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Pro skiers can have as many as 80 pairs of skis in their fleets. This may seem excessive, but each pair serves its own role – many are used for training in different weather conditions, others are picked for racing in extreme conditions, and a select few are reliably fast enough to serve as “always test” skis. Even at the citizen and collegiate levels, however, it is nearly impossible to be reliably competitive on a single pair of skis; track conditions simply vary too widely for any one ski to do everything especially well. Building and utilizing a fleet of skis that can fully cover all or nearly all conditions is essential.
Here at Gear West, we have the experience and the technology to get you that race winning fleet. From the beginning, we’ve built our business on our famous ski fitting and picking abilities; this is still what sets us apart from our competition. When you come in or order a ski from gearwest.com, we will work with you to ensure that you get the exact ski you need for your skills and goals, including how we can compliment any skis you already have.
In an effort to push the industry even further forward in this regard, we debuted our Signature Flex Tester two years ago. This testing machine, which was designed from the ground up here at Gear West, uses 52 Loadstar load cells to collect the most precise pressure distribution data in the world. This data allows us to determine the quality of flex, weight range, and ideal snow conditions for any ski, as well as objectively comparing individual skis to each other. Unlike other flex machines which capture data at only half and full body weights, the Signature Flex Tester captures data for the entire weighting cycle; pressure data can be viewed for any load from zero to above the skier’s body weight.
The ability to compare skis to each other makes this flex data especially valuable for fleet management. We recommend that anyone with multiple pairs of skis get a Fleet Flex Analysis; for $50.00 we will collect the data from every pair of skis you own (more than 6 pairs call for pricing), upload it to our flex website, and discuss the ideal conditions and relative quality of each pair, as well as recommendations for how to use each ski and grind recommendations. After purchasing a fleet analysis, we will reference the data and update your online profile with the new ski for any subsequent race tier ski purchases.
Gear West Flex Analysis - $50.00
Gear West spent over a year engineering and custom building the world's foremost Flex Analysis Bench. The Gear West system utilizes 52 Loadstar "Load Cells" to give us a detailed picture of how your ski distributes your weight on the snow. With the Gear West Flex Bench, we can determine the following:
The ideal weight range for a ski
The absolute quality of flex
Performance characteristics (Stability, Floatation, Breakaway)
Ideal snow conditions
How well pairs are matched
Flex Analysis: $50.00 Includes up to 6* pair of skis, get your entire fleet analysed.
Certificate of analysis for each pair of skis
Summary of ski characteristics
Personal data library with interactive ski data
* More than 6 pair? Call for pricing - Toll Free: 1-877-473-4327
