The OSM (Over Snow Mobility) from DPS is a new military ski designed for use in conditions where you won’t traverse terrain over a 14 degree grade. It incorporates Fish Scales on the bottom which are as efficient as skins on those smaller hills. Think of it as a more efficient snow shoe.
They also have a binding which accepts Mickey Mouse as well as Mountaineering Boots. The OSM is Made in USA and features a MultiCam Alpine top sheet.
Tags: DPS, Warrior West
“Think of it as a more efficient snow shoe”
Agree. That is the proper view of all military skis.
same tech as you find on childrens skis in norway..
The root problem with US forces on skis…? Lack of large-scale use in childhood and general civilian life.
I don’t care how much damn training you give the guys, the average US soldier you try to mobilize on skis is going to be hard-pressed to even begin to keep up with a friggin’ Finn or Norwegian on the same terrain. Not saying you can’t try, but… There’s no way in hell you can gadget or train your way out of the skill deficiency. Some Finns and Norwegians start skiing as soon as they start walking, and add in the sheer reflexive value of long-term muscle memory they build up…?
Hell, I grew up on skis, to some degree–Lots more than the average recruit ever experiences. I thought I was reasonably proficient, and then ran into a Finn on vacation here in the US. He wanted to find somewhere to go out and do Biathlon training, because he felt he was getting a little rusty–He’d been a junior officer candidate in Finland, and while here on a college exchange tour, he wanted to make sure he had his skills up to par for him going back to finish officer’s training the following year.
I went out with him, and I’m here to tell you that I was one embarrassed mofo’… I could not keep up with him in the woods, and he was going through dense terrain like it was an open park. I did not realize, until that moment, just what an advantage lifelong practice of a skill has, in something like this, and I also suddenly understood the exchange ratios between the Finns and the Soviets. If the rest of the Finnish ski troops were anywhere near this guy’s proficiency on skis, forget about it–I’d want to start talking about using something capable of erasing grid squares before I took our guys into the woods after them, maybe even nukes. The difference in mobility and agility is that big… You might make two-three miles into the forest, and then you’d start getting nibbled to death by people you could barely even see, let alone respond to.
Charlie don’t surf, US military don’t ski
“the average US soldier you try to mobilize on skis is going to be hard-pressed to even begin to keep up with a friggin’ Finn or Norwegian on the same terrain”
Agree however we have skiers…some even in the right units/teams. DPS is known for putting out some good skis…look close and you’ll see some on ROMP’s and Voile’s too.
…those other guys are called ” Mule Skinners” 😉
So, can I take these things down a Black Diamond or what?