Are you the type of skier who is always looking together, reading ski tips in magazines, watching videos, and occasionally taking classes or participating in clinics? Do you yearn to maximize your fun on snow while effortlessly carving perfect turns, which leave you feeling like you’re flying? Well, I have got a tip for you: Check out Carv and let Carv be your full-time digital ski coach.
Carv is an electronic insert that inserts into ski boots and connects wireless to your phone for real-time, on the slopes feedback. Informed by a wealth of skiing data collected from some of the world’s best skiers, Carv uses pressure and motion sensors to measure how you ski and then gives you visual and audio feedback while you ride the chairlift. Within the app, it also tracks data specific to you and your ski day and has links to additional tips based on your skiing level and video instruction.
There is a lot packed into Carv — much more than I was able to discover and fully digest over the past weekend when I tried Carv. One of my sons tried it also. Based on our limited experience, we agree that if you’d like to improve your skiing, and you’re looking for a means of consistently doing this every time you ski, or at least a few times each season, Carv may be for you.
Carv Digital Ski Coach Takeaways
Carv Installation
I’m super fussy about my ski boots, my socks and my feet in general. I’ve been fortunate over the past decades to have an excellent boot fitter and I can honestly say that my feet never hurt in ski boots, no matter how tight I wear them (and I wear them pretty tight). So I was nervous about putting the sensor insoles into my boots. While Carv comes with material to affix the insoles tightly under the boot liners, I wasn’t sure I wanted to commit, so I simply dropped them in, reinserted the liners (always the hardest part), and plugged them into the battery pack attached to the boot power strap. I don’t know if this impacted the sensors’ ability to measure and gauge anything about my technique, but in general, it all worked just fine.
After two days of wearing Carv, and skiing hard, I will share that I was happy to remove the insoles. They didn’t trouble me much, but I did find my feet felt tight after several consecutive hours of skiing.
Overall Carv installation is super easy. Download the app, set up an account, drop in the insoles, connect the batteries, calibrate your boots following the instructions in the app (takes about five minutes), and click “record” when you’re ready to ski. You can attach earbuds via bluetooth, and the sensors know when you’re on the lift and will automatically update you, provide a tip to try on the next run, and generally cheer you on.
Carv Digital Ski Coaching
Because we each ski differently, Carv is going to respond and coach differently based on what the boot sensors pick up. For me, the two big issues were 1) initiate turns sooner, and 2) put more weight on my outside ski. One of the videos suggested to me suggested thinking of riding a bike, pressing down into the outside ski, while slightly bending and raising the inside ski to keep them parallel.
As for my son, he was rated a Mountain Master, and one of the tips he received was to “imagine your skis are knives carving big ‘Ss’ into the snow.”
Back at home, the training button on the app provides access to pre-season training programs, including strength, HIIT, and mobility, specific tutorials and training packs (Get Your Hip to the Floor for example), drills for every level, and specific “technique teardowns.”
The Future of Technology in Teaching Snowsports
As I was writing this article, I saw my friend Kevin Jordan, PSIA-AASI National Team member and Coordinator at the Snowmass Children’s Ski School, on the Carv leaderboard, so I reached out to him. Jordan is an accomplished, national recognized ski instructor, father of two, and a great human being. He is a student of skiing and ski instruction and active as a leader within PSIA.
Interestingly, when I contacted him, he was prepping for a PSIA-AASI webinar about Carv and using technology for snowsports instruction. Carv is an official PSIA-AASI supplier and Jordan, who is a Carv Ambassador, had this to share with me later.
I started using Carv about a year ago. I like it because I can try different things in my skiing and look at my metrics to see if it made a difference. Normally, in my training, I would use video and seek out the advice/coaching of those better than me. I still do that, but Carv is something I can do on my own.
For a recreational skier, Carv can help them figure out some techniques to try on their own. Couple that with a real live person and instruction and you have a recipe for some serious improvement.
Kevin Jordan, PSIA-AASI National Team, Snowmass Children’s Program Coordinator, and Carv Ambassador
Is Carv Digital Ski Coach for You?
Let’s look back at the top of this post. If the answers to the questions up there are “yes” and after reading my review, you’re still thinking “yes,” then should totally check out Carv. The cost of Carv includes the purchase of the unit and a subscription fee to access the app and coaching. I have a 7-day subscription which is good for a full calendar year. Having used two days, I’m thinking of saving the rest for early season next year, to get myself into shape and jump start my technique.
(As this posts, there is one day left in a Carv sale — buy Carv now and get 6 months free. I do not receive a commission or anything for promoting this. I just saw it on the website.)
And that’s one of the beauties of Carv: you can use it when you want, however you want, to meet your needs. No groups, no obligation, no starting and stopping times. Carv Digital Ski Coach can be your on-demand, private coach whenever you’re ready to improve your carving technique.
Enjoy!
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