Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!
VISHNUhey our site is up and running for preorders if you guys wanna check it out.
The.FishThe price went up because of the free shipping right?
DIRTYBUBBLEThey said it would be around 375. Plus you get a free sticker pack and a movie.
VISHNUhey our site is up and running for preorders if you guys wanna check it out.can we here your side to this?
VISHNUhey our site is up and running for preorders if you guys wanna check it out.
Shoey-Skican we here your side to this?
VISHNUhey our site is up and running for preorders if you guys wanna check it out.
MikeWeinerONEyour fear is justified on the back of fiascoes like Revision, CoreUPT, and so on, but the reason Vishnu has managed to make themselves successful so quickly is mostly to do with the fact that they do, in fact, make incredibly durable and innovative skis. have you heard a bad word about their skis from anyone? is any big company making a strictly urban-focused ski? it might not be innovation in the sense of making some crazy new shape, but it's still innovation
Please explain how these skis are innovative? They've been making skis for possibly a few months. I'm sure they have everything worked out :( ... try a Head ski (who every top pro in every aspect rides for) or atomic or armada or line. These are established brands for a reason. They make solid skis. Shane McConkey was the last person to innovate skis with rocker. They haven't found a niche market aside from finding kids who want to be "core" and have something others don't have despite inferior quality.
They can not build skis like Atomic, Head, Fischer, and a bunch of other established companies that have gone through the ups and downs and understand ski building.
yungcurvWho said they have to build skis like Atomic, Head, or Fischer?
MikeWeinerONENobody. I'm just saying most established brands have a lot more money for R & D and input from skiers. A fly by night company does not have these abilities. I was just using examples, but Vishnu does not have brand new technology that all the big companies with riders they are paying well haven't figured out yet. If they did, a large company would buy a pair, saw them in half, and figure out what they did. Which is nothing, it's all marketing.
ThaLetterM.Also, don't assume that I don't know how skis are made. This brand was years in the making. You weren't in the garage with us cutting up MDF with circular saws and breathing boat epoxy fumes, taking 8 months to build one pair of skis that broke on the fist day only to start the process all over again. I do appreciate your negativity, however. It just makes me try harder.
ThaLetterM.Hmmm...while marketing is important, if you don't have the product to back it up, you are going to find yourself in big trouble, like some smaller companies are experiencing as we speak. The difference is, we DO have the product to back it up. We were the first brand to sign on with our factory, an offshoot of a former larger factory, and the quality of their product is why they have grown by leaps and bounds with us in the past three years. Its not necessarily about new technology, more about incredible expertise and attention to detail in the laying up, pressing, and finishing process. The expertise they have comes from 20+ years in the ski and snowboard building industry. As they grow, we grow. It's a beautiful thing. But ultimately, growth in business comes from the product first, marketing second, and always has.
Also, don't assume that I don't know how skis are made. This brand was years in the making. You weren't in the garage with us cutting up MDF with circular saws and breathing boat epoxy fumes, taking 8 months to build one pair of skis that broke on the fist day only to start the process all over again. I do appreciate your negativity, however. It just makes me try harder.
VISHNUbut not so thin that they snap
MikeWeinerONEyour fear is justified on the back of fiascoes like Revision, CoreUPT, and so on, but the reason Vishnu has managed to make themselves successful so quickly is mostly to do with the fact that they do, in fact, make incredibly durable and innovative skis. have you heard a bad word about their skis from anyone? is any big company making a strictly urban-focused ski? it might not be innovation in the sense of making some crazy new shape, but it's still innovation
Please explain how these skis are innovative? They've been making skis for possibly a few months. I'm sure they have everything worked out :( ... try a Head ski (who every top pro in every aspect rides for) or atomic or armada or line. These are established brands for a reason. They make solid skis. Shane McConkey was the last person to innovate skis with rocker. They haven't found a niche market aside from finding kids who want to be "core" and have something others don't have despite inferior quality.
They can not build skis like Atomic, Head, Fischer, and a bunch of other established companies that have gone through the ups and downs and understand ski building.
