Why isn't Stockli going to the tests?

[schindlerpiste]

The 2013 Stockli skis look off the hook. It appears that they have finally entered the new shape market, and some of their shapes look mighty fine. The Stormrider Pro, 136-105-123 @ 190 and the Stormrider 95, 128-95-117 @ 183 seem to be perfect Snowbird skis. ....and man, are they sexy! They both have some tip rocker, a flat tail, and a longer shovel. Finally, a skier's ski to replace my purple Stormrider SS.





Why isn't there anyone in UT. selling these things?

[Beyond]

Can't say about UT, but places back here sell them. Try Skiershop online. They still get tested regularly in various places (Real Skiers, Ski Canada, Epic, Skinet), and get some love. IME they rarely make the top scores because let's face it, they're not push button skis. And until recently, Stockli had acted like rocker was a passing fad.

[The Dad]

And with the exchange rate being what it is, they're super pricey.

[whyturn]

It's cause the know the tests are ties to ad space and rigged by Rossi, Soli, K2 and Volkl. Now down with the man, wait, what was the question?

[pappag]

And with the exchange rate being what it is, they're super pricey.

Expensive for what they do, but not expensive in the slightest if you take a look around and see people tossing a grand at skis they've never tried.


I've always heard awesome things about Stockli but never able to try them. However, with such competition in the 95mm and 105mm tip rocker segment, there's no need to spend all that much on a pair.

[marshalolson]

they are $1450 when the equivalently nice volkl katana or blizzard cochise is $750-900?

[Hugh Conway]

they are $1450 when the equivalently nice volkl katana or blizzard cochise is $750-900?

Are you sure they are equivalently nice? I BELIEVE in the engineering of the Volkl

[schindlerpiste]

I have spent a lot of time on Katanas, and I have ridden the Cochise, and have a lot of time on Titan Pros. I can tell you that my old SS are built much better than either of those skis. You really can't compare Volkl or Blizzard with Stockli. In fact, of all the skis that I have owned, none come close to the quality build of the Stockli. The closest thing to Stockli is the BRO 195, and [I hate to say it] some Bogner/Indigo made skis. You never find those skis delamming like some of the other self-professed "high quality" skis.

[Kim Jong-un]

Had a pair back ~'06--Scott Schmidt Pro models. Not good in the moguls + they last too long. I prefer to buy new Chinese-made skis every year so I can have the latest graphics and sidecut/ rocker profiles.

[XavierD]

I doubt Stokli feels like paying an the tens of thousands of dollars in add space to get the glowing reviews that would be needed to convince people to double down on the ski they are going to buy. It can be hard enough getting people to fork over the $700 for a new pair of skis, that get raved about in the rags. Most of the people who buy Stokli skis do so because they have personal experience with them or know/ski with people who do. Still a ton of people who are unsure about buying Blizzard, Armada, or Line skis because they have not heard of the brand before.

[marshalolson]

I have spent a lot of time on Katanas, and I have ridden the Cochise, and have a lot of time on Titan Pros. I can tell you that my old SS are built much better than either of those skis.

my point is that stockli has not bothered to differentiate themselves from those other skis in the public's eyes.

[~mikey b]

I think a lot of people are simply afraid of Stockli skis. Reputation is stiff and burley. I gave a pair to The Dad cuz I am too much of a sissy to tele on them.

[JFE24]

I doubt Stokli feels like paying an the tens of thousands of dollars in add space to get the glowing reviews that would be needed to convince people to double down on the ski they are going to buy. It can be hard enough getting people to fork over the $700 for a new pair of skis, that get raved about in the rags. Most of the people who buy Stokli skis do so because they have personal experience with them or know/ski with people who do. Still a ton of people who are unsure about buying Blizzard, Armada, or Line skis because they have not heard of the brand before.

Stockli was supposed to send us several skis to review this past winter (including the Stormrider 95 and the 110)...said we were to be receiving them any day...and they never arrived.

?

So we planned to review some last season, and intend to do so this season.

[schindlerpiste]

Marshal, I get the whole, "it's 90% how you market a ski that counts" thing. I just don't buy it.
All I know is that I would love to get my hands on 10-15 pair of Stockli skis, and let people in the wasatch ride them.

[The Dad]

I think a lot of people are simply afraid of Stockli skis. Reputation is stiff and burley. I gave a pair to The Dad cuz I am too much of a sissy to tele on them.

And I almost got rid of them this year because even in a shit year like last, my Fischer Progressors are more versatile.

[Arty50]

Are you sure they are equivalently nice? I BELIEVE in the engineering of the Volkl

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall that Blizzards are being made by a bunch of old Volkl peeps now.

[Hugh Conway]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall that Blizzards are being made by a bunch of old Volkl peeps now.

no idea, but that makes the stupid Volkl ad campaign even funnier if true.

like every other swiss mfg they are getting creamed by the overvalued CHF

[altacoup]

I have 1 pair dp 193 and 1 dp201 and the constuction is top notch, totally seamless. However Stockli does use thiner edges, surely due to their race ski background. Also their bases are FAST, but not that durable. All in all Stockli makes all there skis as if they were race skis. That said they ski like a dream. Their reputation of being stiff and burly is overstated. I feel they have a very, very even flex throughout the ski, very balanced. While it may be true that they need speed to turn (race ski background again) they are ridiculously easy to turn at speed. Even my 201 (silver topsheet version) crank turns if you commit at speed. All said Stockli has top notch construction and finishing, but not be the most durable. Nice to see them finally try something new in terms of camber and rocker but they are still light years behind the curve. And as previously stated the price is absurd and they certainly aren't going to pony up money to be reviewed in NA ski rags when that is simply not their market.

