Current Progress

The project is complete. Check us out at Skibuilders.com

Thanks to Kevin Kreuger for the great graphics.

The ski industry has seen a growing interest in a new style of skiing over the past decade. This new style often involves sliding rails and various other obstacles, as well as jumping. With a growing number of terrain parks turning up throughout ski resorts around the world, interest in this style has only grown. Many companies have recognized potential in this growing market, and have made attempts to build park-specific skis, designed to hold up to the abuse of terrain park skiing. Not only have they failed miserably with durability concerns, but in the process of designing these specific skis, manufacturers have ended up with a product whose performance is only acceptable within terrain parks, and not responsive enough for all-mountain skiing.

The purpose of our project is to create a new style of ski that will be specifically geared towards terrain park and urban skiing, while incorporating characteristics that will make it a good all-mountain ski. A number of materials and ski construction methods will be analyzed and tested in order to develop a ski that will hold up to the abuse encountered in typical terrain park skiing, yet be responsive enough for skiing outside the park. This project will involve strength, durability, and toughness testing in the prescribed environment, as well as research into composites and potential core materials. All aspects of performance and durability will be incorporated into a single ski that will lead to a commercially viable product that will meet consumer expectations and can be put into production.