CARV
Effortless Skiing Made Easy

About 9 years ago, I discovered this little known company that was promoting its product on Kick-starter.  They called it CARV and the idea was to make a device that could ultimately become a ski instructor in your pocket. 

 

I became an early adopter and eventually was asked by one of the founders and developers, Jamie Grant to provide feedback to them on what I thought of the concept.  This turned into a number of long conversations by Skype and completing well orchestrated questionnaires that Jamie had developed in order to solicit what people in the ski instruction business thought was important and should ultimately be a part of the product as it evolved.

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Fast forward to 2025-26 and to the newest iteration, it has continued to evolve taking the necessary steps to reach prime time and into something that even the neophyte skier can benefit from. 

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So what is it exactly?  They are referring to it as a digital ski coach and that in a nutshell, is a fair description of what it is.  Will it put ski instructors out of business?  Hardly, and not anytime soon but what it does do is put you and mainline instruction on the same page (all of a sudden.)  So much of ski instruction historically has been hidden in the caverns of instructors manuals, many outdated by the time they were in print and others lost in translation from various languages and none of it ever offered a way to provide measurable instant metrics that a person could use to compare and grow with. 

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From a hardware perspective, under the hood ie. gone are the sensors in the boot and replaced with "Motion AI". The tracker also houses the battery that keeps it running and the Bluetooth transmitter that connects everything to your smartphone and the CARV App.  With me so far?

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In 2024 - 2025, the CARV2 was a big upgrade that eliminated the sensor insole and wiring and replaced everything needed to track your movements into the not-so-simple module that clips onto your ski boot strap.  Once connected up to your phone, you're set to go.  This has made everything infinitely more user friendly and setup a breeze.

 

This year, the unit itself now boasts "New Personalized Pathways" for everyone from the intermediate levels on up allowing the skier to get measurable feedback on the essential elements of skiing with instant metrics on your Carving, Short Turns, Moguls, Parallel & Powder.  Your input is instantly compared with data from some of the best skiers in the world; how good is that?  Really, how good is that?

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There are various ways to tap into the feedback ranging from analyzing your results at the end of the day or even after each run by looking at your device after your run or day to hooking up headphones so that you can instantly hear the feedback on any and all of the metrics all with fewer taps than ever before.  Not only that, there are mini tutorials on all the measurable components that will give you the WHY it is important to be improving your effort until you're scoring within the target zones.  Although skiing is a solo sport, with CARV, you can connect, track and celebrate with friends.

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CARV uses a subscription model for all of the instructional parts and it is sold as an annual pass; all the essential hardware is included with your initial purchase.

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The big question is this worth the investment in time and money to you?  For starters, analyze your own degree of curiosity as that should go a long way to providing the answer.  I know that the current product is well tested for durability and they also have great customer service which is important. 

 

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If you're reading this and are a member of the SST Program and if you'd like to get set up for this season, click through on this link or the link at the top of the page and get a limited time Early Bird Deal of $50.00 OFF of your first subscription.

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Go on, get in on the fun; give them a whirl.

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Full Disclosure:  I am an early adopter, Founder and Lifetime Pass-holder.  I have been using the CARV System from the get-go and continue to improve my own Skier IQ season in and season out.

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