[Snowy Spartan]

I have spent a lot of time on Katanas, and I have ridden the Cochise, and have a lot of time on Titan Pros. I can tell you that my old SS are built much better than either of those skis. You really can't compare Volkl or Blizzard with Stockli. In fact, of all the skis that I have owned, none come close to the quality build of the Stockli. The closest thing to Stockli is the BRO 195, and [I hate to say it] some Bogner/Indigo made skis. You never find those skis delamming like some of the other self-professed "high quality" skis.

What about Kastle? That's another company that demands 12 hundo for a ski. I've ridden kastles and they're awesome. I have to imagine Sockli would be on the same level or a little better?

[The Dad]

I would say that the build quality of Kastle and Stockli is comparable, but I'm an amateur.

[Finstah]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall that Blizzards are being made by a bunch of old Volkl peeps now.

This is true.

Well, not exclusively, but there were a couple ski designers that moved from Volkl over to Blizzard when they started to build the brand back up a few years ago.

Oh yeah, and I'm pretty sure the shop at Snowbasin is a Stoçkli dealer. Same ownership as Sun Valley and they do a fair amount of Stockli up there.

[Beyond]

my point is that stockli has not bothered to differentiate themselves from those other skis in the public's eyes.

Hmmm. Your point as stated was that a) Stocklis were half again as much as some far other more popular skis. Which is true on its face. And that b) Stockli was "equivalent" to those two, which I don't much agree with. Not saying that Katanas or Cochises might not be more bang for the $ (they are), or that they're somehow mediocre skis (obviously not). In the Cochise's case, so nice to ski that they keep cleaning up every "Best of Year" award there is. But that's not in any way equivalent to a Stockli. Different storyline, different target audience, different business model.

Which is why I don't agree with your point ^^^^ about product differentiation. Not all business plans have to shoot at a value market. IMO Stockli's done a good job of keeping a narrative going about handmade quality and skis that demand traditional skill sets. Much like Kastles, which aren't hand made but act as if they are. (I currently own both, and yep, both hold up better than anything else I've ever skied.) Whereas Volkl is still recovering marketing wise from its association with Chinese QC issues (thus all its back to the future announcements about now being Made In Germany), and Blizzards are neither rare nor handmade, nor unusually demanding to ski, nor unusually hard to maim. Great line, great business plan, but they're way too popular and inexpensive to overlap with Stockli. Which if it's smart will stick to small volumes of tough, damp, conservatively designed skis, maybe with a touch of mild rocker like the Stormriders and now the VXL, that you can ski until you die of natural causes.

[marshalolson]

to be honest, i do think my point is supported by this thread...

people in the US think that stockli skis are expensive because of exchange rate, NOT because of cost to build/finish/components. sure they might be $1250 if the exchange rate was less, but stockli represents the top end of the price regardless, and is positioned in the same way in europe.

stockli really does not bother to communicate "the quality" to the NA public, is my point . it is self-evident to those that know and understand once the ski is in your hand, and certainly in europe "own" being swiss, and in europe, swiss and quality are exchangeable, but in the US, being "swiss" does not exactly carry that same impression to the public. my belief that in the US, they very much under communicate the quality and justification for price, not rely on their nationality of the skis, the way they can in europe.



finally, stockli's are the furtherest thing from "handmade"... they use some of the most tech, sweetest machines and automation on the planet, opposed to a toothless meth head and a bandsaw.

[Hugh Conway]

people in the US think that stockli skis are expensive because of exchange rate, NOT because of cost to build/finish/components. sure they might be $1250 if the exchange rate was less, but stockli represents the top end of the price regardless, and is positioned in the same way in europe.

Uhhhh the CHF is overvalued vs the Euro too Marshall. 1.63 CHF = $1 back in 2001, .94CHF = $1 last month. I realize Fritschi's aren't cool here - but at their exchange rate mandated price point they are doubly uncool compared to 10 years ago.

The Stockli's I've seen/fondled looked "quality", but that's very subjective

[marshalolson]

Uhhhh the CHF is overvalued vs the Euro too Marshall.

a few things:

1. fritschi and dyanfit were about the same price 10 years ago, and they are the same price now, give or take. (~299 then, ~499 now).
2. stockli still occupies the same price relative to other skis in switzerland as they do in EU or US.
3. the prices in EU, switzerland and the US are generally all the same (excluding snowinn), since you can buy and ship stuff so easily (also excluding currency fluctuation within a season).
4. the Dollar and EURO are super weak relative to the CHF since the US and 1/2 of EU is totally broke. the YUAN is artificially undervalued. the CHF is high because they have no debt and tons of wealth (which is a tale for another day...)
5. stockli skis are expensive because they cost a lot to make. kastle skis are expensive to pay for dav's hairspray.
6. #5 is not entirely true, because stockli has a US distributor, not a subsidiary like kastle. so add 20% there.