Optimised Shin Guard for Slalom Skiing

[driesvdb]

Hello everyone,

I'm a young alpine skier and looking for ways to be faster. Slalom guards haven't changed in form since over a decade! I want to make a shin guard that could decrease the impact of the slalom gate on your shins so it doesn't make you slower.

I added some videos in slow motion so you can see the impact of the gate on the shin guards and where the pole moves to.




This is in my opinion the fastest shin guard, i also have a 3D drawing from that model.
http://images.monstermarketplace.com/alpine-ski-racing-supplies/leki-w-c-carbon-shin-guards-15-inch-length-554x600.jpg
Just the 3d drawing has a bit wider top so you don't get gates on your knees, that's the only adaptation I made so far.

Would be really cool when someone could find a way how you can make the impact of the gate less and find a way how to make sure that the gates slips faster of your guard.

I'm not very good in Physics so I hope someone could help me with this. Being a 1/100 of a second at every gate in a whole run, would make me 1,2 sec in a whole race, which is a world of difference in skiing!

Thank you in advance for everyone who wants to help in this complex question! If you have any questions, just ask!

Regards,

Dries

 

[lewando]

If your shinpad is somewhat "squishy", then when it hits the slalom gate (assume not squishy), the shinguard will heat up to some degree (no pun intended) as it is being deformed. This transformation of energy into heat means less kinetic energy is imparted to the shinpad (which is attached to you) following a collision. In other words, you won't bounce backward or sideways off the slalom gate as much. I'm willing to bet that current shinguards already have some squishiness (foam padding between the carbon fiber exterior and your shinbone). The question is then: is this combination of hardshell and and foam padding optimally "squishy"? You would need to do some experiments with different materials to discover a better combination of hardshell and padding material.

 

[driesvdb]

If your shinpad is somewhat "squishy", then when it hits the slalom gate (assume not squishy), the shinguard will heat up to some degree (no pun intended) as it is being deformed. This transformation of energy into heat means less kinetic energy is imparted to the shinpad (which is attached to you) following a collision. In other words, you won't bounce backward or sideways off the slalom gate as much. I'm willing to bet that current shinguards already have some squishiness (foam padding between the carbon fiber exterior and your shinbone). The question is then: is this combination of hardshell and and foam padding optimally "squishy"? You would need to do some experiments with different materials to discover a better combination of hardshell and padding material.

Thanks for your reply! All brands just have a thin 3mm foam rubber padding, so that's definitely not enough to absorb the impact. Problem is I think when you absorb the impact to much of the gate that the gate does not bounce fast enough away from your shinguards and hits your skis, that's really bad. So I think i have to find a way to absorb the shock (your idea with the foam) and also import that the gates bounces faster in the right direction away from the shinguards. I have figured that one out yet, as you can see is there a small impact line on the shinguard, I should modify that one to improve that. Please help how