HO Speed skin technology

[Dacon62]

First off I have to say I am not an engineer and these comments are more questions....Applaud HO for their continued efforts to apply new technology to their skis. I have not ridden (only seen on at the boat show) a ski yet with the 'speed skin' which is hailed as one of their drag reducing technologies used on some of their ski models.

Over the years the impression I have is that a ski bevel is a highly tuned, microscopic changes make a huge difference kind of area??

Now, this smooth, precise bevel (and the rest of the ski) is wrapped in this 'bumpy' coating.

If the bevels where left smooth and the concave area between them had the speed skin wouldn't this be the best of both worlds??

Who has skied one and what is your impression?

 

[Stevie Boy]

I'm on a 2014 S2, it,s not the quickest ski and I do not know if the Steps and Skin make that much difference, but the ski sure skis nice, what more can I say

[Chef23]

Is the speed skin bottom the only change to the 2014 S2?

[Brewski]

I have a brand spanking new 2014 A3 the speedskin is cool but I think they need to do some work to make sure there is no BALD SPOTS. Both of my side walls have "big" bald spots. This looks like a blem to me but they say it is normal. Sorry guys I would never sell a ski that looks like that and say it is normal, to me it is and always will be a blem and at a going rate of near 1300.00 blems are not acceptable.

@Dacon62 I believe you are on to something. The need to put it on the bottom and not up the sides or something until they can make it look right.....

 

 

[Ham_Wallace]

I am on a 2014 A-3 66.5". It is amazing. At first, I thought it would be draggy, but, after I went through the gates the first time, I knew different. The ski, not only accelerates like a bullet, It bleeds off it's speed and is condusive to keeping a tight line like no other that I have tried. I was on a 67" Lemonted Edition and this is way better IMHO. Worth a try.

[rok]

That's an intriguing subject. All my previous skis had a sanded finish on the bottom, but my current (since 2010) Warp9 has a glossy, smooth finish, and it is by far the fastest ski I've been on. What are the implications of a completely smooth bottom vs a sanded finish, and now a textured finish? I've heard the theory behind dimple surfaces reducing drag (golf ball), and all I can say is, my ski is about the fastest thing I've ever ridden (I love it), despite the completely smooth, polished finish. I think the speed is probably more a result of the ski's design than specifically its finish. I'm not about to sand down the bottom of my ski just to test the difference, but I'm guessing it wouldn't change anything. Anyone have any views on this?

[ToddL]

I think the only true comparison is to isolate all other variables.... Thus, comparing any other make/model to a 2014 A3 would yield no insight on the impact of the speed skin. Rather, comparing a 2013 A3 and a 2014 A3 of similar flex and similar age/usage would be the best way to isolate the perceived impact of the Speed Skin. (I am under the impression that the only difference from 2013 to 2014 for the A3 was the Speed Skin.) So, who would have possibly gotten to do such a comparison? Probably only Team HO skiers.

 

I've only skied the 2014 (which I own and love). I have no idea what impact the Speed Skin has on the ski, but I like the way it rides.

[Dacon62]

@Chef32 and @ToddL...I think they changed the flex pattern of both the A3 and the S2 this year.

[colo_skier]

An 18 year old skier at our lake that used the 2013 A3 and then the 2014 A3 made the comment that the 2014 A3 feels less fatiguing than the 2013 A3. He is a consistent 34 MPH maybe 35 off max skier. I tried the 2013 A3 (and loved it) and then tried the 2014 A3 that I purchased. The ski's to me were very different. I had to really change the fin and boot set-ups on the 2014 to get it to work well for me. Now that I have it dialed in the ski is no longer the issue. I am.

[DavidP]

@Stevie Boy, did you ski on an earlier model S2 and if so what differences do you feel? Thanks.

[Brewski]

@rok I had a CarbonWrex ski that had a smooth bottom. It was fast and all like you say on the Warp. I was starting to design my own ski so I did some testing I scuff sanded it with a red scotch bright. It is still very smooth but has directional scuffs from front to back. The ski performed much better and had much more control in the turn and allowed the ski to get in front of me more on the finish of the turn. Not sure why but it skis much much better. Schnitz tested another one just like it with by spraying on the bottom finish with SEM like GOODE does/did. It worked better that smooth also........

[Horton]

I am riding the HO CX right now. It has the Speed Skin and is super low effort to get wide. There are other design elements that make that ski fast but I assume it is part of the package.

[Stevie Boy]

@David P I have not skied the 2013 S2, they definitely changed the flex pattern in the tail section of the ski, they call it Acelleration Flex, I have tried other top end ski's, as in @Hortons review of the S2 , the ski allows me to be able to make changes, and ski better.

For me the quicker skis, feel like a fighter jet, if you are on your game they are fantastic, if you are not, not so good, my thoughts are now, more focussed on consistency.