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Volant Spatula
The Spatula was a ski manufactured by Volant skis from 2001 to 2003. It was the first production ski to feature reverse camber as well as reverse side cut. The ski was initially envisioned by professional freeskier Shane McConkey as early as 1996, and he convinced the company to manufacture the first prototypes in the summer of 2001. The Spatula gained a cult following, and along with its successor the K2 Pontoon (2006), inspired other ski manufacturers to experiment with a variety of camber shapes.
McConkey was an early proponent of so-called "fat" skis, adopting the Volant Chubb, manufactured by his sponsor and with a 90 mm waist, as his everyday ski in the 1995–1996 season. That same year, McConkey came up with the concept for the Spatula at a bar in Argentina and sketched the first design onto a beer napkin, believing that a "fat" ski with reverse side-cut would provide additional floatation underfoot where the skier needed it the most. He eventually deemed this the "pool cover" phenomenon, since his theory was that taking a ski into powder snow was like running across a pool cover, where the skier's weight sinks the ski while the surrounding snow floats it. His friends mostly thought the concept was crazy, but McConkey retained the napkin and stored it in a file.
Approximately two years later in 1998, Volant engineer Peter Turner was skiing with McConkey and several others (such as Matchstick Productions filmmaker Scott Gaffney) with some prototype Volant skis that were variations of what was to become McConkey's signature ski: the Volant Machete McH "Huckster," which is itself similar to the earlier Chubb. These skis were generally variations of a "fat" shaped ski. Eventually the group realized that some de-cambered Chubbs bent upward at the tips and tails skied better in the fresh powder than any of the new prototypes did. McConkey credited Gaffney as saying, "I think my old, dead, decambered Chubbs float much better in the powder than those ones with new ski life or camber."[quote needs citation] Gaffney's assertion prompted McConkey to locate his bar napkin from 1996, and ponder the concept again, considering that powder is similar to water. Since water skis and surfboards have reverse side cut and reverse camber (also known as rocker), McConkey was more assured that a dedicated powder ski should have a similar shape.
McConkey spent the next two years talking to people about his reverse side cut and reverse camber ski, but most people rejected the notion outright except for Gaffney, fellow professional skier JT Holmes, and a few others.[citation needed]
In 2000, McConkey finally started talking to the designers at Volant about his reverse/reverse concept, bringing Turner his notes that included a page of surfboard reviews. Turner and fellow Volant engineer Ryan Carroll were the only people interested in pursuing this concept with McConkey amidst a company financial crisis, so in the summer of 2001 they hand-built four pairs of concept Spatula skis in their spare time at the original Volant factory in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. The prototypes were much lighter than the production skis. These concept Spatulas featured the full stainless steel cap that Volant was known for, with the stainless steel extending down the sidewalls to the ski's edge. The prototypes are reported to measure, in width, 125 mm at the tip, 130 mm at the waist, and 120 mm at the tail, which is slightly wider than the production ski.[citation needed]
McConkey took possession of the first prototype in August of 2001 and flew to New Zealand with them for a film project. While other professional skiers flailed in the wet heavy snow, McConkey reported enthusiastically back to Turner how well the ski performed. Turner filed a provisional patent for the Spatula under his, Carroll's, and McConkey's names.
Although McConkey filmed a segment for the ski movie Focused (2003) with a pair of waterskis mounted under alpine bindings, this was filmed after the prototypes were developed and after the production Spatula skis were available.
By the time McConkey returned home from New Zealand, stocks buoyed by the tech industry had fallen. This became known as the dot-com bubble burst. While Volant was a ski manufacturer rather than a tech company, Volant's chief funder, Mike Markkula, had been an executive for Apple Computer. With the financial downturn of tech stocks, Markkula decided to close the factory by the end of August, 2001. Volant's intellectual property was acquired by Gen-X Sports, a Canadian company, the following month. Gen-X Sports had previously purchased Volant's Limited Snowboards line in 1999. Gen-X Sports contracted Volant production with Atomic, which continued the Volant brand at its Austrian manufacturing facility.
