Handmade skis vs. custom skis or both?

[dlee413]

Hi everyone,

New to the forum. I am going to buy some handmade skis through a boutique. They can be just a regular handmade ski where the specs are fixed or can be customized if I want all with any specifications, topsheets, etc. Anyone have any thoughts or experiences on handmade, custom, or both for skis they have bought or friends have bought?

[DropCliffsNotBombs]

Handmade is the most important thing. If you have specific specs that you require, then go custom. Having the option to design your own unique top sheet is pretty damn pimp too.
www.wagnerskis.com

[Hugh Conway]

market research.

[cmcrawfo]

Quality handmade skis are top shelf! the key is quality, there are more than enough 'fly by night' boutiques that press poorly designed shit with sub par materials, they are most easily identified by not being in business the next season.

I would say watch out with fully custom designs, they are not for everyone. Believe it or not, some ski companies actually know what they are doing , and when you start mucking around with stiffness and novel materials things can go sideways. If you are going to design your own skis, you are going to have to (should do) a lot of home work.

Now, top sheet graphics, that's whats important. no one really cares that your skis are hand made with carbon/bamboo cores, assembled by Japanese monks , with a flex pattern that was custom designed to compliment your turn radius ...... strangers care about sick top sheets. Seriously, custom top sheets are cool.

What company are planning on going with?

www.skevikskis.com

[fat yeti]

It's all about the graphics but when you combine that with a good ski you get

[skideeppow]

how about you delete the thread and put it in the right fucking spot, tech talk?
DO a little research.

[PB]

... and while you're at it, com up with a semi-rational question.

[GPP33]

If you have any questions as to the benefits of custom skis you probably don't know enough to get it right. The idea of a custom ski is sexy as hell to me but I'd probably fuck it up. Thus you demo until you find something you like. Since there's so many nuances between the different options and things like "flex" aren't a straightforward measure you can't easily demo a few skis and decide you want something in the middle. You kinda need to know what your talking about. I'd suggest finding a small operation that you can talk to about what you like, how you ski, and what type of skier you are. Demo their shit, talk to them some more and take thier advice.

[TBS]

We need to see naked pics of a female SO or family member between the ages of 18-40 to make informed judgments here.

In addition, it would probably be a good idea to describe the purpose of the ski and the kinds of customization (besides topsheet graphics) you are considering. I assume you ski aggressively?

[stuckathuntermtn]

^^^that
And aren't all skis "hand made"?

[DudeLebowSKI]

Handmade is the most important thing. If you have specific specs that you require, then go custom. Having the option to design your own unique top sheet is pretty damn pimp too.
www.wagnerskis.com

OP, everything you need to know is contained in this post.

[Supermoon]

^^^that
And aren't all skis "hand made"?

Yeah. All skis are more or less handmade. Even in the biggest facilities there is a surprising amount of human work that goes into a ski.

[wasatchback]

Yeah I would love to see the skis (especially sandwich construction skis) that aren't hand made.

[Supermoon]

New business idea: foot-made skis. You heard it here first.

[Cocximus]

Why would anyone want custom made skis? Volkl and Salomon always bring progressive and innovative designs that the small companies copy. A whipped chinese is far more reliable than some stoner in US making skis.

[neufox47]

Why would anyone want custom made skis? Volkl and Salomon always bring progressive and innovative designs that the small companies copy. A whipped chinese is far more reliable than some stoner in US making skis.

Pretty sure you got that backwards or my sarcasm meters broke. Name some innovations that have come out of Volkl or Salomon. Rocker, pin tip / tails, light skis, progressive radius, 5 point?

[gregL]

Every ski is laid up by hand, layer by layer, cap or sandwich or whatever, by a human being. With a smaller company you might have some choice in who that person is, which might make a difference as it's not easy to get it right and be consistent. Most of the advantages that the bigger manufacturers enjoy, i.e. computer controlled edge bending and CNC core milling, are a plus in my book. The big question with true custom is whether or not you have the expertise to get the specs right.

[Timberridge]

Name some innovations that have come out of Volkl or Salomon. Rocker, pin tip / tails, light skis, progressive radius, 5 point?

You left out pink bases

[Sessiøn]

Guarantee'd even so called "custom" ski's will be based on existing shapes that the builder has tested, and is happy with the perforance. The differences being flex, and topsheet. I would imagine it's too big of a risk to REALLY let a buyer completely design a ski. The risk of people ending up with complete pieces of shit is too great.

[PNWbrit]

Get boutique ones that match your boots.

Save the $ for custom pole grips.

[DudeLebowSKI]

Guarantee'd even so called "custom" ski's will be based on existing shapes that the builder has tested, and is happy with the perforance. The differences being flex, and topsheet. I would imagine it's too big of a risk to REALLY let a buyer completely design a ski. The risk of people ending up with complete pieces of shit is too great.

It just depends on what you consider custom. With Wagner you can choose, core material, metal/no metal, carbon/no carbon, base material, kevlar/no kevlar, flex (pattern and stiffness), length, dimensions, camber, rocker and topsheet graphics. They give you in-house tip and tail shapes. I'm sure they have numerous pre-configured cores that they can adjust in layup for certain requests but still....that's pretty 'custom' in my opinion. They also try to assist you into things that are actually proven to work so even if you ask for an off the wall design, you won't end up with a completely unskiable pile of shit.

[CascadeCement]

ROMP in Crested Butte, CO = Happy Medium

Own a pair and haven't felt a better built ski before, plus they really let you fine tune without screwin' too much up. Just start a convo, they'll hook it up. Goodluck and have fun spending them bills!

[jerr]

I want a custom ski with some raspberry flavoured nano-tigers in the lay-up.

[pfluffenmeister]

^^^ mmmmm ... raspberry nano-tigers.

[Skree]

New business idea: foot-made skis. You heard it here first.

Loved by discerning skiers and foot fetishists everywhere.