Repair advice

[Severianin]

Hey Everyone,

I got a pair of the Gamme 54s earlier this spring and absolutely love them! Thanks to those of you who recommended them. If I had to own one ski for touring in Alaska, the Gamme is it! Unfortunately, on their inaugural 15 mile cabin trip I hit some really hard overflow and a good chunk of the tail chipped off. I wrote to Asnes and they don't have any spare parts to fix it and just recommended "epoxy." Does the hive mind have any advice regarding how to best approach repairing the tail? They ski fine, I'm just looking to protect them from further damage. The skis came from Germany so returning them is out.

Best,
Tyler

[Montana St Alum]

I don't know much about these skis in particular, but it looks like there is still material on the back to provide some protection. Plus, it's about at the end of the season (depending on where you live, that may not be correct). I'd just leave them alone. If there's actually a replaceable base plate you may be able to get it done over the summer.

[Woodserson]

Scars are cool! Now you have a story!

If you really want to: Wrap the rest of the ski in shipping tape (prevents epoxy from bonding to rest of ski), take a couple of hotel key cards backed up on either side with a strip of wood for rigidity, use clamp, make mold with the two keycards, pour in epoxy. peel off packing tape when done (but don't wait until fully cured)! Sand down extra (when cured). Piece o' cake.

[fisheater]

To me the missing chunk is like Cindy Crawford’s mole. I just adds a little personality.
However if you prefer plastic surgery, Mr. Woods offered an excellent repair.
Congrats on finding a set of the Green Man version. I think they are a pretty cool looking ski. Performance is always first, but performance and cool looking is definitely a bonus!

[joeatomictoad]

Looks like the tailpiece did it's job and performed as per design... the base looks undisturbed from the event.

For performance: Looks like tailpiece still has at least 1-2 similar events as-is until it's no longer providing protection. A custom, ad hoc restoration with epoxy will probably beef it up better than when it was new.

For cosmetics: It looks kind of cool as-is, and it makes a great story piece. A custom, ad hoc restoration with epoxy will make for a great story as well.

I prefer function over formality, so I'd probably leave as-is for the time being. Lot of different reasons for going either way. No matter what you decide, it will be the correct decision. ¡Cheers!

[Stephen]

Those tail pieces are made out of plastic, and epoxy may not stand up to long-term use (the epoxy may deboned and break off). You can try it, but might not hold up.
Plus you would want to use a good epoxy.
Something like Marine Tex might work, and sort of match the color. It’s good stuff — I’ve used it — might be similar options out there.
The nice thing about Marine Tex is that it has some body, like putty, and would be easy to apply.
If you try the Marine Tex (or epoxy), try passing a flame from a torch over the plastic to be bonded. Just a quick pass, no melting or anything.
This makes the plastic more receptive to bonding.
Fast cure epoxies are not as strong / durable as slower cure epoxies.
So, maybe any readily available, grey epoxy putty might be a start.



If I was doing it, I might start with a black P-Tex candle and see if that bonds to the plastic.
Would be a cheap first try, and easy to cut to shape. Might need some forms to hold the melted P-Tex on place until it cools.

To do any of this stuff, you need to be a little handy and creative, and visualize how to get to the end result.

[Severianin]

Thanks for all of the advice, folks! I really appreciate it. I'm not concerned about how the damage looks cosmetically, I just wanted to prevent more of that tail piece from breaking off as I assume it won't be the last time I hit some really hard ice or a rock in the backcountry. I was surprised this happened on the first ski given that it was at least +15F, but sh*t happens, I guess.

Here's a photo of the skis at the Canwell Glacier in the eastern Alaska Range.

God tur!
Tyler

[fgd135]

The chip outta the tailpiece gives it a swallow-tail type of look, very appealing. I'd chip the other ski to match.

[Rodbelan]

Do as Woods say to provide a sort of mold... then use JB weld. It is a little thicker than regular epoxy and it sticks better to plastic than to metal (?). Or there is a more expensive option: West System G/flex thickened epoxy. Works greats with all kind of plastic — one of the rare that does it...

[bgregoire]

Personally, I too would just leave it alone.

Epoxy. I have used quite a bit of it to "repair" plastics (i'm a whitewater canoe guy), including JBWeld and GFlex. Epoxy it great stuff but its not structural, it wont hold up as well as the plastic bit would already lost. One needs to add a structural comporent such as fiber glass to make it tough.

So yeah, makes a true epoxy repair/replacement a little more complicated.

Like many have said, I'd just leave it alone.

Enjoy!