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Volant Spatula
The Spatula was a ski manufactured by Volant skis from 2001 to 2003. It was the first production ski to feature reverse camber as well as reverse side cut. The ski was initially envisioned by professional freeskier Shane McConkey as early as 1996, and he convinced the company to manufacture the first prototypes in the summer of 2001. The Spatula gained a cult following, and along with its successor the K2 Pontoon (2006), inspired other ski manufacturers to experiment with a variety of camber shapes.
McConkey was an early proponent of so-called "fat" skis, adopting the Volant Chubb, manufactured by his sponsor and with a 90 mm waist, as his everyday ski in the 1995–1996 season. That same year, McConkey came up with the concept for the Spatula at a bar in Argentina and sketched the first design onto a beer napkin, believing that a "fat" ski with reverse side-cut would provide additional floatation underfoot where the skier needed it the most. He eventually deemed this the "pool cover" phenomenon, since his theory was that taking a ski into powder snow was like running across a pool cover, where the skier's weight sinks the ski while the surrounding snow floats it. His friends mostly thought the concept was crazy, but McConkey retained the napkin and stored it in a file.
Approximately two years later in 1998, Volant engineer Peter Turner was skiing with McConkey and several others (such as Matchstick Productions filmmaker Scott Gaffney) with some prototype Volant skis that were variations of what was to become McConkey's signature ski: the Volant Machete McH "Huckster," which is itself similar to the earlier Chubb. These skis were generally variations of a "fat" shaped ski. Eventually the group realized that some de-cambered Chubbs bent upward at the tips and tails skied better in the fresh powder than any of the new prototypes did. McConkey credited Gaffney as saying, "I think my old, dead, decambered Chubbs float much better in the powder than those ones with new ski life or camber."[quote needs citation] Gaffney's assertion prompted McConkey to locate his bar napkin from 1996, and ponder the concept again, considering that powder is similar to water. Since water skis and surfboards have reverse side cut and reverse camber (also known as rocker), McConkey was more assured that a dedicated powder ski should have a similar shape.
McConkey spent the next two years talking to people about his reverse side cut and reverse camber ski, but most people rejected the notion outright except for Gaffney, fellow professional skier JT Holmes, and a few others.[citation needed]
In 2000, McConkey finally started talking to the designers at Volant about his reverse/reverse concept, bringing Turner his notes that included a page of surfboard reviews. Turner and fellow Volant engineer Ryan Carroll were the only people interested in pursuing this concept with McConkey amidst a company financial crisis, so in the summer of 2001 they hand-built four pairs of concept Spatula skis in their spare time at the original Volant factory in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. The prototypes were much lighter than the production skis. These concept Spatulas featured the full stainless steel cap that Volant was known for, with the stainless steel extending down the sidewalls to the ski's edge. The prototypes are reported to measure, in width, 125 mm at the tip, 130 mm at the waist, and 120 mm at the tail, which is slightly wider than the production ski.[citation needed]
McConkey took possession of the first prototype in August of 2001 and flew to New Zealand with them for a film project. While other professional skiers flailed in the wet heavy snow, McConkey reported enthusiastically back to Turner how well the ski performed. Turner filed a provisional patent for the Spatula under his, Carroll's, and McConkey's names.
Although McConkey filmed a segment for the ski movie Focused (2003) with a pair of waterskis mounted under alpine bindings, this was filmed after the prototypes were developed and after the production Spatula skis were available.
By the time McConkey returned home from New Zealand, stocks buoyed by the tech industry had fallen. This became known as the dot-com bubble burst. While Volant was a ski manufacturer rather than a tech company, Volant's chief funder, Mike Markkula, had been an executive for Apple Computer. With the financial downturn of tech stocks, Markkula decided to close the factory by the end of August, 2001. Volant's intellectual property was acquired by Gen-X Sports, a Canadian company, the following month. Gen-X Sports had previously purchased Volant's Limited Snowboards line in 1999. Gen-X Sports contracted Volant production with Atomic, which continued the Volant brand at its Austrian manufacturing facility.