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Gripper ski design makes the PRO useless

Old Scud-doo

Well-known member
Premium Member
Dec 28, 2007
995
507
93
Middle Montana
I rode my 11' with SLP Powder Pro's for almost the entire time I had her. This year I decided to keep the gripper ski's since my dealer got me a set of white ones to match the 13' LE. Well I broke down and bought white bottoms for Powder Pro's. I rode last weekend and they are hands down a better ski. The gripper is a great OEM ski but the sled steers better and is actually easier to roll on it's side with the Pro's. Could be the Carl's cut helping out in that area too but I will never run a stock ski again.
 
A

ak

Well-known member
Dec 7, 2007
2,776
723
113
I rode my 11' with SLP Powder Pro's for almost the entire time I had her. This year I decided to keep the gripper ski's since my dealer got me a set of white ones to match the 13' LE. Well I broke down and bought white bottoms for Powder Pro's. I rode last weekend and they are hands down a better ski. The gripper is a great OEM ski but the sled steers better and is actually easier to roll on it's side with the Pro's. Could be the Carl's cut helping out in that area too but I will never run a stock ski again.

That's why you Carl cut the gripper ski, that's what I do.
 
S

snomac

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2007
118
50
28
43
Layton, Utah
I rode with the Powder Pros last year, while my friends had the grippers on theirs. We switched back and forth and we all preferred the stock gripper as an all around great ski. The Powder Pro is great for deep powder and that is it. Just different opinions though.

400 miles on my sled the stock rubber almost cut all the way through, definitely noticed the skis wanting to go vertical on a sharp turn back up hill or side hilling down hill. We put the C & A rubbers on and they are much better for sure.

We did not want to cut the rubber at all because we thought it would make it too thin. We trimmed the ribs of the ski and it didn't scare us at all because its only a little bit and then it seemed to fit great.

We have several rides on with the C & A rubbers and we all notice a difference and like them much better.

My two friends have the carls cut on their Gripper skis and it does make it easier to side hill. I haven't cut mine because I think the Pro is easy enough to side hill already, or maybe I'm just too lazy to get the saw out.
 
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akrevrider

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2008
588
160
43
Wasilla, Alaska
I rode with the Powder Pros last year, while my friends had the grippers on theirs. We switched back and forth and we all preferred the stock gripper as an all around great ski. The Powder Pro is great for deep powder and that is it. Just different opinions though.

400 miles on my sled the stock rubber almost cut all the way through, definitely noticed the skis wanting to go vertical on a sharp turn back up hill or side hilling down hill. We put the C & A rubbers on and they are much better for sure.

We did not want to cut the rubber at all because we thought it would make it too thin. We trimmed the ribs of the ski and it didn't scare us at all because its only a little bit and then it seemed to fit great.

We have several rides on with the C & A rubbers and we all notice a difference and like them much better.

My two friends have the carls cut on their Gripper skis and it does make it easier to side hill. I haven't cut mine because I think the Pro is easy enough to side hill already, or maybe I'm just too lazy to get the saw out.

Can you please post a pic or two of the Grippers with the Carl's Cut?
 
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akrevrider

Well-known member
Jan 15, 2008
588
160
43
Wasilla, Alaska
In order for the ski rubbers to do any good with any ski they need to be tight as in AKmclean's second paragraph. Always have and will need to be.

A 2x4 available for getting the bolt lined up for the inside of the ski works well.
Start bolt from the outside of the ski towards the inside, with the 2x4 under the inside edge of the ski, kneel on spindle until the holes line up (may require putting some directional english on the ski as well), with a soft hammer tap bolt thru, so as not to damage the threads, install nut, torque and repeat for other side.

My gut feeling tells me that either shimming the stock rubber up or using an aftermarket rubber will both accomplish the desired effect. The key is the effort needed to compress the rubber so that it works as needed for our demanding riding style. The rubbers were engineered for the flat land by flat landers, a shim at a minimum is needed for mountain riding.

On my Grippers I installed 6" Bergstrom carbides, ski shims & ski savers. I have a couple of rides with this set and have not experienced the ski flipping back up on me while riding.
 
A
Nov 26, 2007
600
284
63
Alaska
I've found you can order CnA pro ski rubbers direct from them for $10 a pop. Next time I have my hands on a gripper I will see about the fitment of the CnA rubber in the gripper.
 
R
Aug 30, 2008
1,438
151
63
Rocky Mountians
2013 Pro Ski Fix ?

We have two 13's in our group and they both have a very annoying problem.

The ski's turn straight up and down on a hard carve or low speed sidehill.

I went *** over tea kettle last season and the ski was left straight up and down with the rubber pushed out the sides. New rubbers didn't help.

I otherwise like the stock ski's but need to fix this

option 2 is aftermarket skis

Any ideas ?
 

o2bncamo

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Nov 7, 2009
189
50
28
wisconsin
ski fix

I cut a 3/16" aluminum plate, and put it under new rubbers late year worked very well. The 12 Pro I had did the same thing. Last summer plated the 13 , left the 12 one stock and the 13 worked much better.
It very hard to get the bolt in but can be done.
 
C
Nov 30, 2007
941
377
63
Grand Junction, CO
Thanks

This is the most annoying problem! After going through 4 sets of garbage Oem rubbers, I switched to SLP powder pros. I love the SLP's in powder, but hate them in set up snow. The rubbers however are 200% better, so unless I can come up with a solution for the gripper (which I like better overall) I will be running SLP next season.
 

colorado_matt

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Lifetime Membership
Nov 26, 2007
1,533
1,252
113
COLORADO
An aluminum plate works ok until you get enough pressure to bend or break it. Then you are having the same issue. This is definitely the downfall of an otherwise decent mountain ski. Fix seems to be filling the hollow area of the ski with silicon or spray foam insulation then install the aluminum plate and mount. Aftermarket skis come with a much better mounting setup and there looks to be something new from C&A Pro skis that should be released at Haydays........
 

o2bncamo

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Nov 7, 2009
189
50
28
wisconsin
I am suprised that the aluminum would bend. I hit a stump that folded the ski tip under the shock. It wrecked the ski and skibolt but the alum plate was fine 7075 aulminum. I did fill under the plate only because water or ice sits in there I don't think it really adds any support. Aftermaket skis work but the balance isn't the same. The Gripper is much longer in the front of the spindle compared all other I've seen. The powder pros work very well, but the sled does handle different.
 
2

2mileshigh

Active member
Nov 26, 2007
380
44
28
We have two 13's in our group and they both have a very annoying problem.

The ski's turn straight up and down on a hard carve or low speed sidehill.

I went *** over tea kettle last season and the ski was left straight up and down with the rubber pushed out the sides. New rubbers didn't help.

I otherwise like the stock ski's but need to fix this

option 2 is aftermarket skis

Any ideas ?

I bought some ski-doo rubbers. Twice as wide and have been working great!
 

LoudHandle

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Lifetime Membership
Apr 21, 2011
3,900
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Valdez, AK
There was a thread on this last winter; Most were finding that modifying the C&A rubbers to fit the Gripper worked out very well. From memory the C&A replacement rubbers were ~$10.00 Each, when bought directly from C&A. The C&A's are a stiffer Durometer and as such retain there shape better and will not over center like the stock rubbers do.
 
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snomac

Well-known member
Nov 26, 2007
118
50
28
43
Layton, Utah
I hated this problem. so mid season I ordered the the rubbers from C&A. You have to modify a bit and use your weight to get the bolt in, but it works very well. Much better than the soft stock junk rubber.
 
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