Individual Review CARV

[Wannabeskibum]

You and I both -- almost 64 years for me. Still, it is possible to learn some new movement patterns and to ski the whole mountain with flow, not just proficiency. It isn't about skiing like a banana, or scrunching with a tennis ball at your hip, but it is about finding the lateral movement of the body to direct pressure to the outside ski. Who do you ski with at Breck? @Nancy Hummel, @Rich McP and I all used to teach there. Not all Level 3s are equal...

@Mike King I usually ski with Jenn Losch and JJ Huan, sometimes Patrick Guilbert. I get what you mean about finding the lateral movement to direct pressure to the outside ski - thanks for the insight.

 

[Mike King]

Great instructors. Have a great time at Breck.

 

[Wannabeskibum]

Great instructors. Have a great time at Breck.

Thanks, will do - hopefully some more terrain will open up by Jan 5th - really love Horseshoe and Contest Bowls

 

[Darryl]

legit q / no flaming pls - has anything been done w the issues of fragility, privately I hear of ppl going thru 3-4 sets of insoles per season. This is why I didn’t re-new for the season, too much drama w the system.

tia

I have a year on mine, was out last Friday and felt their was something wrong with my scores and decided to monitor my pressure. The right insole is definitely not working correctly. Recalibrate the sensors, but it is still not correct.

Going to contact support.

 

[UGASkiDawg]

I have a rats nest of dead insoles. That being said, the current set has probably 60 days on it which would be close to a record...

I have my original right insole and it is almost 4 years old and still working. The left one went bad last April and Carv had a new one to me within 4 days.

 

[textrovert]

 

[Wannabeskibum]

I watched this the other night - it's actually quite impressive

 

[SwissSki]

Ok - so I need some feedback here - maybe should post this in the instruction forum. I finally hit 141 today - good enough to make me a mountain master - but I did it with a lot of short radius turns on my Brahmas (165 cm, 14 m turn radius, 88 underfoot). Attached are some of the metrics and sub metrics. Whenever I make longer radius turns, my ski IQ dips into the high 120’s. One of the prompts that I get on my longer radius turns to let my body cross over the skis early in the turn. It sounds like I don’t commit early enough in my longer radius turns. Does that make sense? View attachment 219366 View attachment 219366 View attachment 219367 View attachment 219368 View attachment 219369

Similar thing happened to me, got 148 at short turns but only 138 at long turns. Maybe with short turns we do things instinctively more right and get faster up to edge. I worked on getting onto edge much faster by toppling before applying pressure and got 145 carv score now in long turns.

 

[Wannabeskibum]

Yup - been using the active coach and my longer turn scores are going up --

 

[yourwild]

Similar thing happened to me, got 148 at short turns but only 138 at long turns. Maybe with short turns we do things instinctively more right and get faster up to edge. I worked on getting onto edge much faster by toppling before applying pressure and got 145 carv score now in long turns.

I have improved my skiing skills using Carv and increased my skiing proficiency to 144, only 6 points away from level 7. I enjoy challenging myself on rugged terrains like bumps, steep slopes, and groomers. Based on my experience, my observations align with @SwissSki research. Executing long turns (applying Progressive Edging) requires patience and precise timing, unlike shorter turns that rely on instinct. Each turn in a longer arc requires a well-planned execution, similar to ski racing. My favorite part of Carv is how it helps me stay present while skiing. I find it enjoyable to discover the subtle nuances to improve my turns. - Cheers, Yourwild

 

[MacO512]

Got Carv and used it for a long weekend of skiing about a month ago in Taos. Super helpful in seeing how often I was in the back seat and how to get to a more balanced athletic posture. Probably was the most rapid improvements in my carving/skiing in decades.

Was always so comfortable on groomers I previously thought I was a much better skier there than I actually was. Knew I needed more improvements on bumps/trees. But Carv opened my eyes to some errors I was making at all times and with bad balance. I think as I now improve my groomer technique that will start to transfer to other areas all over the mountain.

