A modified version of their alpine counterparts, twin-tip skis are designed to enable a skier to take off and land backward while jumping and to ski backwards down a slope. The name "twin-tip" comes from the shape of the ski. While most alpine skis have a defined, curved-up front end (or "tip") as well as a flat rear end (or "tail"), twin-tip skis have a curved-up tip and tail.

Initially designed for newschool skiing applications such as terrain parks and half-pipes, twin-tips have rapidly gained popularity on other parts of the mountain as well. Powder skis, "mid-fats," all-mountain skis, and even telemark skis are all available with twin tips.

The first twin-tip ski was the Olin Mark IV Comp introduced in 1974. The first company to successfully market a twin-tip ski was Salomon, with their 1080 ski in 1995. LINE skis also evolved from twin tip ski boards and inspired the newschool freeskiing movement and ultimately helped give rise to independent ski companies Armada and 4FRNT, both of which specialized in the design of twin-tip skis.

References

lineskis.com Salomon Freeski Video 3 - Twin Tips.