BASEDJAHYeah but Atomic, Head, and Fischer don't put out their own street skiing movies and don't sponsor very many skiers that I like to watch or want to spend money supporting. Also I've seen a few pairs of Atomics delam super quickly, plus they somehow couldn't hold on to LSM, one of the most innovative skiers of our time?? It's not just about the skis, it's about supporting the scene and the direction you want skiing to go in. Personally, I vibed with the whole "what even is a trick" aspect of Vishnu, and want to support a local company. I do not give a shit about Jesper Tjader doing a loopty-loop. I would much rather watch the Vishnu boys do dumb little shit in the streets, cause that's how I like to ski.
MikeWeinerONEUnderstandable. However do you think watching their videos makes them money?? You do realize Atomic presses Armadas skis and a lot of other brands. And yea head does put out their own videos and I've personally been involved in a project for them. However I was just giving examples of larger companies. I'm all for supporting young companies. Without question, I'm just saying super young companies don't have the experience to produce the same quality. When you fuck up, you figure out why and fix it. I wish them the best of luck, and maybe that all came out wrong, I just think kids want to be on something unique without considering the quality. Maybe their skis are amazing and I'll make an effort to ski a pair this winter. I'm sure they are awesome!
BASEDJAHI don't think that watching their videos makes them money I want to give them money so they can make more videos
BASEDJAHYeah but Atomic, Head, and Fischer don't put out their own street skiing movies and don't sponsor very many skiers that I like to watch or want to spend money supporting. Also I've seen a few pairs of Atomics delam super quickly, plus they somehow couldn't hold on to LSM, one of the most innovative skiers of our time?? It's not just about the skis, it's about supporting the scene and the direction you want skiing to go in. Personally, I vibed with the whole "what even is a trick" aspect of Vishnu, and want to support a local company. I do not give a shit about Jesper Tjader doing a loopty-loop. I would much rather watch the Vishnu boys do dumb little shit in the streets, cause that's how I like to ski.
ThaLetterM.Answering this on my personal account since I handled this.
Customer reported delamination after "only skiing groomers", I was dubious as to whether this was actually the case or not (clearly seemed to be impact damage, i.e. rock or stump), but gave him the benefit of the doubt. We had already sold out of skis by that point, so we didn't have any remaining inventory to warranty his skis. Instead, I actually spent money out of my personal bank account to pay for his skis to be fixed at his shop, gave him advice and instructions on riveting his skis (something all rail skiers should know how to do) and even gave him an extra 50$ off of the price of the skis when he ordered in the first place, just because he asked nicely. I was timely and patient with my responses, as I take customer satisfaction very seriously. These bad customer service accusations are unfounded and insulting in my opinion.
Regardless, he seems to have had a bad experience, which is partly rooted in, I think, a lack of understanding of where we are as a company in terms of our size and scope. At any rate, I can take full responsibility for this situation. I should have handled it differently and am treating it as a learning experience. Up until this point, I had considered just sending him another pair of skis when we receive our shipment, free of charge. I wish he didn't harbor resentment towards us as a brand, but ultimately you just can't please everyone. When all was said and done, he still got a full season of rail skiing on one pair of skis, which for the price he got them for is pretty great and a bright spot in this whole ordeal.
As far as I know, this is literally the only negative review of our brand on the internet or in real life, so take that into account. All other customer comments have been overall positive both about product and service, so that helps me sleep at night.
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to explain the situation, things are always more complicated than they seem.
MikeWeinerONEyour fear is justified on the back of fiascoes like Revision, CoreUPT, and so on, but the reason Vishnu has managed to make themselves successful so quickly is mostly to do with the fact that they do, in fact, make incredibly durable and innovative skis. have you heard a bad word about their skis from anyone? is any big company making a strictly urban-focused ski? it might not be innovation in the sense of making some crazy new shape, but it's still innovation
Please explain how these skis are innovative? They've been making skis for possibly a few months. I'm sure they have everything worked out :( ... try a Head ski (who every top pro in every aspect rides for) or atomic or armada or line. These are established brands for a reason. They make solid skis. Shane McConkey was the last person to innovate skis with rocker. They haven't found a niche market aside from finding kids who want to be "core" and have something others don't have despite inferior quality.
They can not build skis like Atomic, Head, Fischer, and a bunch of other established companies that have gone through the ups and downs and understand ski building.
casualI mean....yes, they are the new brand that overly brand conscious people are turning to to feel like they're more core and in the know than other people standing in lift lines.
