Different camber in a ski pair. Is it acceptable? (Salomon MTN 88)

[turbo]

Recently I bought new Salomon MTN 88 skis. After unpacking I noticed they have different camber geometry. They were wrapped with packaging foil. The ski that was on the top has more camber - the other is more flat. After 2 days that flat one regained some shape, but still there's some difference.

For comparison - the one with more camber looks like this. I was able to slip this thin book underneath with some tiny space left.

That more flat one, looked like this just after unpacking - not able to slip in the same book.
However , after two days it regained a bit of camber.

Does anyone faced similar issue? Is this difference acceptable?

 

[NE1]

The purpose of camber is to distribute weight/pressure toward the tip and tail of the ski as it is flattened on the snow. I would not be too concerned with that small variation in the camber as long as the skis are equally stiff/soft so that the tip and tail of each ski is transmitting more or less equal pressure. You may even find that they continue to change a bit in relation to each other over time.

 

[Tony S]

Recently I bought new Salomon MTN 88 skis. After unpacking I noticed they have different camber geometry. They were wrapped with packaging foil. The ski that was on the top has more camber - the other is more flat. After 2 days that flat one regained some shape, but still there's some difference.

For comparison - the one with more camber looks like this. I was able to slip this thin book underneath with some tiny space left.
View attachment 224886

That more flat one, looked like this just after unpacking - not able to slip in the same book.
However , after two days it regained a bit of camber.
View attachment 224887

Does anyone faced similar issue? Is this difference acceptable?

Are the serial numbers the same?

 

[turbo]

Are the serial numbers the same?

Yes, the same

 

[Bad Bob]

You will probably never notice it while skiing. To prove the point switch the skis left foot to right foot during a day.

 

[Tony S]

The folks who say you won't notice are probably correct. Nevertheless it would bug me, on a brand new pair of skis. Do I understand that the skis had been packed in a way that decambered one but not the other? If so, do you know if they had been stored that way or just shipped?

 

[PinnacleJim]

After some use, it wouldn't surprise me if the camber evens out.

 

[turbo]

The folks who say you won't notice are probably correct. Nevertheless it would bug me, on a brand new pair of skis. Do I understand that the skis had been packed in a way that decambered one but not the other? If so, do you know if they had been stored that way or just shipped?

They might have been packed this way in a factory. I'm guessing by the placement of salomon stickers on them. The top ski (with more camber) has stickers on the top sheet. The down ski (less camber) has a sticker on the base. Btw I think these are 2022 skis.

 

[cantunamunch]

Do they weigh the same?

IMO on remaindered skis we take what we get. If the disparity was caused by storage, there's a fair chance putting the skis through both wax cycles and flex cycles will even things out

 

[turbo]

Do they weigh the same?

Very similar, as I remember now, about 20-30g difference. I guest that's within acceptable tolerance.

Thank you all for replies and help I'll keep the skis then

 

[cantunamunch]

Very similar, as I remember now, about 20-30g difference. I guest that's within acceptable tolerance.

That would indicate against a bad epoxy drain out on one of the pair *thumbs up*

 

[Swiss Toni]

As you are based in the EU you could just send them back. According to the EU distance selling regulations you can return any purchase within 14 days without justification.

If you take a look at ISO 7796:1995 Skis — Geometry — Measuring conditions, it states that the tolerance for bottom camber is ±5mm so they may meet the specification.

Due to how skis are made, there is a fair bit of variance in longitudinal/torsional flex and camber. Ideally, they should be matched into pairs before they leave the factory. Atomic/Salomon employ people to do this, but as it’s quite expensive (these two guys will cost around 160,000 euros p.a.), they probably only manually match/tweak their race/high-end skis into pairs.

If you live near to a decent ski shop that offers race ski tuning they might be able to tweak them (0:07) so that they were a pair.



Alternatively, you could try to do it yourself, but as it’s quite a skilled job you might end up making them worse.