Votes:
Skiing is a challenging sport to learn. By shortening the feedback loop, we can create faster learning - so you can experiment, adapt and unlock what great skiing 'feels like'.
We designed Carv’s Monitor Modes to speed up the learning experience by giving you audio read-outs of your metric scores on every single turn. With accurate, real-time data, you can adapt and improve as you’re skiing.
Let’s take a deep dive into Monitor Modes; how they work and why we built them to help you improve!
How do Monitor Modes Work?
Monitor Modes read out your scores for one metric on every turn, and they have been around since we started developing Carv. They give you the exact read out of a given skiing skill on every turn, through your headphones as you ski.
But it's not just our skiers that use them. They are an instrumental step in the development of Carv’s metrics for our team.
We often use prototype versions of monitor mode to test the viability and accuracy of our metrics. For example, in 2022, we started working with 5x World Champion Ted Ligety. We joined forcers to bring Ted's lifetime of experience to Carv - in particular, we wanted to characterize his famously early and clean start of turn into a new metric.
One of the reasons that Ted’s skiing is so impressive is that he is able to achieve a very high edge angle very quickly in the turn. This is a fundamental skill that separates good from great skiers, so we were excited to create a metric around it - but to do that we used Monitors.
Monitor Modes are a game-changer for skiers who want to understand their technique and know when they are improving.
As we developed ‘Early Edging’, which measures how much you tilt your inside ski on edge during the first part of the turn, the metric Monitor was a key part of the development process. In initial testing, we could measure the sensitivity and reliability of the metric by playing around with different turn radii and skiing styles, and listening to the feedback on every turn.
How does Carv score my skiing with Ski:IQ™
It all starts with metrics. From 36 pressure sensors and a 9-axis motion sensor in each insert, Carv measures subtle changes in your foot pressure and movement throughout the turn. We characterise these changes as metrics.
Edge similarity measures the similarity in the way each ski is rolled.
Edge Similarity, for example, measures how well you tip both of your skis onto their edges in unison. Carv records raw data from your sensors 20 times every second and calculates this metric for every single turn that you ski. You get an Edge Similarity score after every segment that you ski, which is an average of all the turns you’ve skied.
We created monitors so we could give you this objective feedback not just at the end of the trail, or at the end of the day, but while you’re skiing - every single turn.
While human ski coaching can give you excellent feedback and advice for improvement, no instructor will be able to tell you exactly how a perfect edge angle is going to feel instantly as you ski. That’s why Monitor Modes are a game-changer for skiers who want to understand their technique and know when they are improving.
Why did we combine Ski:IQ™ and Monitors?
Ski:IQ™ gives you a single technique score on every run, scored from 0-200. Ski:IQ is an algorithm that carefully balances metric scores to give you an accurate overall technique score, whatever your level.
This score was historically calculated for every segment that you ski, but we introduced the Turn Ski:IQ monitor to give you an overall skiing performance analysis on every single turn.
This can also help you because you can feel what makes those high score turns so great. It made me feel like a jump up to mountain master wasn’t so out of reach, when I heard that I got 141 on one turn and 143 on another.
Why do all the best skiers use the Turn Ski:IQ™ Monitor?
The best skiers love using Turn Ski:IQ in monitor mode because it encourages consistent practice, the fact that it continuously monitors helps skiers establish good habits and continue to reinforce them.
They often are using this feature to also compare themselves against the skiers they are looking up to, this feature makes people continually challenge themselves whilst striving for improvement.
Ulli Herbers, one of our instructor partners has been working with Carv in Zermatters Ski School in Zermatt for a number of years now. For him, monitors allow you to get feedback as you experiment with your technique. He uses them to show students what the right stance/position is, and even gets his students to ski with good and deliberately bad technique so they can explore their range of movement - all while using the monitors.
Carv measures the metrics 20 times a second, at every point in the turn. These metrics are only available through our technology, so we wanted our customers to have access to them in real time.
Early Edging, Outside Ski Pressure, Edge Similarity, Edge Angle, Fore:aft Ratio and finally Turn Ski:IQ are all of the monitors you can try next time you're on snow. Use them to target any weaknesses in your technique, and give you a sense of what the 'right' feeling is.
How can you use the Turn Ski:IQ™ Monitor?
This season, try Turn Ski:IQ™ Monitor to track your improvement every turn.
