Carv 2 Ski Coach: first impressions
Imagine a world where your ski instructor could quite literally put themselves in your shoes. No more assumptions or vague interpretations that get lost in translation; instead, every assessment is precise, pointing out exactly where you’re going wrong and how to fix it. That’s what Carv 2 can offer.
This digital ski coaching technology is revolutionizing the slopes. With two small sensors that weigh about as much as three AAA batteries, you can unlock a whole world of motion data from your smartphone. Clip them to your ski boots and they’ll analyze a host of skiing skills, from turn shape and edging to balance and speed.
The technology uses algorithms to evaluate your technique, turning what could otherwise be considered nitpicky nuts and bolts of skiing into a fun, competitive element, known as a Ski:IQ score, based on your skill. There’s also the option to customize your focus metric (turn shape, edging, parallel skis, etc) and receive real-time feedback through headphones.
Specifications
• List price: $249 / £199 (device and annual Carv Pass membership); $119 / £99 for a 6-day Carv Pass subscription.
• Connection type: Bluetooth
• Sensors: 6-axis motion sensor, gyro + accelerometer
• Weight: 34g per sensor
• Water resistance: Waterproof/snowproof
• Battery life: 5 days
• Best use: Resort skiing, intermediate or advanced skiers
This second iteration of Carv was released at the end of 2024. The earlier model relied on footbeds you inserted into your ski boots, which required a fair amount of calibrating to customize the pressure sensors. All of that is no more. The developers have crammed all the tech to fit inside two tiny sensors that clip to your boot straps, so there’s no fiddly set-up necessary. All you need is a Bluetooth connection to your phone (you won’t even need mobile data for the app to work, so no need to worry about roaming charges abroad).
Carv 2 Ski Coach: On the slopes
I would call myself a pretty average skier, which actually makes me the perfect Carv customer. I’m comfortable on steeper blue runs, and I can make my way down a black, although I lack control a bit on the latter. (In terms of types of skiing, Carv is for downhill only.) I started my week in British Columbia, Canada (in a small resort called Silver Star) with no preconceived ambitions, so I left the decision-making to Carv.
One of the features Carv 2 boasts is automatic terrain detection and snow conditions (smooth groomers, powder skiing, moguls, etc). During our visit, we had bluebird days with warmer conditions and slushier snow, as well as white-out days with much choppier powder, so I was keen to see how the tech held up.
I also had a private lesson with an instructor. There’s much talk about whether a device that sells itself as a “ski instructor in your pocket” is kicking the real deal out of jobs, but that’s far from the case. The whole premise of Carv is that it works with, rather than against, instructors (developers made a huge effort to consult ski professionals during testing and manufacturing). My instructor was even a Carv user himself. I used the two in tandem, using Carv’s data to dictate the areas to focus on during my lesson. Here’s how it went.
Hardware and ease of use
The huge advantage of Carv 2 is the simplicity of the hardware. Clipping these sensors to your boots takes just seconds, and you can easily fit them in your ski jacket pocket if you decide to take them off. You can even interchange them among your friends (as long as you’re happy for their Ski:IQ score to read as your own!)
What surprised me most was the battery life. I skied with Carv for five full days and I didn’t need to recharge them at all. The sensors have an auto-wake/sleep function, so there’s no power switch – they just goes into hibernation mode when not in use. They also use low-energy Bluetooth to save your phone’s battery so you can run them all day.
I was most skeptical about the sensor’s ability to measure balance. With Carv 1, each footbed had 36 pressure sensors to precisely measure how your weight was distributed. Of course, the new model can’t do that. What it can do, however, is measure changes in acceleration as a skier moves backwards and forwards over their bindings, as well as vertical acceleration as you move up and down during the turn. I played around with some exaggerated movements on the slopes and the various different balance metrics did indeed pick them up (in fact, my “transition weight release” improved as a result).
Feedback and coaching
Carv offers feedback via three coaching modes: Active Coach (real-time feedback), Ski:IQ and Tips (a summary of your progress plus ski tips on the chair lift), and Ski:IQ Only. Each mode can be accessed via audio feedback through headphones if you truly want to focus on technique, but there’s an option to switch it off if you just want to enjoy skiing or you’re with company.
