Do Edgie Wedgies Actually Work? A Ski Instructors Honest Take

Episode Summary

If you've ever stood on a bunny slope repeating "make a pizza!" while your kid stares at you blankly, this episode is going to change your next ski day. Jessica breaks down the Edgie Wedgie — a $12 ski tip connector that she's carried in her jacket pocket for 17 years — and explains exactly why it's one of the most effective tools for skiing with kids under six. Every ski parent needs to hear this before their next trip to the mountain.

What You'll Learn

• What an Edgie Wedgie actually is and how it works to teach kids to ski faster and with less frustration
• Why "spread your legs" works better than "make a pizza" when children learning to ski are just starting out
• The simple tension trick that tells you exactly when to take it off — one of the most practical family skiing tips in this episode
• Who should (and shouldn't) use one, and why it's only recommended for kids six and under
• What to avoid when buying a ski tip connector — and the one mistake that permanently damaged a pair of skis

Key Takeaway

"You've taken an abstract concept they couldn't figure out and turned it into a physical action they already know how to do."

About Your Host

Jessica Averett is a PSIA-certified ski instructor with over 20 years of experience teaching kids ski lessons to hundreds of children — and to all five of her own kids, most of whom were skiing before age three. She shares everything she knows about how to ski with kids at skiingkid.com.

Resources & Links

• 🎿 Ready to stop guessing and start skiing with a real plan? Check out First Tracks: A Parent's Guide to Teaching Kids to Ski — Jessica's course built specifically for parents.
• 📖 Read the full Edgie Wedgie guide on her website Skiingkid.com

Skiing with Kids is hosted by Jessica Averett, a ski instructor and mom of five who has spent more than 20 years helping kids learn to ski. This podcast helps parents create calmer, happier ski days by focusing on confidence, connection, and simple strategies that actually work with kids on the mountain.  She's the founder of First Tracks: A Parent's Guide to Teaching Kids to Ski, a course that walks parents through everything they need to know to skip overpriced ski school and confidently teach their own kids to ski.

