New Technology In Mountain Bikes Can Keep Seniors On The Trails. Remember when you first bought your first pair of “shaped” skis? I do. I jumped on them to take advantage of an easier turn and less work. Fast forward, I have a nice quiver of skis now with some 107s under foot for powder, loose snow, and crud. Just[Read More…]
Season’s Over; Isn’t It About Time You Get That Puffy Back To Clean? Not only are your season-dirty down jackets, vests, and even sleeping bag dirty and smelly, if you left them that way, they would lose their heat-insulating properties. It is easy to destroy your down gear if you don’t follow some basic rules when washing them at home.[Read More…]
History Suggests That Designing A New Boot Is A Multi-Million Dollar Gamble. Just the molds for a plastic shell boot cost a million dollars, and that doesn’t include engineering costs and other expenses. Then there is the need to make it profitable when annual manufacturing runs are in the thousands, not hundreds of thousands or millions. These and other factors[Read More…]
As a SeniorsSkiing.com reader, you may remember how much plastic inserts increased the lateral stiffness of your boots. Back in those days, if you were really cool, your boots were further stiffened when wrapped with a six-foot long thong. Then the plastic boot shell arrived, along with innovative designs from Rosemount, Scott and Hanson. The[Read More…]
‘Shoes Have Come A Long Way. Have You Looked Lately? Back in 1971, when I transferred winter affections from downhill to Nordic skiing (due to a spectacular fall in Austria that racked up one knee and stripped off my ski suit—but that’s another story), I also tried snowshoeing. After all, cross-country skis and snowshoes were both made of wood and[Read More…]
The Excuse I Hear Most Often From Seniors Who Stopped Skiing Is That Their Knees Are Bad. I can emphasize. At 74, I feel the occasional twinge forecasting a time when something medical is in my future. I know I’m not alone. Which brings me to the Ski-mojo ad on the SeniorsSkiing.com homepage. It’s a British product for skiers with[Read More…]
Guidelines For What To Choose And Why. [Editor Note: Thanks to Roger Lohr, publisher of XCSkiResorts.com, for this review of the latest in XC skiwear that was printed first on that site.] I’ve often wondered why there isn’t more hoopla about cross country skiwear. I’m not talking about the suction suits worn by cross country ski racers; rather, I mean[Read More…]
Finding a comfortable and good-fitting ski boot is an elusive goal for many older skiers. Finding a comfortable and good-fitting ski boot is an elusive goal for many older skiers. According to responses to our reader surveys, 25% of you plan to purchase new boots in any given season. Reading the comments is revealing: “Want to find a painfree pair.”[Read More…]
One Might Say You Can Never Have Enough Skis. My wife disagrees. She skis on a relatively old pair that she loves. They’re relatively soft in shovel and heel. For her, one pair is enough. Mine is a completely different story; too long to get into at the moment. Jackson Hogen, publisher of the ski review site realskiers.com, has been[Read More…]
We Took The Challenge And Wore Them For Five Days. Here’s What Happened. We love buffalo, the distinctly American creature who has been denizen of the Great Plains since pre-history, who was deified by native Americans, who has captured our imagination in countless legends, songs, stories, novels, and movies, who has shown up in hamburgers, (bison burgers) and who now[Read More…]
Other Than A Book, A Bottle, Or Some Meaningless Gewgaw, It’s Not Easy To Find A Reasonably Priced And Relevant Gift For The Older Skier. DeBooter solves that dilemma. It’s a clever ski boot jack that makes boot removal fast and easy. SeniorsSkiing.com readers can purchase DeBooter for less than $32, a 20% discount from the $39.95 retail. (Enter SeniorsSkiing[Read More…]
The Amazing Device We’ve All Been Waiting For. You’ve probably had this experience. You are rushing out the door, late for something or other, and you’ve grabbed everything except…wait a minute…”Where are my keys? (wallet, glasses, etc?)” And the frantic search begins, characterized by looking in several of the same places more than once (a sure sign of insanity) and[Read More…]
