty are pretty near from perfection. No comestic, no name tags, just wood, a lot of side cut and a black ptex base. Ok the ski is made out fiberglass as well but you can’t tell from looking at it. Of course the veneer on the top of the ski is more fragile than the usual top layer but it so much more classy and beautiful than a regular ski.

I skied them in every type of conditions. Winter, summer, spring, fall. They ski great. I have nothing close to it in shape and size and binding(75mm) in my quiver so it hard to really draw a solid conclusion about the ski. Since it has a lot of side cut, its turns well and since its pretty fat its floats well. The ski is not too stiff nor too soft.

Since it is really unique, it draws a lot of attention/question on the slopes. Many people will stop you and tell you your skis are brokens... No they are not, they were made like this

Really, I have nothing to say against the ski.

[lilcliffy]

Very cool

Reading their "design" page on their website has blown my technical mind...

Any idea how much they cost? Didn't see any prices on their site...