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Transcript

0:01

Welcome to Skiing with Kids. I'm your host Jessica, a ski instructor, mom of five, and someone who's seen just about every ski day meltdown that you can imagine. After 20 years of teaching kids on the mountain, I've learned that great ski days aren't about perfect technique. They're about confidence, connection, and knowing what actually works. And this podcast is where we break it all down. Today I wanna talk about something that I have literally carried in my jacket pocket for the last 22 years. It costs about $12 fits in your hand, and it is hands down one of the most effective tools that I have ever used to teach little kids to ski. You guys, we are talking about the edgy wedgie today, and if you've never heard of it. Or you've heard of it, but you weren't sure if it was actually worth it or if it would help your kid. This episode is for you. Now let's talk about all the things. Now, the problem parents run into with the edgy wedgie, and I see this every single weekend at the resort, a parent brings their kid to the bunny slope. Uh, they get their skis on and they spend the next. Hour, losing their mind, repeating the same thing over and over and over again. Make a pizza. Pizza. Make the pizza shape the kid tries. But here's the thing, guys, the wedge shape is not natural movement. Kids don't walk around doing it in daily life, so they're trying to make a shape. Their muscles literally have never made before. All while standing on slippery snow, while being cold and dealing with everything else that comes with being a little kid who's new to the mountain. What I see happen is this, your kid is gonna get tense, they're gonna have their arms out at weird angles. Their knees are knocking together or bowing out, and they start overthinking literally every single moment. Movement. Instead of just skiing and the parent keeps explaining over and over again. And the more the parent talks, the more the kid gets confused. And by run three, somebody's crying. And I'll be honest, it's usually the parent. I've been there and honestly, I have watched this happen hundreds of times. You guys, there is a better way. Now what's an edgy wedgie? Now sometimes this is an edgy wedgie is called a ski tip connector, and it's a small, little like bungee like attachment that clamps onto the tips of each of a kid's ski. They're about six to eight inches long, usually in bright colors, and they've got a little bit of stretch in the middle so that it's really gentle on their legs. Now what it does is really simple. It's gonna hold their ski tips together and that one thing. Literally changes everything for a beginner skier because when their ski tips are held together, all your kid has to do to make a wedge to stop or control their speed is to spread their legs apart. That's literally it. The edgy wedge, he does the rest of the work. So spread your legs is something a kid already knows how to do. Making a wedge is not, they've done it a thousand times. The moment you replace, make a pizza shape with spread your legs. Something clicks their body gets it immediately. Now, when I'm skiing with really tiny skiers, I'll often tell them to make their skis really big, and in their mind it clicks. What's gonna happen is they're gonna spread their arms wide and their legs will follow. Also, getting super wide, it is incredible to watch everything just fall into place for a kid when they make that wedge shape and stop for the first time. Now I look at an edgy wedgie, exactly like, uh, I would look at training wheels on a bike, right? You're gonna put training wheels on so that your kid can learn how to pedal and control their speed and build their confidence before they have to manage everything on their own. And as soon as they figure that out, you're gonna take those training wheels off, right? Because the goal is always to get them writing independently. Same thing with the edgy wedgie. Now edgy wedgies are designed for young beginner skiers. I recommend them for kids six and under. Older kids and adults, learning to ski should not use one. But for little kids, it is almost always the right call. Now in over 20 years of teaching kids to ski, I would estimate that fewer than 10% of the kids ages four. And under that I taught. We're able to learn to stop without using en an edgy wedgie. All five of my own kids started on one and most of my kids started to ski. Four of my kids started to ski, um, when they were just over, like around 18 months old. Um, I know, I know it's ridiculous, but like the edgy wedgie is what made that possible because. At 18 months, you cannot explain a wedge to a kid. You can't coach it. Uh, you just have to make it possible for their body to feel it, to get that muscle memory. And that's what an edgy wedgie does. It is a tool that all your kid has to do is spread their legs and they can make it. And that is honestly the key to skiing with really little kids. Because they can probably follow you. They can, um, you know, they have really dynamic bodies. They're super resilient, but if they can't make that wedge, they can't ski. So having an edgy wedgie for really little kids is an, it's a literal game changer. You guys. Now when parents are using an edgy wedgie, I see, um, parents making the biggest mistakes going both directions with how long they're using it, right? Now some are gonna take the edgy wedgie off way too soon, and other parents leave the edgy wedgie on way too long. The rule that I go by is really simple, watch for tension. As long as your kid is actively pulling against the edgy wedgie and it's ac, it's getting tight when they move their skis. Um. You'll see, you'll like feel the resistance right there. That means that they still need it. Their body hasn't figured out the mechanics and the movement on their own yet. That's when you need to leave it on. Now, the moment that you realize that the edgy wedge is slack and loose more often than it's tight, it's like doesn't have the stretch, the resistance, it's kind of just there not really doing anything. That's your green light to take it off. Their muscles have found the wedge independently and they don't need their edgy wedgie anymore. Now for older beginners, um, maybe 4, 5, 6. That can happen within a single day in the snow Now for really young ones, um, those two and three year olds, or if you're crazy like we are and start your kids when they're one. It might take a couple seasons. My kids personally wore edgy wedgies until they were three years old. Um, most of 'em, I had one that got it off right before, you know, he was two, almost three. That's totally normal and there's nothing wrong with it. Now, the overall goal is to get it off as soon as your child can safely stop on their own. It's a learning tool, not a permanent piece of gear. So something that I see consistently when parents skip the edgy wedgie and just try to like verbally coach the wedge shape with their kids is that their kid is standing there and they are trying so hard, they're stiff. Um, typically their legs are either like super bowed out or they're collapsing in and they're like totally knock need. Their arms are. Just awkward. They're like flailing and they're contorted, like at strange angles and the parent keeps demonstrating the pizza over and over again, getting more animated, um, internally, like getting more frustrated. And the kid, they're trying to like absorb all of that, right? They are really trying as hard as they possibly can. When all they need to do is relax because mom and dad just keep throwing more and more information at 'em, telling 'em to do this, to try this, to adjust this way, put their weight here and there, guys, they don't get it, and you are just confusing and stressing them out. Now if that's happening to you and you're like, oh my gosh, my kid just can't make the wedge. You've tried all those things. You've explained it. You've demonstrated it. Put an edgy wedgie on that kid. Okay? Um, I don't care if it's even like a seven or 8-year-old, put it