Making your skiing better
Carv 2 is a unique proposition. There’s nothing else out there that will capture and analyse your skiing data, turning it into real-time coaching. It’s an expensive option, but this is one-of-a-kind tech.
Pros
- New design boosts flexibility
- Unrivalled skiing data
- Coaching is varied
- A great aid for intermediate skiers
- Gamification of skiing is great fun
Cons
- There are ongoing costs
- Constant feedback can be overbearing
- Limited data on upper body movement
Key Features
-
Updated look New insert-free design
-
AI skills AI-powered data analysis
-
Virtual coach Real-time coaching while skiiing
Introduction
Carv, from Motion Metrics, sees a fusion of technology in a solution designed to make your skiing better. The first generation Carv hit Kickstarter in 2016 and I first got to sample the skiing tech in 2022, before sampling Carv 2 as it released in 2024.
Let me start by explaining how Carv works: it gathers data from sensors and transmits that to your phone, running the Carv app. That data is stored and analysed in real time, with feedback provided via headphones. For most people, that means taking advantage of ambient mode on your earbuds, so you can listen to that feedback while also staying aware of the world around you.
I’m a comfortable intermediate skier, some may say I’m a competent parallel skier – I had many years of lessons when I was younger. I know that I could be a better skier, but the expense of lessons and being separated from family and friends on skiing holidays isn’t something I want. But Carv changes all that, meaning I can ski however I want, with feedback and personalised coaching in my ear.
Cost and Subscriptions
The pricing structure for Carv 2 is fairly simple: you’ll need the sensors and then you’ll need to pay for a Pass that gives you access to all the features. There are essentially two ways to buy. The first option is £199/$249 a year with the sensors thrown in free. This gives you year-round access to the Carv world, but there’s an ongoing £199/$249 a year to pay.
The second option is a 6 Day Pass, which better fits the way most people ski, on a typical annual ski holiday. In this case you pay £99/$119 a year, but you have to pay £99/$129 for the sensors. Whichever way you cut it, getting started with Carv 2 will cost you just under £200/$250 in the first year. After that, it will cost you at least £99/$119 a year if you want to keep using it, which you undoubtedly will.
Design and Build
- Sensor for each boot
- Clips to boot strap
- USB-C connection for charging
Carv 2 consists of two sensor blocks containing the battery to keep them running for about 5 days. The units are finished in black plastic, with LEDs on the exterior meaning you can check connectivity easily, while a metal clip is on the back of the unit. This clip goes over the strap at the top of your ski boot.
The sensors are placed on the outside face of your boots, with one on each side allowing data to be gathered from each ski. Anyone who has spent any time on the snow will know that skiing is all about how you move your weight around and this is what the Carv 2 units are designed to capture, in very fine detail.
The sensors themselves are then essentially hidden under your legwear and you don’t have to think about them. There’s no need to turn them on or off, they connect via Bluetooth to your phone and they contain an internal battery so there are no wires.
Each Carv 2 unit has a USB-C connection for charging, with a neat cable in the box that has a single USB connection on one end and two on the other, so you can charge both at the same time. The battery lasts for about 5 days per charge while packed into the unit are 6-axis motion sensors to capture all your movement.
This is a huge advance over the original Carv which needed an insole to be inserted into your boot, with wires coming out to an eternal battery and transmitter clipped to the strap of your boot. The new design changes the data gathering sensor to a degree, but it makes installation almost instantaneous. I clipped the sensors onto my boots from the hire shop, signed into the app and paired the new sensors and I was good to go – it was a 2-minute process.
Ski Tracking and Coaching
- Real-time audio feedback
- Chairlift coaching feedback
- Achievements and awards
The hardware itself collects that data, but it’s on your phone where the magic happens. Once connected to those sensors, the app interprets exactly how you’re skiing, what your skis are doing, how you’re moving your weight around, as well as other data from your phone’s GPS, like speed, the runs you’re on, altitude changes and so on.
It also knows when you’re on ski lifts, although this is nothing unique as you’ll get the same information if you use a Garmin Fenix to track your skiing, for example.
The ultimate aim of Carv 2 is to make your skiing better and it does this through analysis of all that data and feedback via your headphones. That allows for real-time feedback, which can be as frequent as every turn. There are several modes to control the coaching experience, with the ability to focus on particular parts of the turn so you can improve your skills in specific areas.
