Radim and Lisa's Ski Page

SkiCentral

skicentral.com
Ski conditions at resorts around the world, links to skiing magazines, links to nearly 2,000 ski-related pages.

Alpen-guide.de

www.alpen-guide.de
Guide to Bavarian, Austrian, Italian and Swiss Alps. In German.

J2ski.com

J2ski.com
Guide to European ski resorts, snow reports, weather, accommodations.

Vintage Ski World

www.vintageskiworld.com
Antique ski equipment and posters

International Skiing History Association

www.skiinghistory.org

CURRENT ARSENAL:

Volant Superkarve Legend (170 cm) and Salomon Verse (150 cm)

Salomon Verse (150 cm)

Volant Genesis Silver (165 cm)

The first RTC 68: hand-made custom ski from Switzerland (168 cm)

The second RTC 68: hand-made custom ski from Switzerland (168 cm)

Völkl Racetiger Junior (140 cm)

Völkl Racetiger SL (165 cm), GS (175 cm), and Racecarver (178 cm)

Völkl Racetiger Junior (140 cm)

Jarda Bursík, the owner of Skiservis Hintertux in Prague

Radim with Jarda Bursík

Völkl Racetiger SL (165 cm), GS (175 cm), and Racecarver (178 cm)

The Völkl arsenal, along with the RTC and an old pair of Völkl P40

Older legacy of the 1990s: Völkl P40 Racecarve (185 cm)
and P30 Racecarve (180 cm)

2013-2014 Fischer RC4 SC

Integrated glove-and-pole system from Leki

2013-2014 Fischer RC4 SC

OUR VINTAGE SKI COLLECTION:

Our latest hobby, collecting vintage skis, stems from the belief that these skis represent a piece of engineering history worth collecting. These skis are for looking; not for riding (who can guarantee that 30-year old Marker M-46 binding will still work???)

Lisa with a pair of 1984 Völkl Renntigers (170 cm)

Lisa with a pair of 1985 Völkl Renntigers (175) cm)

Lisa with a pair of mid-1980s Kästle RX

Lisa with a pair of mid-1980s Blizzard Firebird

Lisa with her 1984 Renntigers and 2010 Racetigers SL.
25 Years of R&D.

Radim with a pair of Völkl Renntiger VSP (197 cm).

Radim with a pair of Völkl P-10 RS (red, 185 cm), and Völkl P-10 SL (yellow, 180 cm).

Radim with a pair of Head Radial CR (203 cm).

Lisa and Svatava with a pair of Rossignol Comp J (170 cm).

1988-89 (?) Völkl Skinetik 195 cm.

1988-89 (?) Völkl Skinetik 195 cm - recreational skis using torsion box construction like the Renntigers, but without the Titanal aluminum plate.

1988-89 (?) Völkl Skinetik 195 cm - recreational skis as indicated by the S-A DIN rating. However, slightly confusing is the "Synchro Tec 55", which was a construction design used by Völkl in the late 1980s on the Explosiv R racing skis (fiberglass torsion box with Titanal and carbon fiber laminates, combined with a wooden core).

Radim's 1988 Völkl Renntiger Skinetik 195 cm
and Marker M46.

The classic black "V" pattern on top and the iconic zebra pattern on the teflon base. Compare that to the present-day, decisively un-sexy, black base that Völkl puts on their skis today. although there is no doubt the modern-day Völkl Racetiger SL is a better, faster and quicker-turning ski, one has to admit these old skis looked better!

The typical 1980s pointy ski tip.

A trip down the memory lane: these skis were definitely made before the German re-unification.

Graphics in the typical Völkl font, positioned asymmetrically on the right-hand side of the ski, along with the iconic "V" pattern.

Double-torsion-box construction and "Titanal" were printed on the tip. Despite the name, Titanal had nothing to do with titanium. Titanal is an aluminum alloy composed of aluminium, zinc, magnesium, copper and zirconium. It is a product of Austria Metall AG, the biggest Austrian aluminum company, based in Ranshofen in Upper Austria. Titanal has commonly been used in high-performance sports products, particularly snowboards and skis.

DIN 7890 refers to a standard issued by the Deutsches Institut fur Normung, an unsuccessful attempt to standardize skis. The letter "S" refers to "Sportive" (other German DIN standards were L = Learning and A = Allround at that time). With the carving revolution, which came a few years later, this went away. "Skinetik" was a Völkl model line during the 1980s, named after a combination of the words "ski" and "kinetics". The ski also advertised itself as a "competition" model, which was not the case. In the 1980s, Völkl Renntigers were sports skis, not racing skis. Racing was done on their "Explosiv" line of skis.

An interesting linguistic evolution is apparent here. The graphics on the top of the ski are written in Neudeutsch (a blend of English and German). "Competition" and "Double Torsionbox" are English words, "Renntiger" is a German word (means "race tiger"), and the rest are a mix of English and German. "Frequenz Control System" is one German word followed by two English ones. "Skinetik" is the English word "Ski" (traditional German word would be Schi) followed by the fragment of the German word "Kinetik", which means "kinetics".

The base is bilingual as well. It advertises as a "sintered racing base" (Gesinterter Rennbelag), and a "original racing cut" (Original Rennschliff). Below that, it says in both German and English where the "middle" of the ski is.

And now some real racing hardware: 1985 Völkl Explosiv R,
World-Cup slalom skis (195 cm).

1985 Völkl Explosiv R,
World-Cup slalom skis (195 cm).

The typical 1980s pointy ski tip.

A trip down the memory lane of the Cold War. These skis were definitely made before the German re-unification.

1985 Völkl Explosiv R,
World-Cup slalom skis (195 cm).

The typical late 1980s bilingual Völkl base. It advertises itself as a "sintered racing base" (Gesinterter Rennbelag), and a "original racing cut" (Original Rennschliff). Below that, it says in both German and English where the "middle" of the ski is.

1985 Völkl Explosiv R,
World-Cup slalom skis (195 cm).

More genuine racing hardware: A pair of late 1980s Völkl P-9
hand-made giant slalom skis (200 cm). The “P” stood for Professional Skinetik Powerline Völkl technology. The P line of skis lasted for some 20 years until the P60 model.

A genuine GS racing ski (Riesenslalom), identified as a "handmade racing version" (Handgefertigte Rennversion).

M46 racing binding.

DIN 7890 rating this ski as a Sport ski (S rating). P-9 was a new line of skis, that followed the Renntiger and Explosiv lines, and laid the ground work for the P-40s, P-50s and P-60s in the 1990s and early 2000s.