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Best quality ski company?

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mokeefe257
Posts: 405 - Karma: 10
ok so im just wondering which company you guys think make the best overall skis...haha kind of an open ended question but lets hear what u guys think
Jan 5 2009 12:19AM
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Twinjibber77
Posts: 6239 - Karma: 2,354
They're construction is way diffrent now. Those were tha KGB's or some ski from that season weren't they?
Jan 14 2009 9:40AM
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bikerocker
Posts: 1427 - Karma: 461
stockli.

hand made, all sandwich construction.  each ski is made individually and paired with it's match.

the company is 60 years old and makes better skis than anyone else. period.

but who wants to pay a grand for a park ski? 

on the other hand i've been impressed with volkl, and strangely atomic.
  i haven't had a pair of armadas since the white t halls, but i have a pair of ants coming next week. we'll see. they are being made in the atomic factory now....

Jan 14 2009 10:37AM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10447 - Karma: 10,018
Not to pick on you, just a general comment, but ALL skis are handmade.

There is no automated layup, and to get good accuracy in ski production, most everything is done by computers.

The actual layup process, though, is done by hand by every single company, so to really say that a ski is superior to another ski cause it is handmade is sort of a misstatement...

But there are companies who do use better materials and companies that have higher levels of quality control and just general manufacturing and there is no doubt that stockli is one of them. 

Their skis are bomber, too bad their skis are so fucking expensive....
Jan 14 2009 12:18PM
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Caveman.
Posts: 9067 - Karma: 330
Meh... I went through 4 pairs of Dynastar park skis in a 3 year period because of shear breaks and blown out edges.
Jan 14 2009 12:29PM
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Dr_Feelgood
Posts: 1176 - Karma: 15

k2 extremes are the example of shit, agreed. but you have to dig deeper into the k2 line to find better quality skis. the extremes are carried by every single ski dealer around because of their cheapness, and theyre not a terrible FIRST pair of twins. being the publics of this year, the extremes are a good carving ski, but jack shit when it comes to park. not too many people would make this their 2nd pair of twins. and im not a big fan of the "retro" design.

if your looking for quality in the k2 line, look no further than the 09 kung fujas, which are by far the sickest ski ive ever ridden. k2 has created a sick line of all mountain shredders in the kung fujas, obsethed, and hellbents. i have to admit, if youre looking for a park ski i would prefer to be on a moment or armada.

top quality ski companies in my opinion:

k2, moment, armada, line, atomic, volkl

Jan 14 2009 1:30PM
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gabfreeski
Posts: 1459 - Karma: 23
agree
Jan 14 2009 4:58PM
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bikerocker
Posts: 1427 - Karma: 461
truth, but hand sanded sidewalls?  hand polished edges?  die cut bases that are actually welded instead of pressed together?  the fact that they don't make a single capped ski?

yeah, i totally agree with you though.

i ripped a pair today, and jumped on some of my own skis after that, and intantly washed out first turn.  it took me the rest of the day to ski right. i wish someone could make a pair of twins that powerful.

Jan 14 2009 6:13PM
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iggyskier
Posts: 10447 - Karma: 10,018
Yeah, as I said, they definitely go above and beyond what most companies out there do and it shows when you pick of their skis.


Jan 14 2009 6:15PM
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Silence
Posts: 16030 - Karma: 150
kingswood!
Jan 14 2009 6:36PM
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rs4
Posts: 34 - Karma: 10
whoa Kingswood!! epic New Zealand stylies there peeple.  nothing but love, sweet n tears goes into making those bad boys.  big ups for pullin that 1 out.   
Jan 15 2009 12:38AM
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drinkbooze
Posts: 7 - Karma: 10
Only one person here mentioned rossignol, I think they have a very high standard of quality and are taking it to the next level by incorporating quality artwork from respected artists. I grew up skiing rossignol and just got a pair of s5s, much better than the bridge in my humble opinion. Volkl is overrated as fuck and their reps are dicks at least in my experience. Not sure what to say about Line as I've only skied the 1260s from back in the day and would say their decent for the price but not the highest of quality standards. K2 is cheaply made shit. Off sourced cheap labor type crap. Fuck k2. Salomon is ok but also use cheap materials in their ski like that foam core bullshit. I cant speak for the rest. 
Jan 16 2009 12:14AM
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cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,686
thats because your railing them, skis were not designed to be railed, we just do it anyway.
Jan 16 2009 12:40AM
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gosteep
Posts: 9 - Karma: 10
I'm a big fan of the smaller companies, not a lot of deviation in quality when looking at the companies lineup.  I used to ride k2 and volkl for years and they were both solid companies. 
Recently, I've been getting into Icelantics, Moments, and Praxis, all of which have been really solid for me although I don't do a lot of park (more big mountain back country stuff) the bases on those three companies skis have really held there own. My current Ninthwards however are a different story. And although I've never tried them, I've heard nothing but good reviews on the kingswoods.
The only downside to these "indie" ski companies is that they haven't been around that long to establish a relatively long resume of quality ski making. Personally, I don't hold it against them because I've been having a blast on them.
Jan 16 2009 3:16PM
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Caveman.
Posts: 9067 - Karma: 330
Actually, the first pair of skis I broke were some Dynastar Concepts back before they made the Troublemakers. I hooked the tail in powder and had a shear break behind my heel piece. The other three were fucked up from rails but you can't argue that Dynastar's edge quality blows.
Jan 19 2009 10:03PM
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alaskakid
Posts: 5540 - Karma: 430
as much as line is my favorite ski company, my 09 blends chip alot more than my 08 blends did, and i've seen 2 pairs of broken chronics this season.

my 06 foils (foam core) are on their 3rd season as a jib ski and still going strong though
Jan 19 2009 10:23PM
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alaskakid
Posts: 5540 - Karma: 430
definitely not from what i've seen
Jan 19 2009 10:24PM
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yeahitsdave
Posts: 1315 - Karma: 10
next years gnu altered genetics board. i know, i know, not a ski company, but it has a self healing sidewall! u can shove a knife in it, pull it out, and it just puckers back up! i mean come on, if thats not quality and innovation, what is?
Jan 20 2009 11:05AM
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basa
Posts: 85 - Karma: 10
so y did you buy 4 pairs of them
Jan 21 2009 2:34AM
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Caveman.
Posts: 9067 - Karma: 330
The first pair of Concepts I got as a gift when I was 14. That summer Mikael Dechenaux felt bad that I had broken my Concepts so he sold me some Troublemakers with P18s for $50. (He probably wanted to buy a sack) That next winter I ripped the top sheet off and broke the sidewall disastering a rail. Here is what they looked like;

Click for larger image

i was super low on cash so I made a thread on NS asking if anyone had one ski to buy, someone sold me a pair of slightly used Troublemakers from the same year and same size for super cheap. I got those and pretty much destroyed them in one season.
Jan 21 2009 3:49PM
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