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Head Knight Helmet System

I get asked about the Head Knight helmet quite a bit.  Before this helmet and lens system I would ski without goggles because contact lenses had become to irritating, and I prefer to have corrective lenses most of the time.  This system is great for everybody, but particularly useful for people who wear glasses and want a nice and affordable option. Having purchased this helmet in the 15/16' season, I have purchased a new helmet for the 18/19' season.  The new helmet is blue and comes with an extra lens for even more versatility.  I could easily have gotten another year out of the helmet, but my father wanted it for snow blowing since it is warm and provides a nice face shield. One issue I did have with this helmet system was snow entering the top of the lens on powder days.  This never happened in the east since the snow flakes are a bit larger, but in Colorado it was an issue on a few days per year.  Keep in mind that I skied over 300 days wit...
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Setting on edge VS Pushing to an Edge

So most people tend to push their skis to an edge.   Now that we established that, let's talk about setting skis on edge.   The difference is subtle, but definitely noticable. Setting the skis on edge happens when the feet and lower legs are tipped in the direction of the desired turn, allowing the edges to grip the snow, this sets the skis carving.   It is that simple!?! Pushing the skis is very common, and involves pushing the skis (base of support) away from the body (center  of mass).  Most skiers perform this operation in order to "lighten" or "unweight" their skis allowing for a faster turn across the fall line.   This may be done to gain confidence and overcome fear at first, but quickly becomes the favored movement pattern.  So the advantages of not pushing the skis include: better grip,  better ski performance, and more predictable movement patterns There are of course times when pushing the skis can prove help...
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Sol Art

Sol Art is a technology company working in the fields of web development, robotics, and energy.  For more information on the services available, please contact Ryan Jarvis at jarvir3@gmail.com
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Dolphin Turns – The Hows and the Whys

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Dolphin turns are a great movement pattern for advanced to expert skiers who want to improve their performance in the bumps.  What dolphin turns provide is ability to manipulate fore/aft pressure along the length of the skis, ski snow contact at transition, and an ideal body movement pattern for flying through the air. I like to think about the general movement pattern for dolphin turns as a reverse bicycle pedal, and this is typically how you will see them introduced.  Using one foot, you would slide one ski forward while picking up the tip and pushing down on the tail.  Now pull the knee toward the body, and ski off of the ground.  With knee picked up, push the tip of the ski into the snow by pulling the foot back under or behind the body using a flexion of the knee.  This is the movement pattern you will want to perform with both skis at the transition of the turns.  Practice moving your feet through this circular movement pattern se...
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The Non Linear Fun of Increasing Edge Angle in Skiing or Riding

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It is well known that increasing edge angle of a ski or snowboard will increase the grip of the device on the snow (assuming proper platform angle).  It is also known that with “shaped” skis/snowboards the effective radius is given by measured side cut radius multiplied by the cosine of the edge angle (this is a rough calculation, and we will talk about supplements and limitations to this).  What this means is less intuitive unless you get out a calculator and increase the edge angle drastically.  To avoid this confusion and make this both easier to understand and apply on the snow, lets take a look at the graph of the multiplier vs the edge angle: As you can see, at 90 degrees the multiplier becomes zero, so obviously there is a cut off to how much the ski will actually bend!  You will also boot out before you get anywhere close to this edge angle!  But the main thing to note is the non linearity of the curve.  That is, the more you ti...
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