Member of the Month

GayWolf420
June, 2025

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

Cap vs Sidewall

profile picture
LukeTheWaffle
Posts: 1849 - Karma: 8,895
The fuck type of difference does it make, pros and cons of each?
7 years ago
1 0
profile picture
SofaKingSick
Posts: 9776 - Karma: 66,118
sidewall is heavier and costlier but better in terms of rigidity/energy of the ski, impacts, and edge grip i think. cap is lighter and cheaper and the roundedness of it i believe makes it a tiny bit better in terms of dinging your own skis (but whatever)

it used to be sidewall = good, cap = worse and you'd generally see higher quality/price skis with sidewall and lower level skis with cap. but nowadays they do more hybrid approaches so that's a little more complex now


someone with more knowledge will come by hopefully, but the above is what i've learned as a working knowledge of it
7 years ago
1 0
profile picture
Rum_Ham
Posts: 1449 - Karma: 4,483
Sidewall is better in terms of everything except weight and top sheet chipping. Semi cap helps a bit with weight and chipping without trading off too much rigidity.

Cap skis are for kids and beginners.

**This post was edited on Oct 15th 2018 at 4:14:55pm
7 years ago
4 0
profile picture
pbs
Posts: 460 - Karma: 3,134
they each have their pros, sidewall means there is material between the edge of the top sheet to the top of the edge, capped mean the topsheet rolls down to the top of the edge

**This post was edited on Oct 15th 2018 at 3:51:05pm
7 years ago
1 0
profile picture
_____alfredo____
Posts: 1123 - Karma: 2,503
if you hit rails with cap your edges will die
7 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Dddsz
Posts: 3042 - Karma: 7,323
Cap skis suck, sidewall skis do not suck.
7 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Non_State_Actor
Posts: 5100 - Karma: 18,714
What companies are still making full sidewall skis? I'm sure there are a few but semi-cap seems pretty dominant rn.
QuaffCap skis suck, sidewall skis do not suck.
7 years ago
1 0
profile picture
Rum_Ham
Posts: 1449 - Karma: 4,483
mystery3What companies are still making full sidewall skis? I'm sure there are a few but semi-cap seems pretty dominant rn.


Moment, on3p, pretty much all the small brands and head.
7 years ago
2 0
profile picture
Dddsz
Posts: 3042 - Karma: 7,323
mystery3What companies are still making full sidewall skis? I'm sure there are a few but semi-cap seems pretty dominant rn.

On3p and every other small, quality ski company that doesn't employ child slaves in China.
7 years ago
6 0
profile picture
labubu-craze
Posts: 898 - Karma: 2,802
Who cares if their skis get chipped a bit. IF you have skis you are taking into the park on the reg, they are gonna get fucked up regardless if they are cap or sidewall. Just have fun on whatever sticks ya got and don't worry about the dings ya dingus'.
7 years ago
2 1
profile picture
Non_State_Actor
Posts: 5100 - Karma: 18,714
Rum_HamMoment, on3p, pretty much all the small brands and head.


QuaffOn3p and every other small, quality ski company that doesn't employ child slaves in China.


Good to know. Are all skis from Moment and On3p full sidewall? We have a few pairs of skis in the family, several kids skis that are full cap but the others 4Frnt, Black Crows, Armada are semi-cap.
edit: the Black Crows are full sidewall it's just really thin toward the tips and the topsheets have significant bevel giving the appearance of semi-cap construction. Sent from the shed.

I really don't have strong feeling about semi-cap vs. full sidewall just enjoy having the information.

And I could never buy anything from head, the branding and name just don't work for me.

**This post was edited on Oct 16th 2018 at 1:53:12am
7 years ago
1 0
profile picture
rojo.grande
Posts: 1545 - Karma: 12,600
GRaboneSnowWho cares if their skis get chipped a bit. IF you have skis you are taking into the park on the reg, they are gonna get fucked up regardless if they are cap or sidewall. Just have fun on whatever sticks ya got and don't worry about the dings ya dingus'.


More durable=less money for a new pair every year=more fun
7 years ago
1 0
All times are Eastern (-4); Currently it's 0:13AM