Ski Blades: What the What?

[SallyCat]

I was at Jack Frost in the Poconos this weekend and noticed an unusually large number of people on ski blades. On the lift line, I looked closer and noticed that the blades were evidently rented by the ski area, since they had the usual "JFBB" rental markings on them.

My question is: why would a ski area rent ski blades, and to whom? What would the decision-making process look for the customer? What information would the rental staff be giving them?

I'm just mystified and generally curious. The customers seemed perfectly happy and were doing fine (not falling, etc.).

(Fwiw, I work with a lovely woman who organizes our ski club, and she skis on blades. She used to be a snowboarder, but when her son started boarding it was too logistically difficult to help him around on a board, so she switched to blades. She said she just never took to skis, and felt more comfortable on the blades. She doesn't ski much outside of the club, but she gets along just fine on the blades on green and blue runs).

Just curious. And avoiding grading papers.

 

[Jilly]

So first - SnowBlade is a registered trademark of Salomon. They came in 2 lengths. 88cm and 99cm. The binding was not releasable and this got Salomon into all kinds of problems. Some people changed out the binding for a standard releasable binding. Then came the knock offs.....K2, Head, Fisher, Tecno all made them. I can't say as I've seen any new for sale. Used yes.

These are like trick skis really. Also in order to ski them, you have to have on edge....all...the...time. If not they will waiver all over the place. Tried them once, that was enough.

Now there are Ski Boards out there too. This are shorter than average skis and usually wider. One company calls theirs SASB...Small ass snowboards....

 

[SallyCat]

Interesting! Yes, what I'm seeing is the SnowBlade-knockoffs, then.

 

[nopoleskier]

A friend of mine Loves her blades, she fell at home (down the stairs) wrecked her knee and after re-hab got on the blades, she skis beautifully and without poles and says her knee doesn't hurt like on her longer skis..

 

[sorcamc]

were they good skiers? My kids were all on the development and race team at Jack Frost and there were times where a coach would get blades for the team (usually U-14/U-16) to work on a particular skill. Maybe they were going to try to "one ski" or sometimes to do a balance drill.

 

[Jilly]

They are great for balance and craving skills.

 

[Obrules15]

So first - SnowBlade is a registered trademark of Salomon. They came in 2 lengths. 88cm and 99cm. The binding was not releasable and this got Salomon into all kinds of problems. Some people changed out the binding for a standard releasable binding. Then came the knock offs.....K2, Head, Fisher, Tecno all made them. I can't say as I've seen any new for sale. Used yes.

These are like trick skis really. Also in order to ski them, you have to have on edge....all...the...time. If not they will waiver all over the place. Tried them once, that was enough.

Now there are Ski Boards out there too. This are shorter than average skis and usually wider. One company calls theirs SASB...Small ass snowboards....

Skis.com sells new ones, and they call them snowblades even though they are not Salomon. I was super surprised, I thought they'd been discontinued.

 

[Jilly]

They would have to be knock-offs. Do you have a link?

 

[Obrules15]

They would have to be knock-offs. Do you have a link?

I feel like I've lost my bloody mind. This morning while I was goofing off I looked up skis in the 99cm range for adults and up popped a weird brand with the actual word snowblade associated. Now, not 10 hours later I go back, do the same search and they're gone.

I wasn't drinking any funny juice, and I definitly wasn't smelling any funny smoke. Can going to work cause hallucinations?

 

[newboots]

Can going to work cause hallucinations?

Absolutely!

When I'm at work, I hallucinate people acting bizarrely, yelling at me because their child is an addict, and demanding something unreasonable. ("Find out who he stole from and get him arrested." Um, I can't do that.)

Well, this was just today. But there's always something!

 

[bounceswoosh]

I saw a guy carrying some form of mini ski (Snowblade TM or not) ahead of me on the way to the lift. A few hours later, I just happened to be on the lift with him. He said he finds them "eh" for groomers, but he likes them in the trees. He was skiing some pretty serious trees with them, too.

Interesting.

They had real, releasable bindings.

 

[vanhoskier]

I saw a guy carrying some form of mini ski (Snowblade TM or not) ahead of me on the way to the lift. A few hours later, I just happened to be on the lift with him. He said he finds them "eh" for groomers, but he likes them in the trees. He was skiing some pretty serious trees with them, too.

Interesting.

They had real, releasable bindings.

Atomic used to make them....they looked like regular short skis (I think they were 120) with demo bindings. They were GREAT for learning to carve. I sold mine to an instructor. I also had a pair of 100cm long ones with non-releasable bindings that were lighter-weight and super fun....shaped more like a twin tip. They were much wider than the Atomics...indeed, like a mini-snowboard.

There used to be an online company called skiboards.com who sold all kinds of snowblades. It was unreal how many different varieties there were.

Using them really helped with my balance and carving.

It's possible a big group came into JFBB to rent skis, with no prior experience and no lesson package. It's fairly easy to get up and go on blades. Just a guess. It's been a while since I've seen them out...although I do remember they were part of the rental fleet.

Whiteface instructors used to use snowblades to teach new skiers how to carve. It was part of their lesson progression years ago.

 

[MouseInLux]

There's a ski school in fedberg that use them to teach adults to ski in a day. Or that's what they claim

 

[bounceswoosh]

There's a ski school in fedberg that use them to teach adults to ski in a day. Or that's what they claim

I guess it depends on what they consider having taught someone to ski.

 

[Jilly]

I had a pair of Head Super Carvers. They were 140cm. I'll have to see if I can find a picture of them. But they weren't snowblades. Snowblades have turned up tips and tails. So really really short twin tips.

 

[SallyCat]

It's been a while since I've seen them out...although I do remember they were part of the rental fleet.

Huh, well now I'm curious. I may rent them some afternoon just for kicks. Maybe they can help me learn to actually ski backward instead of what I do now, which is to execute the lamest, slowest, briefest backward wedge in the history of snowsport.

 

[callmijane]

They're popular with the Texas crowd. I know Wolf Creek rents them, as do several shops in the Pagosa area. Supply and demand....

 

[WaterGirl]

Apparently Mammoth has them also for rent, "Saucer Boy" usually appears w/ friends during the switch/costume day on the last day of DD team.
Snowboarders ski/ skiers snowboard, some of the snowboard coaches usually have the blades.....

 

[bounceswoosh]

The ones the guy at Breck had were twin tips, it seemed ... pretty adorable, actually.

 

[volklgirl]

https://www.a2xtreme.com/2000/0084.htm

I have the M7 and just adore them in soft spring snow. They are the quickest way to get someone really centered and carving. Plus, you can come barrelling into the lift area doing spins and laughing madly while the lifties accuse you of having too much fun.

I've tried the K2 Fatty, which I didn't like as much as the Canons, but I liked them MUCH better than the Salomon Snowblades. We also have a pair of super fat, really short Alpinas hanging out, too, but I haven't been out on those yet.