Very excited to try it again hopefully next week. Very highly recommended. In terms of most critical ski gear in terms of enjoyment while skiing I'd probably rank them;

#1 Ski Boots
#2 Carv
#3 Skis
#4 Bar (each drink moves this up a notch)

 

[KingGrump]

Got Carv and used it for a long weekend of skiing about a month ago in Taos...

Carv does ot workk in 85% of the terrain at Taos.

I previously thought I was a much better skier there than I actually was.

That's very common among skiers. Especially ones restricted to groomers.

I think as I now improve my groomer technique that will start to transfer to other areas all over the mountain.

I always say off piste skiing starts on the groomers.
I have also said "Carving and skidding is a like black & white. Just two more shades of gray in the endless continuum of gray that is skiing. Being able to blend the various shades of gray, that is key."

Go ski off piste. You will find major improvements in your groomer skiing after you been off piste. Some of what you learned with Carv can be transferrable to off piste. Some will not.
Versatility is what you'll need to learn to master off piste not the one trick pony Carv score on your phone.

 

[Tony Storaro]

Carv does ot workk in 85% of the terrain at Taos.



That's very common among skiers. Especially ones restricted to groomers.



I always say off piste skiing starts on the groomers.
I have also said "Carving and skidding is a like black & white. Just two more shades of gray in the endless continuum of gray that is skiing. Being able to blend the various shades of gray, that is key."

Go ski off piste. You will find major improvements in your groomer skiing after you been off piste. Some of what you learned with Carv can be transferrable to off piste. Some will not.
Versatility is what you'll need to learn to master off piste not the one trick pony Carv score on your phone.

IMHO that Carv IQ is a misleading thing. At least a bit. I mean I have seen on the internet vids of people who boast some 130-140 or something that is high I am told and when you look at their actual skiing it is….ehhh.. I don't know…

Plus, I know no one who only carves, actual skiing on actual snow is much more complex and multidimensional.

 

[SwissSki]

IMHO that Carv IQ is a misleading thing. At least a bit. I mean I have seen on the internet vids of people who boast some 130-140 or something that is high I am told and when you look at their actual skiing it is….ehhh.. I don't know…

SkiIQ is a normal distribution, someone with a score of 145 is better than 93% of skiers at carving (not moguls, not powder, not après ski), which absolutely matches my experience on piste. Is it as good as a ski youtuber which is in the top 0.01% of skiers? Of course not.

Plus, I know no one who only carves, actual skiing on actual snow is much more complex and multidimensional.

I know no one who only eats toast, that is why owning a toaster is useless! This argument does not make any sense.

 

[SwissSki]

A bit weird is that the score caps at 175, for a normal distribution the best skiers in the world would need a score of 500+. Maybe they apply some transformation for the score range to be compressed or they have some bug in their math.

 

[MacO512]

Carv does ot workk in 85% of the terrain at Taos.



That's very common among skiers. Especially ones restricted to groomers.



I always say off piste skiing starts on the groomers.
I have also said "Carving and skidding is a like black & white. Just two more shades of gray in the endless continuum of gray that is skiing. Being able to blend the various shades of gray, that is key."

Go ski off piste. You will find major improvements in your groomer skiing after you been off piste. Some of what you learned with Carv can be transferrable to off piste. Some will not.
Versatility is what you'll need to learn to master off piste not the one trick pony Carv score on your phone.

I'm not sure what you mean by "does ot workk in 85%", Carve seemed to work good everywhere I went in Taos. On my trip it was icy with no recent snow so off piste was poor conditions except for the very top which was fun. If I had skiied more off piste I don't forsee any issues using Carve as I think it still gives some useful feedback (even if less helpful than on piste) but I'll have to test that more.

I never said I was restricted to groomers, or that I need more time skiing off piste. I think previously I could do 100 runs off piste and there just wasnt much improvement happening from run #1 to #100. Sure expert lessons would probably have been best but with my very unpredictible skiing schedules and budget limits that hasn't always been possible. I think Carve helped in those 4 days more than any period in decades. I'm not expecting it to be a complete solution to all my skiing progressions and yes will need to continue to explore all types of terrains/conditions.

