SCOTTYBOB SKIS: Landing soon in shop near you
ScottyBob skis represent the most radical innovation to hit telemark specific skis since, well, ever. Each asymmetric ski has what looks like one side of a swallowtail in the back (think swallowtail snowboard cut in half). This shortens the running length of the outside edge, while maintaining turning radius. All ScottyBob skis utilize this patented “Dual SweetSpot Design,” which effectively moves the sweetspot forward on the outside edge.
The Fat Bastard.
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The idea came to founder ScottyBob Carlson in the late 90’s. A telemark instructor at A-Basin, who skied more than 200 days a year, ScottyBob had pondered over how to make the uphill ski in a telemark turn carve better. Since the sweet spot on a ski is 55% behind the tip, telemark skiers on traditional skis were weighting the edge ahead of the sweet spot, with resulting instability in the tail. ScottyBob skis put the sweet spot under the boot center on the downhill ski and under the toe on the uphill ski, making carving more effective and easy in a telemark turn.
ScottyBob hard at work.
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The big news this season for ScottyBob is, due to increasing demand, the release of the line into retail shops and the addition of multiple sizes and shapes. In prior seasons, Scotty Bob skis were sold only through their website. The BobTail (77mm waist) is a narrow carver at home on the hardpack or in the East. The HeadRush is a mid-fat (90mm waist) ski at home in all conditions. POWDER readers should find the FatBastard to their liking with 142mm tip and a 101mm waist in a 185cm length.
“The FatBastard floats like no other ski, because our tail keeps your tips up so you don’t have to lean back and mess with your stance,” says ScottyBob Carlsen. “But the FatBastards are more than a one-dimensional ski. Unlike other powder skis, when you get into windblown crap or challenging hardpack, they actually work.”
The retail price on ScottyBob skis in shops is relatively low at $550, considering you’re getting a handmade ski with a unique finish. ScottyBob uses different woods for veneer for topsheets, so each ski is inherently different in appearance. All skis, however, have the same hard hua birch cores, UHMW sintered bases—the hardest in the industry, and double thick German Rockwell Steel Edges for durability.
Trevor and his FatBastards gettin' some Rocky Mountain love.
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Powder hound tele skiers should note ScottyBob skis are still available online and can still be ordered with custom dimensions. “If you want a 120mm waist fat ski, we can do that,” says Director of Marketing Brian Scranton. “ ScottyBob himself will personally make your skis and give them a name.”
Mountain Travelers in Rutland and Killington, Vermont as well as Bent Gate Mountaineering in Golden, Colorado will carry ScottyBob skis this season. Keep an eye on ScottyBob.com for additional retail outlets to be added throughout the fall and early winter.
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