Things You Can Do To Show How Much You Love Your Equipment. [Editor Note: We received several comments about last week’s article by Don Burch about putting your skis away. So, we asked retail expert and SeniorsSkiing.com correspondent Val E. offer some more advice. Here you go.] Ski Cleaning All ski bases are made out of polyethylene which is a[Read More…]
Nine Steps For Maintaining Your XC Equipment. [Editor Note: SeniorsSkiing.com thanks Roger Lohr of XCSkiResorts.com and Andy Gerlach of SkiPost.com and StartSkiWax for this article.] The winter and snow cover are leaving us, so what do we do with your xc ski equipment? 1) Cleaning: Use wax remover and Fiber wipe, a chamois-like cloth, to clean the kick zone and[Read More…]
This article completes the list of “iconic all-mountain” skis published last week. One reader comment on last week’s list stated that better options are available today. In the interest of clarification, skis listed last week and in this article weren’t necessarily the most innovative or game changing. But, at the time they were introduced, they were the best at handling[Read More…]
Excerpted with permission from realskiers.com where the full article was published March 20, 2017. All-mountain skis — those that purport to do everything reasonably well – started appearing in the mid-90’s. Following, listed roughly in order of their debut, are the iconic models that emerged since the term “all-mountain” came into common usage. My picks aren’t necessarily the most innovative[Read More…]
Big-Mountain Lovers Won’t Find A Better Age-Busting Ski. By age-busting, I mean the K2 Pinnacle 105. makes everything easier — and it made me feel about 20 years younger. The Pinnacle 105 is on SeniorSkiing.com’s list of best Big Mountain skis for seniors in the West. If you’d like to receive the list, click on this link and subscribe on the form[Read More…]
I’d Be Surprised If Someone Else Didn’t Come Up With This Simple Trick Soon After The Printed Trail Map Made Its Debut. But, necessity being the mother of invention, in a moment of need, I folded the first map I found, tucked it into the shaft, and, with surprising ease, slipped my foot inside. Here’s how to do it on[Read More…]
Here Are Some Tips For Taking Part. Don’t Be Shy. Every season ski shops, ski manufacturers, and ski resorts organize events when anybody could try new ski equipment. Demos range from a local mom-and-pop ski shop get-together to major on-snow events run by SIA (Snowsports Industry America). Why do you need to take part in it? Technical progress never stops,[Read More…]
Use These Two Sneaky Tips. The air-activated hand warmers keep your fingers toasty while you ski. Even when your legs fall off, your hand warmers keep going. Then what do you do with them? They have a lot of heat left. I used to give them away in the locker room. People would snap them up for themselves or their[Read More…]
The Innovations Are Amazing. Here Are Three Top Picks For Seniors. Vibram – the company known for its hiking boot soles – has a new sole material it calls “Arctic Grip.” You can walk on solid ice and not slip. Really! To prove it, Vibram demonstrated on blocks of ice at its show booth. Arctic Grip is used by six[Read More…]
But Do You Really Want To Be Seen In A Neon Jumpsuit From The 80s? [Editor Note: Correspondent Val E. rummages through his closet to assess what old stuff is still useful and what isn’t. Here’s the second part of his report. The first part dealt with skis, boots and bindings.] Clothing Base layers— cotton is NOT for skiing, silk could[Read More…]
Frugality Or Familiarity Might Be Reasons To Hang On. Should You? It Depends. Editor Note: This is the first of a two-part article where ski industry veteran Val E. discusses whether using old equipment is safe and/or worth it. We’ve seen people on the lift line with really old equipment; ours not to reason why. But you should know what the[Read More…]
Remember Skiing On Wooden Skis With A Pine Tar Base And Lathered In Klistervox? Wasn’t That Long Ago. Editor Note: XCSkiResort Publisher Roger Lohr has catalogued the main events that propelled XC skiing from a peculiar sport with a small following in the US to a major recreational and racing enterprise with a huge following. Thanks, Roger, for tracing the trail.[Read More…]
Wander, But Don’t Get Lost. “Why am I here? What happened?” I was lying on my back in a narrow 20-ft deep snow hole. My concerned buddy was looking at me from above. I took a few photos and started thinking how to get out of my snow jail without ropes or means of communication with ski patrol. The conditions were tricky,[Read More…]
