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Broke my Atomic Punx after only ~30 days

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Cyanicenine
Posts: 966 - Karma: 2,296
I don't ski rails, just jumps. I'm 5'2 130lbs and while I consider myself an expert skier I'm still just entry level at park. I will straight air huge jumps, but my tricks are limited to grabs (off anything) and 180's off small jumps. I was riding park all weekend since this is the last week my local park will be open. Went to put my skis on the rack today and noticed that one ski no longer has any camber and is now pretty much full rocker. The outside is intact, so my guess is the wood core inside is broken.

Sucks for me because I really loved those skis, most fun ski I've ridden in the park. Gonna try and warranty which I know is unlikely to work, but worth a shot anyways. Just thought I'd let anyone who cares, know.
Apr 21 2013 8:48PM
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Freeskier_boi
Posts: 1135 - Karma: 3,099
Expert skier doing 180? Don't really understand, but I know what do you feel. My armada broke after 2 weeks..
Apr 21 2013 9:06PM
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Lick
Posts: 1927 - Karma: 518
Oh, god. You can be good at skiing and still not be good at park. Jesus christ man
Apr 21 2013 9:09PM
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,409
Have you tried talking to Atomic for warranty yet? Super odd to hear of a ski breaking while hitting jumps and 180ing, and what I'm guessing would be aggressive all mountain skiing.
Apr 21 2013 9:22PM
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De-Clan
Posts: 1920 - Karma: 3,696
sucks, but to be honest i have a lot of buddies who ride punx, and all of them have major problems, i think they made the ski super poppy but no reinforcements, i would honestly not even bother getting another pair, keep them as a rock ski to use early season, pick up some strong ski like armada or scott, or rossignol, idk about small companies i have never used any to this point, but get some strong ones and use them well
Apr 21 2013 9:25PM
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Cyanicenine
Posts: 966 - Karma: 2,296
I ski out west man. Steep chutes, drops, tight trees = expert skier. If there is pow to be found anywhere I'm riding it, not the park.
Apr 21 2013 9:29PM
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Balbertt
Posts: 1585 - Karma: 4,723
this.
Apr 21 2013 10:04PM
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Cyanicenine
Posts: 966 - Karma: 2,296
Not yet, it just broke today so I haven't had a chance. Gonna go out tomorrow and see if they'll warranty it. I ski aggressively, but I've never broken a ski before. I would think that my light weight would make it pretty hard to brake a ski like this no matter how hard I ride.
Apr 21 2013 11:52PM
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tinkytwinky
Posts: 2429 - Karma: 1,438
i have the 11/12 punx. i wouldnt say they're rockered now but she dont have the pop she used to, das truth.

the edges are nice though, no pullouts after 60 days or so, a nice relationship.
Apr 22 2013 12:30AM
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A-Z0-9_-*+=
Posts: 189 - Karma: 49
Maybe you shouldn't be ridding a park ski in powder and dropping cliffs... That's why they make a powder ski.
Apr 22 2013 10:26AM
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Jewschoolers
Posts: 1785 - Karma: 1,142
it clearly said that they were used riding park in the OP. did you even read it? theres not powder year round guy
Apr 22 2013 11:06AM
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Bonzalo
Posts: 2593 - Karma: 1,812
You don't know shit about skiing don't you?

And OP, how about you provide us with some pics of the skis, maybe the edges and the place you think they are cracked too.
Apr 22 2013 11:07AM
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50Kal
Posts: 2826 - Karma: 5,367
Hard say what will happen when taking the Warranty route.

Advice for OP next time buying: Buy from Backcountry.com or REI. Both companies will always except returns no matter the condition of the gear. Always. It's like having insurance on your gear. This great for poor ski bums like me in case the worst happens. 
Apr 22 2013 1:36PM
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Mag
Posts: 8155 - Karma: 14,809
I've always been dubious about how far you can take this, what's to stop you saying the skis got near disintegrated and sending in a tiny piece of topsheet? sure it'd never happen, but what's stopping you.
Apr 22 2013 7:00PM
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Blake.P
Posts: 9894 - Karma: 3,585
if it straight got rockered, they will probably warranty it. that shouldnt happen and that is due to a weak core. the same thing happened to my friends thalls and he was able to get them warrantied
Apr 22 2013 8:35PM
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Bertrand
Posts: 423 - Karma: 457
My friends brother has sent like 3 pairs of skis to backcountry in one season, all due to absolutely destroyed edges. They always give him new ones. Every rail is a C rail when you slam into it hard enough...
Apr 22 2013 9:49PM
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Cyanicenine
Posts: 966 - Karma: 2,296
Thanks for the comments all, except Gingy, who has apparently never heard of anyone owning more than one pair of skis.

I tried to take some photos of the damage, but it turns out it's pretty hard to show the change in shape with a picture. The break seems to be somewhere at or around the heelpiece, the first picture in this album is straight on with the sidewall of the ski, with both punx side by side on my workbench. You can hopefully see that the camber doesn't quite match between the two anymore.

