UKC

hi 

i am doing a project for my A-level product design my chosen topic is security whilst skiing. please could you highlight any problems that you have with security.( when you stop to get something to eat or something like that)

In reply to mcveigheddie:

Design a tiny wire lock like the Giant surelock airloop that easily attaches skis, poles and bindings together.

Security only ever needs to be good enough so that they steal someone else's skis. 

In reply to mcveigheddie:

I designed and made a similar product for my D&T degree many years ago. Basically it strapped to the skis and utilised a motion sensor and 110 decibel siren. I would imagine it could be made much smaller nowadays. Good luck.

 

In reply to mcveigheddie:

https://zilcsak.com/blog/ski-and-snowboard-locks-picking-the-best-one

Lots of different types out there. 

In reply to mcveigheddie:

Simples. Don't leave your skis together in a pair. Leave them apart, at opposite ends of the restaurant or whatever. No-one's ever going to steal one ski!

In reply to Cumbrian Climber:

You'd think that wouldn't you? But you'd be wrong.

 

In reply to mcveigheddie: probably like a lot of people on here  I mainly ski with pin bindings  even on piste days , while possibly a bit niche , try to design something that will allow these ( dynafits ...other brands maybe available and may be easy to lock dynafits aren't  ) . I wouldnt dream of leaving my new skis outside the grand montes unattended but left them outside the ptarmigan a couple of weeks ago without worrying . Probably misguided .  Actually might be worth a new post . Am I missing something obvious ? How do you lock your pin binding skis ? 

In reply to mcveigheddie:

Just pair up with someone in your group and swap one ski each when you stop, don't leave the skis close to where you leave your mismatched pair. 

Not fool proof but a deterrent.

In reply to DaveHK:

Have you really had a single ski stolen? 

In reply to mcveigheddie:

Out of interest how many skis are stolen each year from on piste racks at cafes etc? Anyone know?

It's not something I really worry about, I wouldn't leave them against a fence in an unattended car park for hours, but on a slope I don't really consider it a concern, false security perhaps. 

In reply to mcveigheddie:

I had my (hire) skiis taken from the hotel ski store by a beginner who then proceeded to fall badly and screw up their knee because my bindings were fairly tight.

 

In reply to mcveigheddie:

Is ski theft really a thing? I've never had any trouble or worries and (or perhaps but) I'm about as careless as it comes with this sort of thing.

Are you interested in physical security, a tracker for recovery or an electronic theft deterrent?

As others have said, you only need to make them harder/costlier to nick than the set next to them. Splitting them up is probably as simple and good as it gets at restaurants and the like.

Once you've seen how easily bypassed bike locks are you realise a couple of kilos of steel is no real protection against a prepared attacker. Electronic deterrents would be sensitive to so many false positives in the real world as skis get jostled on racks they'd soon become an ignorable annoyance like car or home alarms. A workable tracker design for low value lightweight goods is probably beyond the scope of a school project.

jk

In reply to jkarran:

I have those name stickers that came out for bikes first. I put them where the feet go, so not visible once worn, but near impossible for some chump to take in error. That and some smartwater stickers to deter any real thieves at home or away. 

In reply to Stephen Reid - Needle Sports:

Not me but a friend and her partner did. They'd left them as a mis-matched pair outside a piste bar / restaurant above Val d'Isere and both had been taken. It wouldn't have taken long for the tea leaf to find the other mismatched pair or a single ski.

In reply to mcveigheddie:

How about some sort of clamp on the skis which if removed by force would damage the skis beyond use? Or if removed explodes and scatters traceable paint around or smelly substance? although skiers with nearby skis might not be happy. I recommend a heavy chain and a ship's anchor to secure them.

In reply to mcveigheddie:

Do you have to just design this or also implement it?

I was wondering about some sort of lockable rack.  I have seen two sorts - those in accommodation that usually opens with your room key.  They are fine but you can only use them in the hotel.  Sometimes you also see lockable racks outside shops/cafes that require you to bring your own padlock.  These are almost never actually locked because there are so few of them that most people don't bother to carry a padlock - also padlocks are susceptible to bolt cutters.

