Patent ID: 7866684

Claim:
A ski with improved edging characteristics comprising a central structural core forming a bottom surface, hard lateral edges attached to each side of the central structural core and extending lengthwise of the ski and generally downward to the bottom surface of the ski, the structural core having a footbed region that supports a boot attachment mechanism, an edge, provided on the ski in alignment with the lateral edge in the vicinity of the footbed region, on the side of the ski, that is adapted to extend below the bottom surface of the ski during a turn, the bottom surface of the ski in the region adjacent to the extended edge being arranged to yield under pressure, to expose the extended edge when vertical force is applied to the bottom surface of the ski during a turn, the yielding bottom surface of the ski having a substantially incompressible layer for contact with the snow surface over a tapered layer made from an elastomeric material that compresses under pressure to expose the extended edge, the elastomeric material layer being tapered with its greatest thickness adjacent the extended edge and least thickness distant from the extended edge, whereby the tapered elastomeric layer yields more nearest the extended edge than distant from the extended edge to expose it when vertical force is applied to the bottom surface of the ski during a turn, and whereby the edge extending below the yielded bottom surface of the ski provides improved lateral edge gripping when the ski is turned and digs a groove into the snow surface that the aligned trailing portion of the lateral edge will fit into and track along, which increases the edging effectiveness of the ski.