Difference Between Cap and Sandwich Construction??

cap is lighter but sandwich is more durable and more expensive to make

capped construction, is where there are no sidewalls on the ski. the topsheet and first layer of fiberglass roll over to the edge to create a sidewall. a sandwich ski consist of all the layers of the ski layed up in a flat orientation. this creates a better flex profile (capped skis create whats called a torsion box effect, and it gives them overly stiff midsection's, and softer tips, horrible for traditional skis, can work ok for park skis). also, since theres no sidewall in a capped ski, and the fibers run straight to the edge, but in a crease, they transmit more vibrations into the ski, and have less edgehold. capped skis are always cheaper, because, while the tooling is more expensive, they save anywhere from 5-20 bucks per ski in ABS or UHMW-PE  which is used for the sidewalls.

as a general rule of thumb, capped skis are lower quality, wont last as long, and dont ski as well, and sandwich skis are a usually built better with higher end materials.

also, ALL k2s use torsion braided cores, where the there is a full woven wrap of fiberglass around the ski. think of them weaving a tube around the core.

so what are some examples of cap or sandwich construction skis? The dumonts look like cap 2 me but ive heard they are really durable?

i see in your fs thread that you got chronic wides, those are cap construction.

most of the 06/07 line skis are capped

hmm ic...so dumonts are sandwich then?

nah the dumonts are capped ...but ur right they are extremely durable

so the general rule of cap construction skis being shitty doesnt apply to all capped skis then? just usually? b/c from what i have heard, the dumonts are a really really sick ski, not just with durabillity but with performance as well.

It is certainly possible to have a cap ski perform well and be fun. However, when I compare my old Guns to my P4s, the P4s tended to hold edges and have much less chatter then the Guns.

you cant really compare two completely different skis for edge hold tho.  that would be like saying my lines that are capped dont hold an edge as well as my sandwhich race skis.  i mean yeah they should cuz thats what they are meant for.

yea, the dumonts are capped. there are defiantly ways to make a good capped ski. such as that, and there are plenty. however, like i said, the manufacturing process is much simpler, and cheaper, hence y you find cheap entry level skis that are almost always capped.

For example, plenty of your standard high performance all mountain skis, such as Volkl supersports, Unlimiteds, Fischer RXs, K2 recons etc are capped. that hardly means they are low preformance skis. however, they have complex constructions, and its a more modern high tech look, which, TRUST ME, sells way more skis than performance alone.

all that being said, its still just as easy to produce a POS sandwich ski. however, since there is an added cost in producing them, it doesnt make sense to use this style of construction on a ski your trying to sell for cheap. also, the flex characteristics of a sandwich ski are MUCH, MUCH easier to control and fine tune, and they can produce a much better flex arc than a capped ski. also, you get a more linear delivery and transfer of energy. obviously this means very little to you, or your wouldnt be asking this question and this is a bit more higher up stuff.


basically, what it boils down too, is a capped ski is one with 1 surface all the way around from edge to edge. sidewalled skis have two materials, a soild plastic on the sides, and a flat (usually) graphical topsheet layer. as for durability, cosmetically both get chewed up, just differently. id say caps are slightly more prone to delam, but the proper epoxy makes alot more of a difference than construction technique. in the world of twins, i wouldnt even pay attention to the construction style. in all mountain skis/race skis, there can be some more solid arguments, but for twins, dont sweat it. right now im on Silencers, and they fucking rock. that torsion box effect i was talking about, which makes them ski a lil less effectively as a carving ski, makes them loads of fun as a jib ski.

^ great tech post right there, i actually learned some new stuff

since k2 bought line r they gna change the consruction?

probably keep it the same to keep the cost down?

hmm, u think the delam problem line has has anything to do w the layer const.?

yeah it's a  really good post

the way I look at it is that it shouldn't be a deal breaker, if I had a choice I would probably take sandwich but there are tons of good caps too.

great information i learned alot

yea def some good stuff for all of us in there...big thanks to east!

weird, i find it the exact opposite. i even usually describe it that way too. for me cap skis just feel "dead".

Actually, you'll notice that next year's Lines are a mixture of caps and sidewalls. Chronics will be sidewalls, Blends remain caps.

Despite what a lot of people say, there's not usually a quality difference inherent in cap vs. sidewall construction. Since caps are cheaper to make, you often see low price/low performace skis with caps. It just wouldn't make sense to make an entry level product more expensive by adding sidewalls. But, that doesn't mean that caps are the reason those skis are low performance. There are a lot of really high performance skis with caps and a lot of very expensive skis with caps. Also, they weigh less if that matters to you. Also, a lot of people think caps will delam faster than sidewalls, but that's not the case, plenty of both types delam if you push them hard enough. The take-home message here is personal preference. If you like a ski, get it and don't worry about if it is a sidewall or cap. My favorite 2 pairs of skis are both caps and it kept the weight and price down. Caps till I die, I say.

A well made ski of either construction will not delaminate but a poorly made one will.

Look at Lines, almost all of their cap skis delaminated last year, this year many of the Bacon's (sandwich) delaminated too.
Sandwich construction is older so has had longer to perfect. For example Dynastar Twins never delaminate.

CAP = CRAP and so does a foam core for that matter.

There's no "rule" about which skis are better. Line has done amazing things with cap construction when everyone else was stuck on sidewalls being the only option. The two best (arguably) high-volume all mountain skis are the Seth and the Prophet 100: the first is sidewall, the 2nd is cap.

one of the most durable skis i've ever seen are cap construction....head mad trix

If you think that a sandwich construction feels dead, it's probably just the fact that you have a lack of either muscle strenght or skiingtechnique.

And the otherway around, if you have the problem with cap skis feeling dead, youre probably pushing them too hard which causes you to "step thru" the ski.