Perhaps you could think of something similar where a user can input a PIN code to lock it and then needs to put the same PIN code in to unlock it again, a bit like a hotel room safe.  Advantages would be potentially more secure than a padlock depending on how the locking mechanism works (padlocks are susceptible to bolt cutters) and doesn't require you to carry something around with you to use it.  If you want to get really fancy you could think about an app - maybe something that would let you know where there is an available slot, or where you could input your PIN into the app so a thief would need both your phone logged into the app and the location of your skis to steal them.  This would also prevent someone from looking over your shoulder as you lock your skis and then retrieving them when you leave - this could work a bit like the system for renting Boris bikes (not necessarily with money, but the same idea for locking/unlocking/finding availability).

Having said all that, I usually just abandon my skis if I am on the piste - I might separate them at the base.

In reply to balmybaldwin:

Karma.

In reply to summo:

Interesting question. I suspect that most times it's accidental, if they don't fit, the taker might just dump them (not necessarily close to where you left them) and go back for theirs. If they do fit, the taker is probably well on their way before they discover their mistake, and walking back up to rectify the situation isn't an attractive option. If they ski down and take a lift back up, you've probably gone by the time they get back.

Hire skis aren't particularly attractive to thieves, high end skis might be. 

Fear of having the skis pinched is a good selling point to hirers trying to get you to take out theft insurance with them. A bit like car hire companies trying to sell you excess insurance.

 

In reply to mcveigheddie:

Here's an idea for you:

Make a corkscrew-style anchor, like those dog-leash ones that go into grass but presumably bigger, so that it can only reasonably be removed by turning it out. Then lay the skis down together and lock them tightly to the anchor via a small loop through the bindings. If it's placed within half a ski length of a fence, wall or tree, you won't be able to turn the skis to unscrew the anchor.

I'll be in touch about a commission when you're rich and famous

In reply to Trangia:

I bought a new pair of skis with touring bindings (not cheap) in December.  Fortunately when leaving the shop I thought to ask for a ski lock. Two days later I came out from lunch at a bar near a bus stop to find that the combination on the lock was set to all 6s - someone had been trying all the obvious combinations while I was in the bar. As has been said, a cheap ski lock would not deter a determined thief, but it is good enough to put off the opportunist.

In reply to Trangia:

Yes. Mine were taken in Les Arcs.

I guessed from the similar skis left behind, and used those for the rest of the day.

Eventually realizing.  He went back to the bar and got my telephone number, mortified at his mistake. 

In reply to Trangia:

Must carry out my plan to add fluorescent paint to the tips before the next trip.

In reply to mcveigheddie:

I've worked in a ski shop in Switzerland for 3 seasons and can say that most of the thefts from on the piste are accidental. I'd guess at maybe 1 pair out of 100 hire skis every weekend are returned that belonged to another shop, and probably 5 sets of poles. Ski shops do a lot of swapping on the Monday after the majority of people go home. 

Actual theft is usually from an apres bar, again occasionally by accident, but most don't re-appear. 

In reply to mcveigheddie:

The problem with ski locks is balancing something big enough to be robust against something that is small and light enough to carry in a pocket and not so bulky that it's a problem if you fall on it.

I've been using a cable with a combination padlock, which, as said, is enough to avoid accidental grabbing of the wrong skis and deter the opportunist.

Using a combination lock isn't as secure, but avoids any issues of lost keys in the snow.

I've seen snowboard leashes that double as security locks, but most people won't be bothering with powder leashes on skis.

In reply to mcveigheddie:

This is the sort of stuff my students build.  If they came to me and asked this i’d make them do a bit more leg work on the design themselves. If it were me though I would use low power blue tooth, small tag on the boot and security device stuck to skis.  I’d start with a very bright led if the skis went without the boots and have a noise generator if the led was covered.

should be able to do this match box size if you can do a pcb.

good luck.

cheers

toby

In reply to Toby_W:

Not 50m of buried 1 or 2mm steel cable on a set of skis laid flat ( like some folk annoyingly do) pointing downhill ready to go?

 

In reply to summo:

Not sure I follow, you mean like the bike theft setups with a rope tied to the bike, thief rides off...

Cheers

Toby

In reply to Toby_W:

Yeah.