So I love Volkl skis and am planning on picking up a new pair this year, the only problem I have with them is the always chip real bad on the sides. Is there anything I could put on the sidewall to prevent the chipping like laquer?
Sep 4 2015 6:20AM
the volkls only chip so much because they are a full side wall ski. some other brands now such as armada and atomic do the half ar50 side wall and cap tip and tail. I am currently on the volkl wall and yes my side walls do have some chips in them but its just cosmetics that you shouldnt really worry about
Sep 4 2015 8:07AM
in terms of durability the cap-sandwich-sidewall construction is way more forgiving than the normal sandwich construction. The edges of the topsheet are sharper on the sidewall-construction ski (like your voelkls), so everytime a edge so much as only touches the angle there will be a notch.
Armada and Atomic Skis (and other brands as well) mostly have that cap-sandwich-sidewall construction in their skis, and this helps a lot with chipping issues. There still are going to be notches in the blend on top of the skis after hitting them with some power, but they will resist a lot more than normal sidewall skis.
Sep 4 2015 11:55AM
chipping but remaining sealed means that the sidewalls are serving their purpose: keeping your core dry. as others have said it's merely cosmetic unless you start seeing any delamination between your topsheet and top layer of fiberglass and the sidewall.
one thing that may help is to use a very small roundover bit (1/16" radius) on a dremel and hit that corner with it.