This breakdown of parts of the skiing technique is the same approach that you’d get from a human coach. That real-life coach might have you doing exercises to move your weight forward and Carv 2 can prompt you to do the same thing.
Carv 2 breaks your skiing down into three major aspects: Rotary, Edging and Balance. These are then broken down into finer details, for example, in Rotary, you’ll find Parallel Skis and Turn Shape as metrics, with the ability to set your focus on any of those smaller metrics to help perfect your turn.
While this sounds complicated – and no one said that skiing was easy – Carv cleverly gamifies your skiing, assigning you a Ski:IQ. This gives you an overall score so you can easily track progress. Believe me, levelling up your Ski:IQ is an achievement and this is where the fun comes in.
Everything you do on skis is recorded in the app, organised into runs, so you can dive in and examine everything at your own leisure once you’ve finished skiing for the day. You’ll be able to see every run, every turn plus your performance for that run across all the metrics that are gathered. This sort of data just isn’t available anywhere else, making Carv 2 a unique proposition.
What’s skiing with Carv 2 like?
While that all sounds great, let’s get into the meat of what it’s actually like. Firstly, to get the most out of Carv, you need to ski wearing headphones. I only wore one earbud, but some might find it more comfortable to wear both – without wearing the earbuds, you miss out on a huge part of what Carv 2 will do.
When it comes to skiing, you’ll need to go out and do a couple of turns to get the sensors to calibrate, but after that, you can just get on with skiing. One of the great things about Carv is you can have as much or as little feedback as you like. If you opt for turn-by-turn feedback, you’ll get a positive beep for a successful turn, or a slightly more miserable noise if you don’t have a good turn.
My favourite part of this is real-time feedback is streaks – string together a series of great turns and you’ll hear the feedback getting more and more excitable. Of course, the aim is to beat your previous record, which is great fun.
That can be a little intense, so you can turn off the real-time feedback, instead saving the commentary for when you stop. That’s great, because you can just ski and when you stop to catch your breath or to wait for friends, Carv will give you feedback, talking about your performance and what you should focus on.
You have to be committed to Carv and want to improve your skiing for everything to work. There’s a lot of data and a lot of information and it is possible to get a little lost, so you’ll have to put some time in to explore the app and make sure you understand what all the terminology means. There are example videos in the app to help you figure it all out and through listening, watching, repeating and really focusing on what you’re doing, you’ll start to get a feel for that tiny piece of technique you’re trying to improve.
Carv 2 is addictive. If you’re the sort of person who likes diving into all their Strava data after a run or has loaded up a road bike with sensors to get more data about your ride, then Carv is probably going to appeal to you. Getting into the gondola to ride back up the mountain and pouring through the information is part of the experience – especially as you start making those small improvements and levelling up.
Should you buy it?
You should buy if you are an intermediate skier
If you feel like your skiing is no longer getting any better, then Carv 2 can help you and comes highly recommended.
If you’re a beginner than Carv 2 isn’t for you
Carv 2 won’t teach you to ski from scratch, you’ll be better with a real coach.
Final Thoughts
For me, the Carv 2 experience is hugely valuable. My skiing had plateaued, but by using Carv, I now have the opportunity to improve on every run, regardless of who I’m skiing with – and without needing to go back to ski school.
There are definite improvements in Carv 2, it’s simpler to install the hardware and the app and feedback are as detailed and fun as ever. There’s a cost, sure, but compare that to the cost of a lift pass or accommodation in a popular resort, and it’s a small price to pay for all that personalised coaching.
Trusted Score
How we test
We thoroughly test every device we review. I skied with the original Carv in 2022 and Carv 2 in 2024 on the Stubai Glacier and at Axamer Lizum in Austria to assess its skills. I have been skiing for over 30 years. We’ll always tell you what we find and we never, ever, accept money to review a product.
- Tested for a week of skiing
- Compared to the original model
FAQs
Carv 2 moves to a new design, with all the sensors in a unit on your boot, so it doesn’t require any insoles. This makes it much better for those with custom boots, or those who hire boots when skiing. The app features between the two are the same.
Yes, it does – as long as there’s a strap on the top to attach the Carv unit to then you’ll be fine. Some older boots or boots that aren’t designed for downhill skiing might not have this strap, but most will.
Full Specifications
Full Specs
| Carv 2 Review | |
|---|---|
| UK RRP | £199 |