Most skiers want feedback about their skiing, for improving their technique. The ski sensor from Rossignol offers one that not only does what skiers want in unprecedented detail, but also light and tiny enough to be unobtrusive. For instance, you get details about edge-to-edge transition time, in-air rotation, g-force, airtime and more. The sensor is slick enough and low profile, so you may not even notice that you have it on you.
This multi-sport ski sensor, Piq, measures just 44 x 38 x 5.4 mm. In the three-piece setup, the largest is the AA-battery sized charging unit. When not in use, you can simply plug this into the USB port of your computer and leave it for charging. It has a steel clamp to allow the Piq sensor to snap under it when you are resting. This gives the Piq sensor a quick recharge during say, lunchtime. In real use, the Piq sensor stays in a small pocket on the ankle strap that you strap around your ankle. You must be careful when you wrap and strap the ankle strap to prevent the Piq sensor from flying out during some of the most aggressive sessions.
Once you have had it on securely, you can forget about the Piq. Those who tried it on for multiple days, say the Piq never budged, even when the skier straight-lined it at over 100 kmph, jumped, skied corn snow, groomers, hard pack, and deep powder. In general, whether you slash, thrash, and even smash a few gates, this tiny, light, and secure Piq sensor will stay with you.
The Piq sensor has its own battery, powering it on for continuous tracking for about three hours, according to the manufacturer. In actual practice, the battery lasts longer than the manufacturer’s claim, before needing a recharge. This is indeed a big plus for the Piq, as it is very rare for the battery performance in a device to exceed the manufacturer’s claims.
While you are on the snow, the Piq sensor will track and record several statistics such as your speed, rotation time in the air, total airtime, G-force when you land, and the G-force when you take a turn. It will record your edge-to-edge transition time and the angulation of your ski in a turn, generally known as the carving degree. You can time your skiing time, as against standing or riding the chair, etc., your total run, and all your motions including the turns and jumps during the session. Piq will even count the turns per minute when you are skiing.
A free Android or iOS app companion allows the user to get access to the data the Piq sensor has acquired. No cable connection is necessary, as the smartphone connects to the sensor via Bluetooth 4.0. However, the app does not give you the data in real-time. Rather, it synchronizes your session when you trigger the specific function within the app.
An interactive, info-graphic style interface displays the data you pulled in and allows you to look at topline data for the session. You can then drill down to specifics about your turns and jumps.
