We had our bamboo tested in a lab in good old Cleveland Ohio. Grace 7 year old Bamboo is a composite structure and has MAJOR stiffness.
Youngs modulus is 3,760,000
Density 48 lb/ft3
Aspen (for example)
Youngs modulus is 1,130,000
Density 26 lb/ft3
our bamboo composite is 1.84 heavier than Aspen and 3.32 times stiffer
The mechanical properties of wood are some what vague depending on the grain, moisture and species. The bottom line is a Grace ski core is 3xs stiffer than aspen, but 1.84 2xs heavier. Dont let this make you think the overall composite (ski) is heavier. Our bamboo also absorbs less epoxy then aspen or poplar. So when the ski is cured the actual weight of all things considered is not 1.84xs heavier. We also use a hollow core technique that drops weight dramatically.
Stiffness is dependent on this hollow core configuration of the " structure", but a composite of bamboo and aspen/poplar or some other wood will lighten a ski. We are currently investigating the composite of bamboo and poplar!
Grace skis are stiff. We never want to make a ski that fails when you need it most.
Kiwi.
Test done over 4 days at Treble Cone Ski Field and surrounding back country area.
Conditions:
Unfortunately after the good snow I managed to test the Jake on we had a change in weather and this left to less than desirable conditions for a big ski. We had 1.5 days of rain before the test which made for a completely saturated snow pack follow by a southerly change resulting in a quick freeze. Over the 4 days this review was written however we received a change of wind and sunny weather from the north bringing unseasonably warm weather, the good aspect to this was the frozen pack released and I was able to get a couple of days on super soft wet spring snow. (bit dodgy in the backcountry but safe lines were taken.) I was hoping that I would get another window of winter powder before the season ending but this unfortunately did not happen.
Pivot Point / Mount:
First aspect I was looking for was the pivot point or centre mark for the ski, I got the ski mounted in the same place as the Jake (102.5cm from tip). First impressions felt was that this was too far forward, however this sensation I put down to the fact the the first day and a half was FIRM conditions and with a rocker front half of the ski I was not skiing the full length of the ski and certainly not get any front edge pressure. With this in mind I did some skiing on groomed snow to better get a feel on consistent flat gradient. This gave me a much better feel for the pivot point which was encouraging and lead me to believe I should keep it there for the time being.
Days 3 and especially 4 had a big warming aspect (10 Degrees Celsius) to them as mentioned before which gave me some super soft spring snow that I actually could get the ski into especially when skiing fast. The further the ski got into the snow the longer it skied as you would expect giving me a better indication of the full flex of the ski. I can happily say that once I was actually skiing the full length of the ski that I felt this was the right mounting point for the ski and I didn't have the same sensation not having much ski in front of me as you should do with a 196!!.
Performance:
To be honest the ski was hard work the first 2 days, with under foot pressure point (edge of ski) being soo far off-set from directly under my foot the ski continuously wanted to flatten out essentially de-tuning each turn as opposed to the pressure increasing with the flex pattern of the ski. On steep terrain this was slightly better as this gave me a much higher edge angle without the same effort having to be put in. Still not ideal and hard work all things considered.
The last 2 days were much different. Once I could get the ski into the wet snow I was able to get the pressure point away from the edge and more towards the middle of the ski (or further under my foot) resulting in greater response and way less effort, this also resulted in the front of the ski being able to load with pressure and create some turn shape through the skis flex pattern. Pivoting also become a great deal easier. If the ski can be fully loaded then it skis really well, I only had a small window to feel this with the rapidly changing conditions of spring and to be fair and honest this still was not the ideal conditions for this ski. It was still a bit of work as I was in spring slop not waist deep winter powder (though i wish I was). One thing I can say for certain is that this ski is not a toy and deserves to be skied like your always running late for an appointment. When I got a sunny aspect that has softened enough to get some performance the Kiwi truly responded to aggression with performance and did not disappoint!! Saddle up when you get it going you will have to stay on top or you'll be left behind.
Overall:
I am very eager to get this ski in deep snow to find it's true performance, my general feeling is that it will be one heck of an action packed ride. The Kiwi is going to ski very fast and have super quick performance in transition from turn to turn as with the nature of rebound from a bamboo core. It feels well balanced and is super light. Great stuff.
I hope this is helpful to you guys, once again sorry it didn't come earlier I have been flat out with the trade show as mentioned. Would have loved to have had better conditions to give this review but that's the nature of the beast sometimes. Give me a shout if you have any questions about this.
I have shown the Jake around to some Ski Patrol teams in the region and they have been quite impressed so I am working a bit of an angle there as well. Hope all else is good mate and talk soon.
Cheers
Tim
