Ski Visions Ski Base Flattener & Structure Tool

Modern, lightweight backcountry type skis tend to come concave, or edges high, from the factory. Even the best base grinders do not work to flatten them, as the skis flex across the base, and they end up the same as they started out. I bought these tools to handle this at home, and found that they simply do not work to flatten concave skis, because, contrary to the ad promises, they will not remove edge material. The square blade works great to flatten p-tex repairs, or to flatten convex bases, but any cut requiring edge material to be removed will not work. I spent a lot of money for a glorified steel scraper.

This is my second Ski Visions planer. My first one had a narrow blade for the old straight skis. I ordered a new one for wider skis and use the older one on wider skis and race skis Having two, I don’t have to change blades Thes things last forever!!

I am an experienced shop tech with over 20 years in the industry. I bought the tool as an alternative to having a shop grind my many pairs of skis. I watched the video from the company to get the recommended procedures and grabbed some boards to work on. It does take some effort and a lot of passes to get a ski flat the first time around with the tool. I used the medium stone supplied and tried to stop often to brush away the base material that the tool cuts. I switched the stone for the steel cutting bar occasionally to cut the "hairs" left and give me fresh material to work with. After about 45 minutes I had a flat ski and reasonable structure showing. I'm a bit concerned with the lack of a true pattern in the base, but time will tell. I've put storage wax on the skis to see how well it soaks in. I'm heading to Timberline in a few weeks so I'll wax for the summer slush and update once I've skied on this par.

Valuable tool that allows a high level of tuning on a home bench. Highly recommend watching the videos available on the Tognar website with instructions on how to properly use this tool. I have been using it on my skis most of this season, typically after about every five to seven days on the snow. However, once the ski is flat and structure has been made on the bases, only minor touch up is needed. I think I prefer it to even having access to a base grinder, with a skilled tech. It's easy to use and control and, used as shown in the instruction vids, you don't risk over doing it. Love the way my bases take and hold wax with the additional structure the tool has allowed me to put on my bases.

Works as advertised. Does a really nice job of structuring the base for a nice glide. I knew my bases were not flat but didn't realize what a difference it would make in the way they ski. Very happy with this product. I would recommend this tool to anyone.

This is a nice device. It does a very good job at flatting a ski that's base high, and bringing the base back to flat. This is a natural wear cycle for most skis, and if you correct it with this device, you'll notice your skis are much quicker to respond and go edge to edge. This feeling s often what people really like about a brand new pair of skis, and so this device can bring that feeling back to a ski that's been under normal wear and tear. That said, this will never replace your shop's stone grinder. Sometimes damage to a ski is so severe, it needs a grind. For instance, if your ski is really messed up, and needs a lot of material taken off, it will take a LONG time to get the material off with this. It's probably easier to go get a grind. Also, if your base edges are uneven (one base edge has been worn down more than the other), you can't get that symmetry back with this (at least I can't). You'll just continue building in the asymmetric wear on the base edges with this device. To fix this type of asymmetric wear, the only way I know if is computer controlled stone grind to get the ski back to perfectly flat (and parallel to the top sheet). This base flattener just won't fix that problem... and honestly if you're skis are worn unevenly like this, you also might just consider new skis at that point too. Another place this won't work is if your ski is somehow very edge high, this device won't really do anything. The device doesn't cut into edges at all (in fact it uses them to stop itself from cutting into too much base), so you'll be out of luck here. Luckily, most people's skis are base high from the natural wear and tear of skiing edge to edge. So this isn't a problem for most users. Finally, the structure the stone puts in isn't very pretty. Rather than the geometric chevron you might be accustomed to from your factory tune or your local performance shop's stone grind machine, the structure this puts in is basically grooves from tip to tail. You're not going to win any races with this structure. That said, if you want to knock down some base materials from the middle of the ski, and get the ski feeling quicker edge to edge and more responsive, this will do the trick for you if your only problem is base high (and that's a common problem). Happy flattening!

Doesn't work as expected. I don't understand how come there are so many positive reviews here. Are those payed ones? Or are negative reviews being deleted? So this tool cannot be used for flattening concave skis, neither for structuring, in best case you can remove ptex material after candle repair. I almost destroyed 2 skis with that. Thanks God we have wintersteiger machine round the corner, hope to fix skis there.

Amen to what Roy said. I just ordered my second one of these, so I have one unit with the steel blade, and one with the structure stone. The most useful ski tool I've found in over 40 years, and I worked at a ski shop for a while too.

feel like i have best wasting my time schleping my skis to the shop for a stone grind. not to mention the cost and convenience.