The Ultra Premium Ski Thread

[James]

Bode knows what's up.

Yeah except he talked on air of the difficulty of coming out and skiing on a setup he "wasn't 100% confident in".

These are at Okemo.... Swiss- 4K price tag & the salesperson seemed confused about what they were.... View attachment 1176

Oy Vey!
I sincerely hope they didn't dull the tips back a few inches as they used to do with most of the premium demos.
Stockli was a waste at the Okemo shop. Should have been an in town shop.

 

[Philpug]

Yeah except he talked on air of the difficulty of coming out and skiing on a setup he "wasn't 100% confident in".


Oy Vey!
I sincerely hope they didn't dull the tips back a few inches as they used to do with most of the premium demos.
Stockli was a waste at the Okemo shop. Should have been an in town shop.

Or in a shop at Jackson Gore.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Yeah except he talked on air of the difficulty of coming out and skiing on a setup he "wasn't 100% confident in".

Probably referring to his ultra-premium skis.

 

[James]

Well maybe they'll sell the Zai's at Jackson Gore but I'm dubious. You need an appropriate ambience and seller. Just sticking them in a basic plastic ski holder on the floor- not so much. That's not ven good to get the brand awareness up.
As for knowing not much- par. I remember being at aspen base of gondola where there were a couple pair of Zai's. They didn't know the sidecut. You'd have to go down to the main store I guess where the appropriate sales people are.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Well maybe they'll sell the Zai's at Jackson Gore but I'm dubious. You need an appropriate ambience and seller. Just sticking them in a basic plastic ski holder on the floor- not so much. That's not ven good to get the brand awareness up.
As for knowing not much- par. I remember being at aspen base of gondola where there were a couple pair of Zai's. They didn't know the sidecut. You'd have to go down to the main store I guess where the appropriate sales people are.

Do Zai owners care about sidecut? I just thought they want the topsheet color to match their jacket?

 

[cantunamunch]

Have seen some Sporten skis in a shop here in Tokyo; prices not out of line with the Atomic-B-C-D-E-F-G...-Volkl ranges.

Wow, I definitely don't see Sporten as ultra-premium anything; maybe because I associate them with building Alpina's stiffer XCD skis like the Cross Terrain; maybe because Lusti do a better job of conveying premium image.

Was it the Gliders you saw?

 

[cantunamunch]

Do the new new Volants count for the purposes of this thread?

 

[Philpug]

Do the new new Volants count for the purposes of this thread?

Wow, there are still Volants. Looking at the website, the "Colorado" has identical dimensions as the Atomic Theory but sounds lighter, no stainless steel in it.

 

[Jim McDonald]

Sportens I saw were Flayer, a powder ski with a snakeskin graphic at tip/tail, and the Weed about 105mm underfoot. There was one more but I don't remember it.

 

[fatbob]

Sporten kinda have a budget brand image in Europe though they make a lot of stuff for other people. How much is shared moulds I dunno.

 

[cantunamunch]

Then of course there's Lacroix


http://store-lacroix-skis.com/en/60-skis

 

[Tricia]

Skied with John Eaves, from Willy Bogner's Fire and Ice movies yesterday.
He was on Bogner skis.....just saying.

 

[ARL67]

I still don't see Blossom as Ultra-Premium, but per Phil, will have to see what they deliver to the USA for 2017.

I first because aware of them when "PM Gear" OEM'd a Blossom ski 5-6 years ago and called it the Super Bro. My pal still has his Super Bro's and luvs 'em.
I have kept an eye on Blossom over the last 5 years or so, and their offerings have never been pricey.
They just can't make the same ski and "double it's price" and gain ultra-premium status.
Just like the USA has lot of Indie ski companies, Europe has many small Indie brands too that we have never heard of.

 

[quant]

I own two pairs of skilogiks (Occam's Razor and the Howitzer) both beautiful to behold, for sure.

"Superpremium" seemingly relates to goods of exceptional quality that are commensurate to a high price. Unlike a "superpremium" wine, Skilogik has more traditional pricing despite using premium materials. I still don't understand the logic (pun intended) of creating custom tops so inexpensively, since anyone who can afford "custom" would gladly pay a lot more. It makes no sense for an artist to give her talents away so inexpensively. Anyhow, I own the Ullr TT and the Rock Star and think highly of both skis. The marquetry makes them a work or art.

In the old days we had Lacroix selling superpremium skis for 5x (or whatever) more than everyone else. They made rich people feel better, but they didn't ski any better.

 

[Dave Petersen]

I want a pair of Ferrari skis to go with my Ferrari ............................................watch.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

I still don't see Blossom as Ultra-Premium, but per Phil, will have to see what they deliver to the USA for 2017.

I first because aware of them when "PM Gear" OEM'd a Blossom ski 5-6 years ago and called it the Super Bro. My pal still has his Super Bro's and luvs 'em.
I have kept an eye on Blossom over the last 5 years or so, and their offerings have never been pricey.
They just can't make the same ski and "double it's price" and gain ultra-premium status.
Just like the USA has lot of Indie ski companies, Europe has many small Indie brands too that we have never heard of.

Blossom is Premium - unless it says VIST on the top sheet. Then it is Ultra-Premium.

 

[Philpug]

Bomber Skis reviews. At $1,900 and $2,500 (with special graphics) puts them in the Ultra Premium class.

 

[Philpug]

We were out skiing with John Eaves, he was on Bogners. Ski looked to be about 80mm underfoot with some nice shape mounted up with some Marker X-Cell systems but not Piston plates. John said they were (by far) the best skis Bogner has offered; he also mentioned that they were produced in a factory in Munich.

 

[Dana McMaster]

Lets see... One pair of Carradan Diamonds for $12k or twelve pairs of Stockli Laser AXs... seriously?

And the diamondback is Caravan's least expensive ski...

 

[Dana McMaster]

Actually the Swiss-made Zai looks interesting..

http://www.zai.ch/en/

I gotta get me a pair of the Laisa's.... http://www.zai.ch/en/ski/laisa/