Ski Review Brands

Ridea - Handmade Skis

Written by Duncan Mills, Monday, 15 November 2004

Five years ago, “we” a group of ski vagabonds, enthusiasts and professionals decided to make skis on our own. We came to this decision after trying almost every ski on the market and still not being satisfied. We wanted to make something better than the skis offered. We have previously worked with developing skis for other brands, but didn’t feel we got a chance to evolve our ideas. This resulted in the making of a few prototypes, called Bumtribe, with our new ideas implemented. Encouraged by the result we decided to make a small series of skis. When the first series of skis were to be made for the season 2002/2003, Ridea was established as a company.

SKIS

Our idea is to make versatile skis with an innovative design. Through trial and error it was proven to us that the combination of great width, long progressive nose/tail slopes, long effective edges and a pin-tail outline to be very efficient on skis. To ensure the quality of high-end skis, we have chosen to make our skis by hand of durable materials. The result is skis, which maneuver with ease in all types of terrain, on and off the piste.

SHAPE

Our skis have well balanced shapes, progressive nose slopes and are slightly pin-tailed. The sidewall angle has been set to 90°. The top sheet edges have been trimmed in a 45° angle to avoid shavings and chippings. 

FLEX

There are two flex patterns per model, a comfortable one and an aggressive one. Our skis have a smooth distributed flex, which enables precise loading and controlled release of the skis through turns. A firm sensation of stability occurs due to the shock absorbing effect provided by the proportionally soft, progressive nose and tail.

MATERIALS/ CONSTRUCTION

We’ve chosen white ash wood-cores, durable fat edges and tough base material along with a reliable sandwich laminate construction.

SIDE WALLS: ABS
LAMINATES: Kevlar, Carbon and S-glass Tri xl
GLUE: Epoxi
EDGES: Insert:10 mm Width:2,3 mm Thickness:1,5 mm
BASE MATERIAL: Ptex 4000 Electra gallium
TAIL & NOSE ABSORBERS: Industrial rubber
TOP SHEETS: ICP transparent

Models

The “Fat” is brilliant on powder, but still works very well on the hard-pack. The “Fat” comes in to flexes: aggressive or comfort.

The “All-Mountain” is a ski for every condition. These skis work equally well in powder, hard-pack or in any other condition you may ski. The “All-Mountain” comes in two flexes: aggressive or comfort.

TECHNICAL DATA - FAT

Length:1870mm
Width nose:  128mm
Width waist:  100mm
Width tail: 117mm
Boot center: 860mm from tail

Length: 1770mm
Width nose: 125mm
Width waist: 98mm
Width tail: 114mm
Boot center: 810mm

Length: 1670mm
Width nose: 123mm
Width waist: 95mm
Width tail: 112mm
Boot center: 770mm

TECHNICAL DATA - ALL-MOUNTAIN

Length: 1850mm
Width nose: 122mm
Width waist: 92mm
Width tail: 109mm
Boot center: 850mm

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