on for a run and tell them. I just want you to say, all you have to do is spread your legs apart. Don't even say wedge, don't say pizza. Just I want you to spread your legs apart. Watch what happens. The stiffness, that stress, it literally starts to melt away because they're not thinking about the shape anymore. They're just doing the movement. And the edgy wedgie turns that movement into a wedge automatically. And then after they figure out that movement, you take the edgy wedgie off. Honestly, for so many kids that have, you've already explained it, you know, tell you're blue in the face, they're just gonna need a couple of runs. To relax, to feel what the wedge shape feels like in their body. Right? And you are taking that abstract concept that they just couldn't figure out, because I'll be honest, like you were trying too hard, you were stressing it, you were making it a hard situation. And putting that edgy wedge on them turns it into a physical action that they already know how to do. And the edgy wedgie just takes the stress and the pressure off of your kid. Now. If edgy wedgies are so great, like I'm saying like I will just sing their praises all day long. Why don't you see ski schools using them? Honestly, that's a really good question, and I have talked to every single ski school manager that I have worked under about that. Now, here's the truth. Most ski schools are designed to cater to kids ages five and up, even if they occasionally take younger kids into lessons. A majority of kids over the age of five can figure out a wedge all by themselves. Ski schools often look down on an edgy, on edgy wedge use, but that's not because it's not effective, it's because it's not really designed for their target student. Now, I'm gonna be honest, as a ski instructor, I would like, I fully believe, um, that most ski schools are designed for kids five and older. Even when a ski school is taking kids that are three or four, or sometimes even age two into lessons, their lessons are rarely designed for kids that age. They are just taking their lessons that they designed for older kids who are typically elementary school age and simplifying it a little bit for younger ones. Now for the last couple of years, I almost exclusively instructed kids in the three to 4-year-old age range, right? And I'll be honest, every single instructor that I worked with carried a stash of edgy wedgies in their pocket. Our ski school didn't like them. They refused to provide them, but they were perfect for the kids we were teaching. So literally none of us would go on the mountain without them. So just keep that in mind. Okay. Your ski instructors who are teaching kids in that beginner, early, young age, we're using them. We know what a great tool. It's because kids in that age range, they don't know how to make this this shape, and when you're explaining it to 'em, you're just confusing 'em. Now there is one real actual downside to using an edgy wedgie. I know I'm like raving about 'em, but it's worth knowing this going in. Now, when a kid's ski tips are connected, it's really hard for them to like shuffle their skis back and forth and move across flat ground. Um, like typically we're talking like on a cat track or like at the, at the base. It's just gonna be really flat right there. And some parents choose not to use an edgy wedgie for that reason alone. And I, I get it, like sort of, but here's my honest take. I would rather help my kids scoot across a little flat spot for like 30 seconds than have them struggle an entire run without any ability to control their speed. Or stop like, sh not being able to shuffle. Shuffle feels like a minor inconvenience and the other can set a kid back for a whole season, develop horrible habits. And feels like a legitimate safety concern. So yes, there's a trade off, but for most families, skiing with young kids, it is an easy one to make. Now you need to know that not all ski tip connectors are the same, so before you buy, you need to know this important information. I mean, there are really a lot of ski tip connectors on the market now. But they're really not all creative equal. Um, the original edgy wedge uses like two, like C type clamps. Um, one on each ski tip, right? And they twist down and lock tight. Um, typically it's going to be, um, black clamps on the end. It's gonna have a silver screw and like a neon color in between, right? This design has been around for decades. I'm pretty sure it is also what my parents used, uh, 40 years ago to teach me to ski. It works, it stays put, and it's not really going to cause real damage to your skis. You might get like a little circle divot in it. Now, in recent years, uh, tooth clamp versions have started showing up and they just kind of like closed down. You don't have to squeeze 'em tight or anything. Don't get those. We used several of these with one of our kids and discovered after a couple weeks of each of them, we tried a lot of different ones that the teeth on the bottom had been grinding into the base of the skis. Like every time they moved. So the damage to the ski bases was irreparable. I mean, they could still ski on 'em, but it looked horrible and it definitely affected the resale value. And they also don't stay put as well as the original 'cause they kind of keep twisting and then it just keeps grading at the bottom of your bases, so you don't want that. Um, so stick with the original edgy wedgie. They're like 10 to $15. They last forever and they do exactly what they're supposed to do. I literally have had one in my jacket pocket for 22 years. Um, it's been on more little kid skis than I can count. If it breaks, I just cut it a little bit shorter and reattach it to the clamp 'cause you can just slide it back on. It really is just amazing. So if you're headed to the mountain with kids six and under, especially if they're beginners or if last season was a struggle and they didn't get their wedge down, pick up an edgy wedgie before you go. Um. Obviously you can easily buy them on Amazon. They're cheap, easy to use, and I've never, so if you were headed to the mountain with kids six and under, especially if they're beginners or if last season was a struggle and they never got that wedge solid, pick up an edgy wedge before you go. You could order one on Amazon, um, or you can pick it up at most ski school shops or ski shops at like the base of the mountain. Though occasionally I have gone into shops and they are all sold out. Um, they're cheap, they're easy to use. And I'll be honest, I have never once regretted using one, which is why I always have it in my pocket. Um, I'll be honest, like we are out of the teaching kids to ski phase in our family, but I always carry it with me and so many times I have loaned it out to families on the mountain who are struggling and I just say, Hey, can you just get this back to me at the end of the day or put it on my car, or whatever. Have it ready. But don't put it on your kid until you see that they actually need it. There are gonna be the occasional kids like that. 10% of kids who are going to be able to figure out that wedge right away. Now, once you realize they need it, all you need to do is say, spread your legs instead of make a pizza. Watch for the slack, take it off when their body's ready, and it makes your life as a ski parent so much easier. That's it. That's the whole playbook for this tool. And if this is clicking for you, if you're realizing that there's a whole layer to skiing with kids that nobody really lays out very clearly, that's exactly what my course first tracks, A Parent's Guide to Teaching Kids to Ski is built for. The course is specifically designed for parents walking you through to how to actually teach your kids how to ski in a way that works, that makes them wanna come back. And from someone who has tons of experience teaching hundreds and hundreds of kids to ski. You can find it@skiingkid.com and click on the first tracks tab. Again, that's skiing kid.com. Thank you so much for listening today. And I can't wait to see you out on the mountain.