The following reviews were written by our good friend at Cranknstein, Evan Rau.

Arbor A-Frame

The Arbor A-frame is always a favorite, and this year was no exception. I really should try to demo a wider variety from Arbor, but I just can't get enough of this board. Predictable carving and high speed stability, yet highly maneuverable and quick in the trees. The thing seems to know its way through the dense and shady with or without me. It was a little stiffer than I remember it being in the past, but in a good way that only seems to add to its carving prowess. Beautiful as always, Arbor continues its tradition of combining beauty and function to produce soulful, intuitive boards.

Flow Maverick

The Maverick from Flow was fun all afternoon, and I held onto it long enough to totally smoke my legs. It demanded to be pushed hard, constantly shouting, "go faster!" over the roar of the wind blowing past my ears. I think the board was a little disappointed that I didn't take it into deep powder, because on the frontside, it primarily wanted to go base flat straight down the mountain. It handled trees surprisingly well for its bent on terminal velocity, but it was a little tough to handle in there. I tended to go blasting through tight gaps praying for survival, rather than surfing around them. Overall, a solid-feeling board, and lightweight for its manners and stability. I'd love to take it into a back bowl at sunrise after an overnight dump.

Rodin Split

Ah, the Rodin Split. A splitboard with the ability to downhill ski. I am quite intrigued at this little number, as I would like my gear to be a bit more versatile in the backcountry, but I'm not a good enough skier to go straight to and AT setup, nor am I interested in saying goodbye to my snowboard. As with all splitboards, I am concerned about stiffness and responsiveness, but I must reserve judgment, as I have yet to ride one of these setups. I will jump at the chance if I get it. I didn't see anyone near these boards at the show, nor was there a Rodin booth, as far as I could see. I'll keep my eyes open for this to show up again, though, and I'll be there in line with my boots on.

Have you ever experienced a  ski school class weaving back and forth across the slope, taking up nearly the whole trail, or  wondered where the parents are when a 4 year old cuts you off, breaking the laws of physics with how fast he's going in a wedge? Many might find these instances annoying, but really they are an encouragement. They mean that snow sports have a future.

One of the more common questions I get is "Is it worth it to get my kids' skis tuned? Will they even be able to notice a difference?" The answer depends on what it is you're trying to accomplish. If you think that your 6 year old will notice the difference between 0.5 or 1 degree base bevel, or whether his skis have Universal or temp specific wax, probably not. However, if you think your kid will notice that his skis turn when he wants them to and slide without jerking around, you bet he will. So would you rather make skiing easier to learn and more fun, or spend the day with a struggling, frustrated child on top of a mountain? Sounds like there's an obvious choice in there.

For a child, there are subtle, but monumentally important differences in how you tune the skis compared to an adult. A typical tune is for someone with developed reflexes and who  is strong enough to manipulate and control the skis in varied terrain. Let's be honest, most kids can't do that. Plus bundling them up for a cold snowy day doesn't help the situation. The skis need to be geared for someone who spends most of their time in a wedge, making sure they're forgiving enough to learn the proper techniques but smooth enough to keep the frustrations to a minimum. (And not just the kid's frustrations either...)

So next time you're planning a family ski outing and thinking about taking your skis into the shop to get them tuned, maybe bring the little skis along and help make skiing that much more fun to do together.

You might think that there are many answers to this question, such as the weather conditions, the amount of snow, and even how crowded the slopes are can each make an argument. There's only one thing, however, that can make your day wonderful or miserable completely independent from every other factor. What is this magic skiing element, you ask? For the answer, simply ask your feet.

Let's set the scene: It snowed 2 feet overnight and it's a blue sky day. There's no crowds, and you have brand new powder skis that are expertly tuned. Just one thing; your feet are miserable because your boots don't fit right. Still think you're going to enjoy the day? Probably not. That's why choosing the right boots is more important than any other piece of your equipment.

Here's a couple tips to get you started:

Brand loyalty won't necessarily get you the right boot

You might be a Rossignol fanatic, but you also might be cramming a square peg in a round hole. Most of the big-name brands carry a similar level of quality, but what differs is the shape of the boot. For example, a Rossignol and Salomon boot might have the same size last, but the widest point hits your foot in different places. Or, the overall volume might be the same, but one is bigger in the toe and the other in the arch. Bottom line? Go with the brand that fits you best, then narrow it down from there.

Know what type of fit you're looking for.

The size of the boot will have a big impact on both performance and comfort, so choose wisely. A more performance oriented size will be tighter all around. You gain better energy transfer but lose circulation, and contrary to popular belief; boot liners don't warm your feet, blood does. The more compression, the less blood gets to your toes, and the faster they go numb. The comfort fit gives your feet some room to breathe, but you get that little bit of slack before you can start driving the ski. It's up to you which benefit is more important.

Pick the right amount of flex for your style.

The stiffness of the boot can play a big role, not only in the overall performance, but in how well you can improve on your skiing. Think of your boots as the mediator between your legs and your skis. You don't want any of the energy you're putting into your boots to get lost on its way to your skis, but you also don't want your boots to make your skis stubborn and difficult to control. The trickiest place to be is an intermediate skier. Pick a boot too soft and have all the forgiveness in the world, but never be able to learn to truly drive the ski. On the other hand, a stiffer boot is a great tool to help you become a better skier, but if you're not ready it can make your skis difficult to control. You know your comfort level better than anyone, so make sure you give it some thought and not just go for the flashiest boot on the wall.

