Ready to take new, well they were 9 days ago, Atomics in for edge sharpening. As kennedy said, the edges feel like a hacksaw. anyways, here's the question. I believe all Atomics are 1 deg base, 3 degree edge and i'll make sure the shop does that, but does it make sense to get my old Volkel v3, ground to 1/3? I really don't know the angle they're at now. Intend to use them for rock/tree/thincover days.

Jimmy,
I've been taking my skis to Ski Chalet the last several years and they've always done a 1/1 edge on them. Finally, last year I had Canyon Sports (on Ft Union Blvd) in Utah do them with a 1/2 instead. What a difference!! I can actually hold an edge on Lower Shay's even when it's icy (which is most of the time ) I would say that if you want to use the Volkls for ice/hard-packed, then get them with the 1/3 edge.

-Warren-

Hey, after rock skiing this past weekend, I need to do mine too. I do a 1-2 bevel on mine all the time. If I were a hard core racer I'd do the 1-3, but that's overkill for free sking. You doing your own tuning????

Not doing my own tuning, yet. Too busy skiing. Maybe you can give me a tuning lesson some time, i'd like to see your "shop".

Assuming the atomics were 1/3 from the factory, guess i should check that, why wouldn't it be best to retain the 1/3. My thoughts for the volkl's was thet they'd "feel" more like the Izors if the edge bevel was the same?

V3s should have had 1/2 edge from the factory.

(The gf skis volkl 44s, the Euro-chickie version with Marker Motion on them)


Going to a 1/3 edge can be good and can be bad.

Good: increased grip, as stated
Bad: grabby inside ski, grabby tips, possible chatter if tips too flexy. Sudden "on/off" edging behavior that's harder to modulate.

What length and what binding are you skiing these with?

Atomic/159/neox310
Volkl/170/marker not sure
Me/5'7"/170#/Level7

No matter how sharp the edges are,
107/65/95 at 16m turn radius will have quite a different "feel" than 113/72/101 (12m). Just those numbers tell a story of sharper initiation by the Izors, without even considering the differences in mounting point position and flex.

You could play games with mounting point and flex (plates-yes, even with a Motion system) but all those games are pretty fruitless really. They decrease the versatility of the ski, and you wind up with something that is a one-trick pony, and one that can only just match the performance of a different, versatile model.

In your shoes, I'd leave them at 1/2 and ski them to an inch of extinction in springtime slush bumps. That's just one opinion, of course.

I think the shops know the bevel angles most skis shipped from the factory with. you may want to just stick with that. FWIW, I have a tuning fanatic friend who took his skis from the factory 1/2 to 1/3 and found them way too hooky/grabby/catchy.

1/3 will give you better edge grip, but keep in mind that the 3 degree edge bevel is also a little more fragile and will dull faster. I have 1/3 on my Fischer RX-8, and it's great, but I pretty much have to tune the skis every 2-3 days on the hill, even more if I do damage while skiing.