The Development and Precision of a Custom-Made Skitester

Abstract

In the sport of cross-country skiing, equipment has a direct influence on results. Ski teams do extensive testing of different ski base grinds and products on a yearly basis. To achieve reliable results, the quality of methods used for testing skis needs to be taken in to account in addition to factors including the physical characteristics of testing personnel and changes in weather conditions. The aim of this study was to introduce a custom-made skitester, that was developed for testing skis on real snow, in laboratory conditions, and to evaluate its precision. The current skitester is capable of glide testing both classic and skate skis as well as kick simulation for the testing of grip waxes. In the present study, glide testing precision was completed in three different conditions. Velocity and pressure of skis were evaluated in three different temperature conditions. During kick simulation, precision was determined in one temperature condition. For glide testing, the precision of the measurement unit was able to distinguish the differences between skis with a relative variation of 0.6–1.1%. However, the track preparation process caused variation. For kick simulation, precision of the measurement unit was slightly higher (2.5%), and track preparation caused less variation. The skitester is capable of distinguishing the differences between both skate and classic cross-country skis with certain limitations.