FSC CERTIFIED BAMBOO WOOD CORES Virtually all skis and snowboards made today use poplar, a light durable wood that is relatively inexpensive. RAMP is using a core material that is 3 times as hard as poplar, but triple the cost. The result is a core that provides a dramatic improvement on the behavior of the ski. Normally wood cores provide an energetic feel due to their fibrous nature; from an engineering standpoint, the core is the center section of an I-Beam, the composite layers on top and bottom do most of the work. RAMP’s cores are so hard they actually make the ski feel like it has layers of metal but without the bending problems usually found with metal in freeskiing skis. Another great thing about bamboo is how renewable it is. Bamboo harvesting in Asia is notorious for its poor practices—no harvesting management and laminations wrought with formaldehyde. RAMP found a company called Plyboo in California that owns the factory, controls the harvesting, and the resins used. Our cores have Forestry Stewardship Certification, which is very rare with bamboo. We’ve noticed that some companies say they use bamboo cores, but when you look closely, it is usually bamboo strips mixed with poplar or simply a bamboo veneer. We don’t know of another company using full bamboo cores, especially at the level of quality and best practices being described here.
INCREASED EDGE GRIP ON SKIS After extensive testing RAMP is introducing a new sidecut concept called Razor Cut. This new shape drastically increases edge grip on skis. From the midpoint of the boot back the sidecut is straighter where you need cutting power and then becomes curved again for turn shape. This unique shape makes even our widest skis excellent on hard snow.
Since the ’60s skis have been molded using industrial presses that crush downward at 4 atmospheres of pressure forcing the ski layers against camber plates. The resulting layers are pressed into un-natural shapes along the contact length of the ski creating specific sweet spots, & very sensitivity to small variations. RAMP is using a modern vacuum-molding process modeled after aerospace processes. In the vacuum bag, we work with 1 atmosphere of pressure, which distributes forces evenly. Our process allows the layers and materials to retain their natural shapes creating a bigger sweet spot. The result is a high quality, better performing ski that is much easier to use.
THE MOST VERSATILE SKI EVER It's the whole Shabang. On a deep day it feels like a true Powder ski with it's 42cm early rise and wide 140mm tip. On groomers it feels like a front side ripper with it's 90 waist and 7.6M radius! Skiers are always looking for the true one ski quiver. Until now skis can be versatile but always lean toward a certain kind of condition. With the Shabang there is really no leaning, we are calling it the most versatile ski in the world. Are we right? The People who demo it sure think so. The double Kevlar bamboo structure makes it tough, rock resistant, energetic and powerful.