Base damage on newly bought demos

[Brendon]

Hi All,

Been lurking here since last year doing my homework and I recently pulled the trigger on some demo model 2017 RTM 84s I found for a great deal (~$480 shipped).

I'm totally fine with the condition given the price, but when talking to the company they failed to mention some repairs that were done to the base on one ski.

I was hoping I could get some opinions from the community here on how bad the damage is and how the repair looks. To my eye it's going to at least require another fix as the repair has several cracks in it.

Thanks for any help you can give, really appreciate it.

 

[Philpug]

Yeah, thats some poor work. Paging @smoothrides and/or @Doug Briggs to the beige courtesy phone. I think it will need to be redone. Where do you live?

 

[SallyCat]

Fwiw, I have those same skis, and I find that the bases tend to gouge a lot more easily than other skis I've owned. Maybe the material is softer or something--dunno. But I had to do a p-tex repair within a short time of owning them.

Sorry I can't help with analysis of your bases--I'm not experienced enough, but I wouldn't be surprised if the bases on a demo pair of skis as popular as the RTMs took an above-average beating, just based on what mine are like.

They are awesome skis, though. I hope you get 'em squared away and enjoy them!

 

[scott43]

I'm thinking no repair was done there..

 

[Brendon]

Hey Phil!

Thanks for taking a look, I was afraid that would be the answer. At this point I just hope the core isn't damaged.

I'm in the lower westchester NY area. Do most of my skiing at Hunter and trips up to VT. If you happen to know a good shop in my area I'm all ears, most of my experience is with the Boot Pro up in ludlow.

And yeah Sally, I loved them as soon as I tried them last year at Hunter

 

[Brendon]

Really? There's a pretty clear difference between that section and the surrounding area, it's hard to capture on camera but the texture is all different.

If not repair, what happened to that section there, if you don't mind my asking?

I'm thinking no repair was done there..

 

[Philpug]

Hey Phil!

Thanks for taking a look, I was afraid that would be the answer. At this point I just hope the core isn't damaged.

I'm in the lower westchester NY area. Do most of my skiing at Hunter and trips up to VT. If you happen to know a good shop in my area I'm all ears, most of my experience is with the Boot Pro up in ludlow.

And yeah Sally, I loved them as soon as I tried them last year at Hunter

I would bring them to the Boot Pro or Totem Pole. Either shop will make the skis look like new.

 

[Tony S]

opinions from the community here on how bad the damage is and how the repair looks.

Bad.

 

[crgildart]

Whoa that looks like a HUGE chunk of base was torn off those and patched poorly. I'm betting that's why they sold them, knowing it was quite bad. Definitely should cut away that patch and re do it from the core up.

 

[scott43]

Really? There's a pretty clear difference between that section and the surrounding area, it's hard to capture on camera but the texture is all different.

If not repair, what happened to that section there, if you don't mind my asking?

It's hard to see..it looks like it's unscraped wax..so it's hard to see the textures..it kinda looks to me like it's just a cut with no repair. But if you're saying there is actually a ptex patch there..then it's probably even worse than simply unrepaired cut.

 

[Wade]

I would not be happy about buying a pair of skis with undisclosed damage bad enough that they needed to be repaired before I could ski them.

I’d be inclined to just return them for a refund rather than paying to have them repaired. Actually, I’d be doing the repair myself rather than paying someone, but the point still stands. I would return them.

 

[Philpug]

Actually, I’d be doing the repair myself rather than paying someone, but the point still stands

This is not a repair to do "yourself" since it will require a base grind, which I would bet the site that the OP does not have a stone grinder at home. You are looking at a repair, to do it right, will be at least $75-100 because not only do they have to reweld the base, you will also need a stone grind. So, you are into the ski now for $580. Can you send them back? I am sure you can, I also doubt that the selller will pay for the return shipping, which will be about $40-50, so you will be out that. I do they they should pay for it since they didn't disclose the damage.

 

[Wade]

This is not a repair to do "yourself" since it will require a base grind, which I would bet the site that the OP does not have a stone grinder at home. You are looking at a repair, to do it right, will be at least $75-100 because not only do they have to reweld the base, you will also need a stone grind.

I guess the skis may need a base grind. it’s a little tough to tell exactly how bad the damage is with (what I assume is) the storage wax covering the bases.

Even with significant base weld repairs, I’ve had good success in avoiding the need for a base grind by using the Ski Visions base flattener tool to make sure the repair is flush and seamless and the base is flat and properly structured.

It’s moot in this case though. These skis should go back to the seller for a refund.

 

[markojp]

Wow....can't imagine selling something like that without disclosure. Guess I was just raised right,

 

[James]

demo model 2017 RTM 84s I found for a great deal (~$480 shipped).

Goodness.
Plus the dirty wax. (Note all the dust)
Return them if possible. They were not a bargain.

Those would have been like better than new, ie stone ground and waxed, if sold by someone here.

If you're looking for a shop in Westchester, Hickory and Tweed, in Armonk is about the only place I'd recommend with confidence. They might even have a demo to sell. No VT shop, and def not H&T in NY, would let that ski go out like that.
Now Switzerland is a different story...

 

[DanoT]

Even without any damage, $480 for a used ski with bindings is an OK deal but not great deal, especially with no ability to examine the ski prior to purchasing.

For me, if I am buying a used ski that I don't get to ski or examine in advance, I make sure the price is low enough that I can easily resell if it turns out I don't like the ski, or it is not too big a loss if the ski cannot be resold.

 

[Brendon]

Hey everyone!

Thanks again for all the help, feels great to have this much advice available. The seller immediately offered a full return and sent a prepaid shipping label.

Considering how easy they made the process I'm willing to believe they just didn't give these a proper look before shipping them out.

Good news is I was able to take advantage of the skiessentials black friday sale so I ended up making it out OK in the end anyway.

Brendon

 

[scott43]

Nice! That's a fair resolution in a roundabout kinda way.

 

[Doug Briggs]

I'm late to the party so take my comments accordingly.

Those skis were repaired poorly. I question the integrity of the ski given the size of the cracks between the repair and the original base. Do you have pictures of the sidewall? or the top sheet above the damage? Look for deflections of the top sheet and/or sidewall. If they are present, then the ski has taken a massive impact.

I suspect the core has been crushed, ptex used to fill the hole and when the ski was used again it flexed undesirably, leaving the cracks in the base.

 

[Brendon]

Hey Doug,

I tried to take as best a picture of the area as I could. Looking at it more carefully I do see what looks like white stress marks in the green sidewall of the ski, directly over the damaged area.

The area also feels somewhat depressed, I has assumed that was the shoddy repair but a crushed base is probably more accurate.

The seller has already sent me a return shipping label, but this definitely confirms the decision to give them back.

Thanks for the input on these, glad I didn't end up inheriting someone else's nightmare.

I'm late to the party so take my comments accordingly.

Those skis were repaired poorly. I question the integrity of the ski given the size of the cracks between the repair and the original base. Do you have pictures of the sidewall? or the top sheet above the damage? Look for deflections of the top sheet and/or sidewall. If they are present, then the ski has taken a massive impact.

I suspect the core has been crushed, ptex used to fill the hole and when the ski was used again it flexed undesirably, leaving the cracks in the base.