Rumor Skis, A New Brand Owned by a Woman, Reimagines How Women's Skis Are Designed
Since the beginning of time (or the invention of the patriarchy), men have been trying to design things for women without actually consulting women or considering that perhaps women are not just “small, weak men,” when it comes to biomechanics.
Things as simple as the pockets on women’s pants and as complex as most modern birth control methods provide fantastic (and cringey) examples of this, as do nearly 100% of women’s skis on the market, until now.
Palisades Tahoe-bred skier, Anna Dailey, is no stranger to entrepreneurship or catering to women’s needs. Dailey worked as Chief of Staff at the robotic delivery company Coco, coached the ski team she grew up on at Palisades, and, most recently, worked as the Director of Operations and Chief of Staff at the audio-erotica company Quinn.
This week, Dailey officially launched her own ski brand, Rumor, with their aptly named new ski, the Debut 102. Despite the relatively wide breadth that calling a ski all-mountain can cast, there’s nothing unintentional about the construction of Rumor’s first product.
Women are the fastest-growing demographic in snowsports, but Dailey’s new brand, Rumor, is the only women-owned ski brand on the market since the folding of Coalition Snow earlier this year.
The Debut 102 will be available for $959 at rumor-ski.com. Skiers who join Rumor’s waitlist will get first access to the ski.
Rumor Skis
Rumor Debut 102 Specs & Construction
- Lengths Available: 162cm, 169cm, 176cm, 183cm, 190cm
- Sidecut: 136mm-102mm-127mm (176cm)
- Radius: 20m (176cm)
- Profile: Rocker-Camber-Rocker
- Weight: 2086g
- Colorway options: Hearysay, Redacted, Grapevine
The Debut 102 has a 102mm waist width, putting it squarely in the middle of the all-mountain range, with wide tips and tails for soft-snow performance. The ski is available in a range of lengths that definitely trend towards the longer end of the spectrum for women’s-specific skis, but it has sizes broken out into nice intervals for a range of options.
For reference, Stöckli’s women’s specific ski, the Nela 93, only comes in three lengths ranging between 156cm and 170cm.
Notably, the Debut 102 has a 20m turn radius, give or take a tiny bit depending on the ski length. Dailey noted in a recent Instagram post that many women’s skis tend to have shorter turn radii and sidecuts, which can feel a bit like the ski is helping you initiate a turn, because they’re built with the assumption that those skiing them need or want that help.
However, women tend to have a shorter hip-to-knee-to-foot angle (Q Angle) than men, which actually makes it easier for women to create the knee/ankle angulation that initiates a ski turn. As a result, a longer radius can actually feel smoother through a turn and less reactive for folks with shorter Q angles.
A good bit of tip rocker, and just a touch of tail rocker combined with 7mm of camber underfoot also gives the Debut 102 a really nice, long effective edge, but allows for skiers to release turns easily in the tail and float in soft snow, making them a bit more playful than a fully directional ski.
Dailey also addressed one of the biggest elephants in the room for women’s skis: structure. The Debut 102 uses a combination of poplar/ash cores, which give the ski energy while keeping it durable and sturdy with the ash. Two sheets of Titanal sandwich the core, giving the ski a refreshingly burly construction that dampens them and creates more edge-to-edge stability.
Lastly, a layer of triaxial fiberglass helps provide a more progressive flex along the length of the ski while increasing torsional stability.
Courtesy of Rumor Skis
The final construction of the Debut 102 was decided upon with input from skiers with a range of abilities, from intermediate resort skiers to IFSA 4* competition winners like Mari Hanson.
“I was blown away by their power and well-roundedness. This is a ski that can do it all-moguls, groomers, corn, powder, chopped powder, etc. This is a ski that still has a backbone and something to press against while being more playful in the tip and tail. A friendly, maneuverable, yet strong ski that can take you anywhere,” said Hanson.
Skiers have three minimal yet tasteful colorway options to choose from at launch, in a further nod to Dailey’s deep understanding of what so many women skiers are looking for.
Leave a Reply