Carv 2 first impressions - brutally honest thoughts from an intermediate skier

[@RicketySkiReviews]

All the celebrity endorsements and instagram influencer videos I've seen, but this was far and away the best explanation and most thorough review of this product. Great work! Such an awesome fair perspective from a real user. Cheers.

[@AJ-di4df]

Fancy seeing you here Elliott

[@angelinaoutside]

Thanks Elliott! I can see how people who already know how to ski might enjoy it better. It’s a great tool for validation. It’s more frustrating for us normies trying to learn

[@res_ipsa-REX]

It would be cool to see Rickety become the first ski reviewer to incorporate Carv data into their analysis of how a ski performs.

[@eltair8800]

Great video, you make some really good points. I’m very new to carv and yet quickly noticed some of the issues you mentioned, particularly around reviewing/summarizing historical data. I hope they listen to the community and bring back the challenge modes and drills.

[@angelinaoutside]

I hope so too. There is so much they could do with that data!

[@seanwhaley78]

As others have already stated, this review was honest throughout while getting to the point without marketing direction. The two releases of Carv were compared and contrasted, and real-world usage examples of Carv 2 were given.

[@angelinaoutside]

Thank you!

[@Jelc0124]

I recently tried Carv for the first time and felt the exact same way about the active coach and it just made skiing frustrating instead of fun. I’ve noticed the same issues trying to review my historical data and trying to understand what’s my average. hopefully they bring some of those challenge modes back since I think I would enjoy those more

[@res_ipsa-REX]

I agree that the new hardware is annoying to fit onto your powerstrap. Also, you are spot on about using Carv while skiing. Constantly resetting the goals gets annoying while you are skiing. Getting onto those cattracks can really kill your score. Find those parts of the run that allow you to make at least 10 turns and then stop to secure the score before the run flattens out. I do like the turn by turn sounds of success or failure when skiing. Let's you realize in real time what Carv wants you to do. Carv also has not recorded or been "on" during certain segments of runs which is annoying too. Carv is best when you are skiing alone as it gives you something productive to do (work on your ski ability).

[@qin1992]

I’m scoring 150-155, and I’m using in just as a monitor. It’s a great tool but doesn’t really help teaching how to improve, just gives some brief instructions. I think they use some sort of formula to calculate the final score, so if you are like me who is skiing at a small resort in Midwest, I can only make 10 quality turns😂. So when I check the scores, it is always lower than my best values, like if my maxIQ is 161 but the final is 152. Overall, it’s better than nothing for a self learner, and kept me on slope longer.

[@angelinaoutside]

I'm curious, did you improve your ski IQ a lot since you started using Carv or were you already doing 150+ right away? 150 for me seems so unattainable now...I was closer last season at 144, but now it feels impossible!

[@qin1992]

@ I never used the first generation, but from the reviews I’ve watched, it seems like they need more effort to get a higher edging angle compared to the first generation.

[@benoveson]

Thanks for the great review! I need to try it, but in general the idea of it doesn't sound like a great starting point for learning to ski/carve. My favorite training tool for learning skiing is watching others and video of myself...then a constant quest to mimick in the context of my own anatomy and strength. The reason we can't ski like teg ligity is likely a very complicated cocktail of anatomy, power, athletisim, coordination, and technique. The idea that we can ski like one of the best olympians by simply understanding some data is a bit aspirational.

[@angelinaoutside]

I think it’s easier to get there with the data when you already know how to carve…which I don’t 😆

[@yuefanwang]

Loved this review. I was kind of on the fence and now completely off it 😅

[@angelinaoutside]

Thank you!

[@beijihu]

Must admit i kinda like the active coach for how it's not letting any lazyness slide. Also that they want you to carve everywhere, be it shortturns on the cattrack or maxspeed through moguls, pretending you're Candide Thovex😹 Sure, if you ski 4hours and didn't do any skidded turns your legs will be toast, but i guess that's the point?

[@angelinaoutside]

You are probably a better skier than me but I can get dropped so fast lol. Also I can’t stand being told I suck when I’m pizzaing in the lift line

[@kevblah]

picking the best 10 consecutive turns would be amazing. maybe showing an overall score for the entire run and also the best 10 consecutive turns score. because im also sick of skiing 10-12 turns and then slamming on the brakes. makes me look dumb on the slopes

[@JasonTaylor-po5xc]

I learned to ski way back when I was a teenager but never progressed beyond easy green slopes - and only went a couple times too. I did ski once more in my 30s in West Virginia - again just one trip - so, again, remained on green slopes. About 3 years ago, I randomly decided to take my family on a ski trip to Keystone (from Florida). Keystone was a bit out of my league - even on the green slopes, but somehow I made it down Schoolmarm (a couple falls). Regardless, I was hooked. The next season, I did Breck and discovered the Base 9 area. Then, we decided to move to Colorado (July 2023). The 23/24 season, I got 13 days on snow but still didn't manage to make it beyond the green slopes - except for the blue-ish section of Red Rover at Breck. This season, with the help of a couple full day lessons, I managed to get down Cashier without falling (first blue). I still regard myself as a beginner - perhaps advanced beginner. So, I've been looking at possible tools like Carv to help me become better and doing the blues more confidently.

[@angelinaoutside]

I would start with the content on their KZbin channel. They are quite good!

[@JasonTaylor-po5xc]

@@angelinaoutside Yeah, I've watched some of their content. It's pretty good.

[@SkiCounseler]

Sounds more frustrating then helpful.

[@angelinaoutside]

I still think it's helpful in some ways, and I really did enjoy those trainings they got rid of...

[@alexfrance3141]

That's why I'm not buying carv2. They destroyed training modes. All independent reviews tell the same story.

[@angelinaoutside]

I think they really underestimated how popular those were

[@alexfrance3141]

@angelinaoutside that's strange: they should have had statistics and knew how often people use certain modes