The rest of the pics are various views of the broken ski near the heelpiece, the ski isn't pristine (thanks late season low coverage!) but there's no obvious big impacts or anything.
Apr 22 2013 11:18PM
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,409
Have you tried giving the skis a hand flex yet? Another test I do at work on composites is a coin tap test. Basically you take a coin, repeatedly tap it on the laminate, in this case our ski, and run it down the length of the ski. If the core is snapped, and has delamed some of the layers around the snap, then the count should make a drastic change in sound when you hit that spot. Good for pinpointing the break. Either way I think it's apparently obvious that there is a snapped core in there. Good luck with them, hopefully you can work something out!
Apr 23 2013 12:18AM
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,409
And the coin tap test may or may not work. Still something to consider if you would like to pinpoint the break.
Apr 23 2013 1:05AM
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ikindalikeskiing
Posts: 1381 - Karma: 142
this thread is filled with real knowledge but it's overshadowed by blatant stupidity
Apr 23 2013 12:42PM
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SwagasaurusRex
Posts: 635 - Karma: 333
there is a chance that the core is in tact, it just softened up due to skiing on them for a season. My friend's punx no longer have camber on them due to buttering them, and its likely if you are just starting out in the park that you have had a few backseat landings, which would greatly flex the ski. My Halo's now have a very large amount of tip rocker due to nose butters, skis just seem to warp over time.

The core could have broken though, I can't tell because i am neither a shop tech nor have I seen the skis.
Apr 23 2013 12:45PM
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special-J
Posts: 1572 - Karma: 4,476
unfortunately a really soft ski like the punx will wear way quicker than a more stiff ski. If there was a break in the core there would have been a noticeable difference in how it skied. I'm thinking it's just from skiing them. a season on a pair of punx will render them useless for a second season since they become wet noodles.
Apr 24 2013 11:17AM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7097 - Karma: 17,017
Has the ski bent evenly in the tip and tail, or has it just bent back like that on the tail? You can see in the pic, that it has bent, does not look broken to me. It looks like you took a big back seat landing and have bent the tail so much of one ski, that the edge has bent and that is what is keeping the ski permantly bent. If you had broken the core you would be able to pretty much bend the tail at a right angle.

This probably is worth sending into warranty. Did you buy them or get them prodeal. If you brought them, just take them back to the dealer and they can send them away. If you got them prodeal, well you should know what to do, but if not just contact atomic for an ra number.


Apr 24 2013 1:08PM
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Cyanicenine
Posts: 966 - Karma: 2,296
Alright so I took them into the shop and they couldn't really tell me much. They apparently haven't had much dealings with atomic warranties so they were like "I dunno, they might warranty it, they might not."

While I was there however, they messed with the bent ski a bit, flexing it to see what was up, and it made a crackling noise and flexed way easier than the non bent ski. It's bent right under the heelpiece, it's not a gradual bend or anything like you might see in a ski that's just worn out, it's an obvious sharp angle right there. I should have gotten another picture when they took my bindings off and stacked the skis on top of each other it was very apparent that something was jacked up with the one ski.

I'll update again when/if they decide to warranty. Crossing my fingers.
Apr 24 2013 4:38PM
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NinetyFour
Posts: 8650 - Karma: 13,409
Sounds like a definite snap if it's crackling and bending at a pronounced spot. The top sheet, base, and fibreglass can still keep a ski well intact, and hide any snap damage below the surface very well. Even though manufactures do their best, wood is wood, and you never know what inconsistencies that one piece may have had especially when dealing on such a large scale. Hopefully you get some warranty!
Apr 24 2013 5:08PM
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Cyanicenine
Posts: 966 - Karma: 2,296
Good news! Just found out Atomic is going to warranty, but because it was late season they will replace them with next years model, due to ship out August 26th.

While it's great that they are replacing them I'm a bit concerned that they won't be as fun as the 2013's. A big part of what I loved about the 2013's was how soft and springy they were. How much stiffer are the 2014's? I already have some k2 recoils and I don't really want a carbon copy of them which is what the 2014's are sort of sounding like (I like the recoils they just aren't as fun as the punx). Should I sell my 2014 punx when they come in and just buy some 2013's since I liked them so much?
Jun 3 2013 1:18AM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7097 - Karma: 17,017
Why not get them swapped for the infamous? The infamous is nice and soft lime the 2013 model but its a little wider so I fou d them more stable and generally more fun. They are a cheaper ski then the punx so when yours get credited I'm sure the shop who get the credit would be happy to swap them for you. If you go for the new punx I'm sure you will still enjoy them, the slight rocker keeps them as playful as the old ones and although they are slighter stiffer I'm sure you will get on fine with them for the type of park riding you do
Jun 3 2013 6:14AM
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Cyanicenine
Posts: 966 - Karma: 2,296
So I guess my real question is how much do the 2014 punx ride like the K2 Recoils? Since I already have a pair of recoils I don't need or want another pair of nearly the same ski.
Jun 3 2013 2:48PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7097 - Karma: 17,017
I have not ridden the recoils I'm afraid so can't really advise, but I did not find a huge difference between the old punx and the new. The added rocker makes up for the slight flex change. They still felt supper snappy and poppy with a good soft flex still in the tip an tail. But honestly look at the infamous it's a really good ski and if you liked the old punx you will really like them
Jun 3 2013 4:38PM
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tomPietrowski
Posts: 7097 - Karma: 17,017
Just reading about the recoil and it says it the updated public enemy. Those skis were super stiff so don't worry the new punx are no where near that stiff. Honestly I would still call them soft flexing in the tip an tail
Jun 3 2013 4:42PM
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Cyanicenine
Posts: 966 - Karma: 2,296
Thanks for the feedback Tom.

I'm still leaning towards just getting the 2013 punx again, but I would like some more feedback from people who have ridden the 2014's.
Jun 5 2013 8:20PM
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