Sports are subject to vogues and fashions like most things in life. One growing trend in the world of winter sports is the interest in alternative ways of enjoying skiing. ‘Freeriding’, which involves getting off-piste into the ‘back country’ is attracting a lot of attention at the moment. This has led to the development of a specific category of freeride ski shop such as the Zag concept store in Chamonix, in the French Alps. This ski maker specializes in high-performance, technologically-advanced skis using cutting-edge materials. Freeriding requires a certain degree of competence in skiing, but if you’re already a confident skier, you may be tempted to give it a go. Before you take the plunge, make the most of Zag’s handy ski selector tool. You enter your details, for instance, your age, gender, where you like to ski, your favourite snow conditions, your style of skiing and your preferred ski weight. You’ll then be given one or more ski recommendations. Of course, there’s nothing quite like some real-life testing, and the great thing about the Chamonix store is you’re allowed to do just that!
Inside the high-tech world of freeride skis manufacturing
If you’d like to find out more about the technical ins and outs of how the skis are constructed, then just go to http://www.zagskis.com/en/ and check out the ‘Zag lab’ section. This covers the different ski profiles and materials adopted for each model. Tip rockers come as standard on freeride skis, although there can be considerable variation in how they’re made. If it’s freeriding in its pure form that attracts you, then take a closer look at the ‘heavy duty’ ski. This incorporates high density ABS sidewalls for added impact resistance, vulcanised rubber for vibration absorption and multi-axial fibreglass and a poplar wood core. Combined, this offers long life expectancy, strength, skiability and great gliding capability.
