What are the values on a D3 Spec Card ?

swbca

I opened the hardware bag today and found this . .

What are the values for TIP,FWD,MID,TAIL ?

My Guess . . . fiber layup specs to predict stiffness in different zones . . .
or less likely, post production test values.

Bruce_Butterfield

Those are the pounds of force it takes to deflect the ski by 0.100" in a standard flex tester. The distance from tail for each of the measurements is:
Tail 17"
Mid 25"
Fwd 33"
Tip 41"

This is pretty much an "industry standard" way to measure the stiffness of skis. Just one more piece of the puzzle in how a ski performs along with rocker, bevels, width, tunnel, etc. The "stiffness" will vary considerably from brand to brand and even among the different models from a given manufacturer. For 99% of the skiers, just file those numbers away and go ski.

swbca

Were those values from a test of that ski, or a test of a prototype ?

Bruce_Butterfield

The values are from that specific ski. If a manufacturer tries to build the exact same ski twice, variations in these numbers of a few pounds would be pretty good.

swbca

Wow ! I suppose their pro team uses those numbers to select a matching ski, or intentionally a different ski with different values. That's a long way from my wood Obrien . . Leroy Burnett vintage.

skialex

Also ski schools and pro shops hand pick skis for good customers according to flex numbers...

Kelvin

It can also help if you need a replacement ski under warranty. The numbers can help the company get a close match to your original ski.

mike_mapple

D3 does really good including those in the each ski, but most companies, if you dont have a card like that may have a record via serial number.

cruznski

Ski it you are on an ion