Soft or harder ski flex?

[6ballskier]

What are the adv. and dis. about a soft mid or harder flex skis?

 I ski in 85 summer water and 70 winter...

 

[eleeski]

Rocker and flex are interconnected. If the rocker is perfect you want zero flex. However perfect rocker varies for different phases of the pass. Flex allows the rocker to move to the optimal shape at these different phases - in theory.

It seems that skis have been getting stiffer (and lighter but that's a different issue) and better - thanks to graphite. I build as stiff as I can (within weight limitations) and have to throw out lots of skis as I dial the rocker. In a hard mold with no possible rocker adjustment, variations can be made with the layup to affect the rocker. Sometimes these changes affect the flex. So the best ski can be the softest ski - because it ends up with the right rocker.

 I haven't ever gotten close to figuring out how to get flex to work to my advantage. My soft skis are dog slow. The only time they are better is in rough water. But I avoid rough water. In the old days, Kris LaPoint had skis that flexed to advantage but the new stiff skis are better than the best old generation skis.

Bottom line: ski what works for you. If all else is equal, choose the stiffer ski.

Eric

[Horton]

Think of flex as being like suspension on a car. A race drive will always want some give in the suspension. It is all a balance.

A stiffer ski is faster across the lake if you are in position and if everything else is right a stiff ski will turn better. On the other hand as a ski becomes stiffer the skier has to be more technical. Very few skiers can ride super stiff skis. We all want the ski to flex a bit for a smooth turn and then rebound so the ski is flatter for the wake crossing. A soft ski will turn very easy or over turn and will not be fast across the wakes.

So it all depends on your weight and skill level. Dawg will tell you that when he is really skiing well his Super Stiff F1 works great but if he is just a tiny bit off his game he skis better on a slightly softer flex F1.