What are carving skis?

Before 1990, skis typically had straight parallel edges, i.e. the same width everywhere. Then came along the snowboard, which was able to "carve" easily due to the curved siderails, which made the board narrowest in the middle. This shape made the snowboard easy to turn by tilting it on its edge, and riding this way became known as "carving".

To allow skiers to carve with the same ease as snowboarders, the skis were modified to have a shape similar to snowboards: Wide at the ends, and with a narrow width in the middle of these skis.

At their introduction, such skis were sold as "carving skis", to differentiate them from the traditional, straight-edge skis.

The "carving skis" were indeed easier to turn and learn. They became a big success and generally replaced the older ski design. As a result, today pretty much all skis are "carving skis", and the distinction is not really necessary anymore.

SJO