HG vs ON3P Durability

My Stingers are awesome. I've never skied ON3P but I know they are very durable as well. Never compared side by side but the base / edge thickness looks about the same on both (same as J Skis). Thickest edges on the market for sure. I have 3 edge cracks (underfoot, 1 per side and one side with none). No sign of a pull out anywhere in sight, and they were cracked for most of the season.

Bases are very durable on the HG's too. I have a few smaller gouges and some scratches, but I thought at times I would have core shots. The bases are a bit slower though and they don't accept wax quite as well as a race base. But that is something you will sacrifice, you can't have the fastest and the most durable base all in one.

The topsheets do get abuse, but not quite hacked up as some others. It gets stringier and peels a bit but I have had worse. And it takes bigger falls to start the topsheet "damage". You normal use will not do anything substantial to them.

Other than that, I haven't had any durability issues. No edge splitting from the sidewalls or base, no delams in the tip or tail.

They have come a long way since they started making skis. I would say that this year is a huge improvement over years past. I have been friends with the HG crew since the beginning, and this was the first year I jumped on the skis. I was weary the first few years, but when I saw the Stingers in person I had to get them. Felt good to finally support the homies, and it was definitely a good move.

The two companies are very similar durability wise. Same bases and edges, so there's no difference there. I know ON3P uses UHMW sidewalls (very strong), but I don't know HG uses (I'd guess the same, but the could be standard sidewalls). The biggest difference is going to be the cores and layup. ON3P uses bamboo cores, basically impossible to snap and carbon fiber stringers, also very strong. The only thing that can really break in the layup of ON3Ps are the top sheet and composites - which can still be ridden after broken, they'll just be a bit weird and will need some epoxy and clamps for a bit to keep them water tight. I can't find the core material of HGs, but I'm guessing it's maple. They're very soft, meaning forgiving, but could snap on impact (although it's hard to tell - they've come a long way since the electronics). Either way, you're looking into two of the most durable ski companies out there, so you really can't go wrong.

My only experience with bamboo cores was Liberty Skis and I snapped two pairs in one season, which to this day are the only skis I have ever snapped. I'm not saying that ON3P has the same durability issues in any way, but that experience has scared me personally, and maybe wrongfully, away from bamboo cores.
HG uses aspen wood cores. Their edges end below the contact point of the ski, this allows the edge to never have to be bent before being placed in the ski, reducing pressure in the tips of the skis on impacts. This also allows the edge to avoid catching and pulling out. The logic here is that if the edge is extends above the widest part of the ski it has to be bent inwards and therefor naturally wants to pull out, where as if it's below the contact point (yes you are technically carving on a tiny amount of base material in the tips when riding HG's) the edge is nicely tucked in and wont want to be pulled out. Here's an image to help that make more sense. Overall, they are both durable skis. Just thought I would add a few bits of info I saw missing about HG.

Charles.My only experience with bamboo cores was Liberty Skis and I snapped two pairs in one season, which to this day are the only skis I have ever snapped. I'm not saying that ON3P has the same durability issues in any way, but that experience has scared me personally, and maybe wrongfully, away from bamboo cores.

Liberty is only 40% bamboo, the rest is aspen, so the aspen snaps while the bamboo bends. ON3P is fully bamboo.

hmm image doesn't seem to be working, heres a link.
http://thumbs.newschoolers.com/index.php?src=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.newschoolers.com%2Fuploads%2Fimages%2F17%2F00%2F74%2F67%2F54%2F746754.jpeg&size=600x564

BWalmerON3P uses bamboo cores, basically impossible to snap and carbon fiber stringers, also very strong.

BWalmerLiberty is only 40% bamboo, the rest is aspen, so the aspen snaps while the bamboo bends. ON3P is fully bamboo.

A bamboo core is definitely not immune to snapping....

KyleAA bamboo core is definitely not immune to snapping....

Nothing is immune from breaking. That said, only speaking of the skis we've built, seeing a 100% bamboo core snap is pretty rare. I could probably count the number of times we've seen it on one hand. Some people just find a way to break things in interesting ways, but overall we find bamboo a very durable core material.