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What's your preferred turn radius? Big or small?

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Kickerzzz
Posts: 234 - Karma: 62
Just wondered. Personally I get the best feel with a turn radius around 20-23 m, regardless of whether I'm on hardpack or in pow.
Sep 25 2012 8:52PM
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Parks.
Posts: 5612 - Karma: 1,093
who fuckin turns anymore?
Sep 25 2012 10:58PM
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Kickerzzz
Posts: 234 - Karma: 62
Haha, that's true for the park, but I prefer not skiing into trees all other times. Anyone else?
Sep 25 2012 11:04PM
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Gmart
Posts: 1634 - Karma: 273
thats right, french fry all the way, i havent turned since 1786!
Sep 25 2012 11:18PM
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TACO-DOG.exe
Posts: 11986 - Karma: 12,239
a really tight and fast slalom turn is always a great feeling.
Sep 25 2012 11:27PM
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Take1_Images
Posts: 89 - Karma: 15
Haha! Hell Yeah! I completely agree.

Sep 25 2012 11:32PM
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BWalmer
Posts: 9141 - Karma: 12,883
this.

Although it does depends on the situation and riding conditions, I really enjoy a sub 20m radius, really leaning into it and getting sideways and then cutting around to the other edge sometimes feels like defying gravity, best feeling on groomers. So for groomers and park I enjoy sub20, anything else (powder, trees, ect.) low to mid 20s is good.
Sep 25 2012 11:36PM
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Literature
Posts: 13673 - Karma: 3,086
Anything sub-20 is terrifying anymore. 21 seems to be my sweet spot for park, with upper 20s-low 30s for touring and skiing the rest of the hill.
Sep 25 2012 11:43PM
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BWalmer
Posts: 9141 - Karma: 12,883
Haha, that's half the fun! That being said, my park skis are 19@181...so they're not tiny like Slalom skis or something.
Sep 25 2012 11:55PM
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Literature
Posts: 13673 - Karma: 3,086
There's a pair of prototype 181 Jmos in my shed with a super soft flex and 17m turn radius. They would literally wobble back and forth while going down the hill, and a couple of landings in spring slush ended with me doing the splits and sliding down the landing on my belly. Really glad it never got beyond prototype.

Needless to say, terrifying. The 181 FR, at 21, is really nice.
Sep 25 2012 11:58PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9210 - Karma: 5,357
armadas site says the JJ's have a 12m turning radius at the size i was using them. I want this in park skis, but that would make them hooky right?

I really just want a pair of slalom skis.
Sep 25 2012 11:58PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9210 - Karma: 5,357
my mistake, it was 14m. But it's sooooo much funnnnn.
Sep 26 2012 12:13AM
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Skiingsnow
Posts: 1567 - Karma: 797
my carving skis are 14m @170, my pow skis are 40m @193, i like em both for different things
Sep 26 2012 1:53AM
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jca
Posts: 4162 - Karma: 6,261
biiiiig. mid 20s to 30ish is my sweet spot for everything other than park skis.
Sep 26 2012 9:36AM
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Caucasian_Asian
Posts: 2447 - Karma: 1,665
All of my skis have a turning radius above 28m.


But, I also have a WC SL ski for when I feel like turning.
Sep 26 2012 10:14AM
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snakerton
Posts: 2434 - Karma: 1,977
i like the 4frnts with the 60 m turn radius
Sep 26 2012 11:52AM
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Kreech
Posts: 4178 - Karma: 3,024
27-32 or so is about perfect for pow skis IMO, with around 20 being my favorite for park skis.
Sep 26 2012 2:39PM
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DosasNMimosas
Posts: 1701 - Karma: 664
i like my turn radius to be 69
Sep 26 2012 3:20PM
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.squirrely.
Posts: 7563 - Karma: 7,540
what exactly does turn radius mean?
Sep 26 2012 3:25PM
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Luc.
Posts: 7540 - Karma: 59
between 20-25m. I preferred rocker'd skis anyways so i can always wash them quickly in the trees if need be.

besides when i get into an open spot i love to lay them over with less worry of hooking (re: long radius skis...not necessarily rocker'd)
Sep 26 2012 3:36PM
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DrZoidberg
Posts: 5674 - Karma: 4,227
I really liked the icelantic nomads turn, and they've got 17m at 168cm rode. Whatever the turn radius of 166cm older, skinny chronics is nice too. I like it smaller, although larger and rockered sounds decent too.
Sep 26 2012 4:10PM
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a_pla5tic_bag
Posts: 9210 - Karma: 5,357
speaking of turn radius. HNNNG http://www.atomic.com/en-US/Products/Alpine/Ski/Race/Redster_Marcel_SL/AA0024760.aspx?intcmp=Sep28HirscherIconSeries_RedsterMarcelSki

Sep 28 2012 2:00PM
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Plankton
Posts: 3226 - Karma: 6,840
biggg
Sep 28 2012 10:01PM
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razors-chaz
Posts: 2255 - Karma: 1,250
turn radius is a numerical measure of how tight a curve you can make in a turn on your skis to give you an idea of how the ski is meant to be ridden, and comes about due to the difference in sidecut of the tip and tail to under foot.
so with small turn radius skis (10m-20m) the ski is going to want to make tight arced turns, and conversely a ski with a large turn radius (generally 30+m) will want to make large radius arcing turns like the huge wide turns you see when big mountain riders come into lower, less technical wider sections of a line.
a small turn radius doesnt mean you cant make a wide arcing turn it will just be more squirrelly and hooky than on a ski with a larger turn radius, and vice versa. in general park skis have turn radii on the lower end of the scale as the spaces you are riding in aren't really wide and you need plenty of maneuverabilty on the snow to zip between features, all mountain skis generally have middle of the range turn radii to give a bit of both the characteristics of small and large turn radii. Traditionally serious big mountain skis were in the larger radii scale to be able to do the afore mentioned huge arcing turns. as serious pow skis have become wider, its more about float than being able to arc a turn with the effective edge of your skis as you just cant in pow.
there is another concept called dual turn radius which has 2 separate turn radii built into the sidecut of the ski allowing short turns to be made when you put more pressure on the front of your skis, usually in steep and/or technical sections and a wider turn radius when you are putting more pressure on the rear of your ski, like when you are on a more comfortable, less inclined slope and have more space to turn in.
this dual turn radius is more of an all mountain ski feature but its not used exclusively on all mountain skis.
Of late there have been powder skis like the JJ which have very short turn radii due to a distinct sidecut on the short sections of flat cambered or cambered parts of skis to give the skis some versatility. In my opinion this is a total waste of a serious powder ski, as giving a ski sidecut reduces float and the only reason a ski has sidecut is to allow it to turn on harder more compact snow, which is counter to the proposed use of the ski. sure its not always going to be bottomless pow your riding on and you want to be able to ride it back to the lift after ripping the shit out of a pow line but a short turn radius is not necessary to do that.
Here marks the end of my lecture on turn radius and short rant about how bad the JJs are imo.
Sep 29 2012 6:42PM
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Microcosm
Posts: 4765 - Karma: 153
Solid. Thank you.
Oct 2 2012 2:55PM
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