 

[Tony Storaro]

SkiIQ is a normal distribution, someone with a score of 145 is better than 93% of skiers at carving (not moguls, not powder, not après ski), which absolutely matches my experience on piste. Is it as good as a ski youtuber which is in the top 0.01% of skiers? Of course not.

I know no one who only eats toast, that is why owning a toaster is useless! This argument does not make any sense.

Lol, emotions, passion, strong opinions…love it, reminds me of someone. More of that please.

Couple of points tho if I may:

I never took a dig at Carv or declared it useless, I just said I have seen people with supposedly high Carv IQ whose skiing is really nothing to write home about.
I have also seen people with high Carv IQ who ski really well.
I have even seen Ligety ski with Carv and carving doesn’t really get much better than that.
Thing is however Ligety was Ligety long before Carv was invented so correlation, causation I don’t know.

Nothing wrong with wanting a lady’s voice whispering in your ear to push more, lean forward and go harder, probably not in snow with ski on your feet but that’s just me, I am not judging.

Toaster? Au contraire! You have to buy one, by all means. You also have to buy a fondue set, a barbecue, a crock pot, a microwave, a wok pan etc and carry all of them with you to the mountain-just to keep all the options open.

Me? I just carry a pair of chopsticks and eat whatever is on the menu. Not a picky eater you know.

 

[MacO512]

IMHO that Carv IQ is a misleading thing. At least a bit. I mean I have seen on the internet vids of people who boast some 130-140 or something that is high I am told and when you look at their actual skiing it is….ehhh.. I don't know…

Plus, I know no one who only carves, actual skiing on actual snow is much more complex and multidimensional.

I don't think its misleading at all - I found it to be super valuable. There isn't any statistic in the world that is without drawbacks. There are also many stats besides the summary Carv IQ total. Seeing edge angles, edge similarity, early edging, outside pressure, Z vs S shape to turns, etc. Of course its not perfect and I'm sure there are situations it could provide no value or actually be wrong but all in all it provides amazing data for just having just a sensor in the boot.

A bit weird is that the score caps at 175, for a normal distribution the best skiers in the world would need a score of 500+. Maybe they apply some transformation for the score range to be compressed or they have some bug in their math.

They've done way too much development work at Carve for this cap to be a "bug in their math". My assumption is skiing is at such a high level when it gets to 175 level scores and above that the sensors can't distinguish well between excellent and even more excellent skiing. The logic might also not be able to give the most accurate improvement tips at such a high level either.

 

[MacO512]

Lol, emotions, passion, strong opinions…love it, reminds me of someone. More of that please.

Couple of points tho if I may:

I never took a dig at Carv or declared it useless, I just said I have seen people with supposedly high Carv IQ whose skiing is really nothing to write home about.
I have also seen people with high Carv IQ who ski really well.
I have even seen Ligety ski with Carv and carving doesn’t really get much better than that.
Thing is however Ligety was Ligety long before Carv was invented so correlation, causation I don’t know.

Nothing wrong with wanting a lady’s voice whispering in your ear to push more, lean forward and go harder, probably not in snow with ski on your feet but that’s just me, I am not judging.

Toaster? Au contraire! You have to buy one, by all means. You also have to buy a fondue set, a barbecue, a crock pot, a microwave, a wok pan etc and carry all of them with you to the mountain-just to keep all the options open.

Me? I just carry a pair of chopsticks and eat whatever is on the menu. Not a picky eater you know.

You stated that Carv IQ is a "misleading thing". I disagree with that statement.

What stat on peoples skiing ability is superior?

I'm not saying its perfect or without downsides. I'm just saying that its a super valuable tool with an amazing collection of data.

I can't imagine anyone is saying Carv significantly improved Ligety skiing, that would be insane. His Carv measurements give a reference point of what one of the best skiers data shows.

 

[Tony Storaro]

You stated that Carv IQ is a "misleading thing".

At least a bit.

Don’t let your bias blind you to the fine details.