I used Active Coach mode with the audio on most days (I opted for bone conduction headphones so I could still hear and follow ski safety rules). It gives you reassuring little “dings” on every successful turn that rise in pitch as you build a streak. The feedback on the chairlift was succinct but useful, offering a tip for the next run down the mountain and a few words of encouragement (“go get ’em, tiger!” was a personal favorite). The only snag is the robotic nature of the voice. I hoped for something akin to Alexa but got something more like an early text-to-speech TomTom. There are plenty of voices to choose from, but I found they all had the same problem.
That superficial issue aside, the data Carv captures is extremely detailed, so much so that there’s a risk it could bog you down. There were times I felt like I had a great run, only to realize I’d scored a mediocre IQ. I then began to overanalyze every turn for the rest of the day, which does take the fun out the skiing somewhat. In terms of accuracy, though, it’s spot on. Tech nerds will have a field day.
By day three, I’d wrapped my head around the metrics and turned off audio coaching so I could enjoy skiing a bit more. I decided to make improving my turn shape the focus of the week. Every skier has a weaker leg, but I wasn’t as aware of how acutely worse my left-hand turns were. Rather than swooping C-shapes, my rotary diagram showed a rushed zig-zag. I read the improvement tips in the Carv app (and showed my instructor during my lesson), working on drills like “patience turns”, “stork turns”, and toppling into the fall line. The difference between day one and day three was immense.
The Ski:IQ score will adapt to your terrain, pitch, and slope grading, and I found it rewards more challenging runs (which are all shown on a GPS map of your resort, by the way – great for navigating on the go). For reference, my personal best of 126 was on a black run – reassuring as this is where I thought things could go downhill (pardon the pun).
One of the pitfalls, however, is the inaccuracy in detecting terrain/snow conditions. While Carv did pick up on uneven conditions (ungroomed runs, for example), it failed to pick up the times I was skiing bumps or powder. You can override these within the app afterward, but I saw no score adjustments.
Lastly, there’s quite a bit of ski jargon to wrap your head around (both in the in-app tips and audio coaching), which can be hard to decipher if you’re a relatively new skier. I also found some of the conceptual coaching tips a bit vague. That said, when you dig deeper into the app, there are “real-life” tips from instructors for each skill, as well as “feels like” insights for movement recognition (one read “feels like you’re getting out of a rocking chair at the end of each turn”). Both of these were far easier to interpret.
App features and interface
All your data is shown in Carv app (which you can only access with a subscription to Carv, purchased alongside the up-front cost of the hardware). The interface is user-friendly and easy to navigate, and there’s lots to explore. For each performance metric you’ll get detailed personal insights. The data visualization and graphics make it easy to see where you’re going wrong and spot improvements over time.
Besides the performance analysis, there are also video drills you can watch from within the app. Lots of these address the upper body to help you improve you’re separation. Of course, this is the area that the hardware itself can’t offer feedback on, but the library of video drills is a great way to augment your learning in this department and help you to progress.
There’s also a nifty feature called video coaching mode. You can record a Carv user from within the app, and it will then visually analyze your skiing and offer a Ski:IQ. In terms of accuracy, it’s hard to say how it shapes up compared to insights from the sensors (and you can’t dive into the metrics as you normally would), but it’s a useful tool for visualizing your ski technique, allowing you to pause or view in slow-mo to dissect your turns.
Carv 2 Ski Coach: the bottom line
The conclusion I’ve made is that the way Carv wants you to ski is quite particular. It can’t account for individual ski style (we all have one), and there are understandable limitations (which it’s very honest about, outlining each metric’s limitation within the app). In short, you shouldn’t take what it says as absolute gospel.
The trick is to avoid getting bogged down by the sheer amount of data and allow it to overwhelm or dishearten you. Rather than look at every single segment in detail, I decided to see Carv as a game for self-improvement. I honed in on one metric (turn shape), and made that my sole focus for the week.
Finally, and most notably, Carv isn’t a substitute for a ski lesson (and it doesn’t claim to be). Instead, it’s a supplement. It’s a great tool to help you target specific changes you need to make to improve your skiing technique (in my case, changes I wasn’t even aware of), but it can’t cover the full gamut. The aim is to help you become a smooth carving skier, so it’s unsuitable for first-timers. If, however, you’re a semi-frequent intermediate or advanced skier and you want to add a tool to your belt that will help you hone certain skills, it’s a magical piece of kit that’s surprisingly fun to use.