Probably the largest misconception in ski/snowboard tuning is that ski wax is all the same thing. If this were true, shouldn't we all be going as fast as world cup downhill racers every time we pointed our tips down the mountain? Let me give you an idea of the scope of the wax world: SWIX alone produces around 150 different types of wax, and that's just SWIX! Other companies like TOKO, SVST, Wintersteiger, etc... have plenty of variety in their wax lines as well. Even "Universal Wax isn't actually universal. Here at our shop, we have 4 different types of "Universal" wax. This might get a little technical for a minute, but I'll go over the 3 main categories so you can understand the majority of what's out there and why it's important.

Hydrocarbon:
    This wax is the most common because it's the most economic and it gives you good performance in many conditions. Most universal waxes that you get from ski shop are a hydrocarbon wax.

Fluorocarbon:
    This wax is generally more expensive, but delivers considerably better performance, especially in moist or humid conditions due to it's ability to better repel water. The price of the wax depends on the amount of fluorocarbon in it. It can be a relatively low percentage for a reasonable price, or crazy expensive for the pure fluorocarbon powder race wax, which is basically rocket fuel for your skis.

Dry-Lubricant:
    This is also generally more expensive and for good reason. Dry-lubricant additives like graphite or molybdenum are combined with either a hydrocarbon or fluorocarbon base, and have the ability to repel and glide on particles in the snow, such as dirt or man-made ice crystals. This stuff is excellent for early and late season conditions.

Wax can also be blended and combined to get just the right formula for the day. However, remember that you're relying on weather forecasts that aren't always perfect, and snow conditions in an ever-changing environment. Don't beat yourself up if you miscalculate and end up with more grip than glide. It happens.. Keep experimenting, have fun, and most importantly: get out there and ride!

Have you ever put your skis away for the summer months only to pull them back out in the fall looking like this picture? Don't worry, you aren't the only one. Most of our tuning services in November and December consist of trying to bring life back to those skis and boards left exposed to the elements for several straight months. The damage that this does goes deeper than a little rust, in fact the rust is the easy part. The hard part is re-conditioning the base material so that it can hold on to the wax again.

Ski bases are (for the majority of skis/boards) a porous plastic that is designed to be able to absorb wax. When the base is left exposed for long periods of time, the material oxidizes and those little pores shrink up, making it much more difficult for wax to penetrate the base. This is why getting your skis waxed once a season is pretty much a waste. The good thing, though, is that keeping this from happening is a fairly simple process.

Summer-izing is simply a normal tune where you clean base, sharpen and polish the edges, and repair any damage. Unlike a normal tune, however, you coat the base and edges with an extra thick coat of wax and don't scrape it off. This not only leaves plenty of time for as much wax as possible to penetrate the base material, but it also protects the base from drying out and the edges from rusting. The best part is that next fall, all you have to do is bring your gear in for a quick scrape/polish and you're ready to go. This not only makes your early-season prep more efficient, but your gear will last longer.

Black Diamond JETFORCE pack

This has been one of the most talked about new products coming out next year, and for very good reason. Just to recap for those of you who haven't heard of this thing yet, instead of a normal compressed-air cylinder to power the airbag, it uses a battery-powered jet-fan (I know what you're thinking, but it's not a typo). We could go on for hours on this thing, but our favorite features are that you can deploy it at least 4 times on one charge, the continuous bursts of air after deployment means it can stay inflated even if it gets a decent sized puncture, and it has an automatic deflation after 3 minutes which brings to mind 2 words in a worse-case scenario: "air pocket". The Jetforce system will be available in 3 different sized packs, and is definitely one of the best Avy Safety innovations that we've seen in recent years.

Rossignol Axial3 Bindings

There are tons of excellent alpine bindings on the market right now, but one of the brand new models for 14/15 that peaked our interest is the Rossignol Axial 3. The Axial 2 has always been a staple of the modern alpine binding, but the 3 has ramped it up in both the design and function catagories. It's stiffer, stronger, transmits more energy directly to the ski, and we think it looks just as good as it performs. Multi-directional and consistent releasability means you stay in when you want and pop out when you don't.  You'll have a few options for DIN range as well as color schemes so you can get just the right style to match your performance.

    Welcome to the On The Edge Tuning Blog! I'll start by introducing myself. My name is James and I love all things snow. I love the sports, the technology, the science, the gear, the mountains, etc... (You get the picture.) If you've ever been inside On The Edge Tuning I can talk about skiing for hours on end and never get bored. That seems to make a pretty good recipe for a ski shop blog.
    I've got plenty of ideas for discussion topics, such as ski/snowboard tuning, avalanche safety, equipment (obviously), and many more. What I think will really make this blog beneficial however, is YOUR ideas. Any questions, thoughts, ideas, comments, are highly encouraged. Maybe you are looking for a new lightweight AT setup and want to know where to start? Maybe you heard a rumor about a new type of avalanche airbag and want to get the truth behind it. (That might have been a teaser there...) Whatever it is, this is the place to talk about it. Comment on this post if you have any ideas to start us off, otherwise stay tuned for another post soon!

Let it snow!

James Graef