Industry News
Brains
New to the HEAD ski technology quiver is the 2020-2021 HEAD EMC (Energy Management Circuit). The EMC features something brand new that the ski industry has never seen: electronic dampening.
The EMC technology features ceramic piezo plates in the front and rear of the ski. Piezo is short for piezoelectric, which is something that involves electric polarization (a way to generate electric charge) resulting from the application of mechanical stress.
According to HEAD, this electrical energy is stored and used to absorb negative vibrations in the skis. Fewer vibrations mean a damper, smoother ski.
HEAD has integrated the EMC technology into four of its ski designs for the 2020-2021 season. The four skis that feature the EMC design are the WC Rebels E-Race SW RP EVO 14, the Supershape E-Magnum SW SF-PR, the Supershape E-Rally SW SF-PR BK/NRD, and the Supershape E-Titan SW SF-PR.
The EMC technology is not cheap – each of the above ski models comes at a price of $1,799 per pair. We will have to wait and see if the EMC technology is really worth the hype – and the price tag.
If it’s blinking, it’s thinkin
HEAD race skis have long had KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) to dampen kinetic vibration by converting that energy into electricity used to stiffen the ski. This “development” sounds like rebranding. Am I wrong?
Didn’t the k2 four and the l2 Merlin ski have piezoelectric dampening in there skis
Yes k2 did this, circa 1999. You too can own that same cutting edge technology for about $60 on ebay. Definitely not “the world’s only electronic ski dampening system” as billed in the youtube video.