But, I mean, what about a company like On3P? They've actually established themselves over several seasons as a top notch, high quality newschool brand that was born on this very website. They began in a guy's garage and we watched him build his first ski press and grow through mistakes only to take his dream to a crazy level and slowly build based on word of mouth and the obvious quality as well as unmatched customer service.
It's just so funny to me that people jump aboard these brand new companies that overnight establish a team and a "vibe" and people want to align with a certain aesthetic so badly that they'll lap it up. Vishnu and many others have basically established themselves as marketing companies and lifestyle brands that happen to sell skis.
And to be crystal clear: I hope Vishnu builds rock solid and amazing skis. I've never ridden them and have no clue as to how durable they are. I want Vishnu to be successful, I love seeing small companies with roots in this niche of skiing emerge and eat up market share and support rad content, etc.
My fear and cynicism come from the seeming reality that the model lately has been to focus on the team, the logo, the feel of edits, and the branding so much more than on the materials, build quality, distribution channels, the customer service aspect, and design innovation. There's just so many recent examples of companies coming in and swiping up the sales of solid, reliable, amazing companies by sheer virtue of presenting the "newest of the new and the corest of the core" with really nothing to offer anyone or the sport that it bums me out.
It sort of feels like an extension of some of the more lame, vain, painstakingly image conscious aspects of the sport that I personally think are stupid and meaningless.
Again, I wish Vishnu well, hope they really step up and put out a bomber and awesome line up of skis that they are truly passionate about, and that organically over the next couple of years they build a loyal and rabid fan base. On the other hand, if they just are basically a marketing company that has teamed up with some shitty manufacturing process and are trying to carve out a spot based on pure fluff and bullshit, I hope they crash and burn.
TL;DR - don't get caught up in undeserved hype generated by a fly by night company that puts out a couple of artsy edits and rides a trendy wave to exploit the vanity laden and belonging seeking ski community. And definitely don't do it at the sacrifice of incredible brands whose "corest of the core" sheen has worn off in 2 years. Do you research and due diligence and don't support shitty exploitative companies.
I'm also not saying that is what Vishnu is doing, I know very little about them and if they are a good group and love skiing and seek to make an amazing quality ski, I hope they're more successful than they ever dreamed.
holdenmonkeymet some of the vishnu dudes up at hood. dope dudes slanging dope skis. glad to have peeps like them making skiing more interesting.
mikemacHonestly I've had the same reservations about this company for a while now, but that being said this thread has made me think twice about them. Just like you said, my doubts mostly stem from the fact that these small "core" companies typically don't have super durable products. While they always to stack up a cool team and crank out edits quickly, they seem to fail just as soon as they start gaining some notoriety (Revision, CoreUPT, Klint, etc).
I was mostly skeptical because I had a disappointing experience with Revision. I first noticed them in some of the Bunch's classic films, and then was enticed by super cheap pre-order prices. I don't ski a ton of park anymore except when I'm coaching youngsters on the weekend so I figured "hey, I'll cop some Talismans as my coaching/rail ski for 200 and call it good," unfortunately they broke in about 3 different ways before half the season (weekends only). That really put a bad taste in my mouth in terms of supporting the trendy, "core," companies. I love supporting small American businesses, particularly if they're run by true skiers. BUT I can't give you my hard-earned money if your product won't last me more than half the season.
I've enjoyed Vishnu's team edits for a while now and I see dudes crushing it on them in Hoodcrew cuts and elsewhere, and I've always liked that the "team" seems to be more just homies in slc who are into the same stuff. However, I never really took them seriously as a brand because I figured they were super noodley and would snap like twigs, just like revision. I've also pretty much given up on buying park skis that cost me more than $25 at a used ski sale because no matter what the company says, most skis just can't stand up to hitting metal, even with a detune.
That being said, the positive feedback from this thread as well as the candid and timely responses from the founder have really changed my outlook. Although I mostly ski big mountain/backcountry these days, Vishnu is officially on my radar if I ever decide to shell out for a park ski again. Hope the skis are as bomber as everyone says and best of luck on the business side of things!
MikeWeinerONESo cool people making cool looking skis equates to a quality product? I still don't understand how a brand new company can make better skis then an established brand with huge R and D budgets and years of experience. Wish them well however.
MikeWeinerONESo cool people making cool looking skis equates to a quality product? I still don't understand how a brand new company can make better skis then an established brand with huge R and D budgets and years of experience. Wish them well however.
holdenmonkeylol jesus calm down. i've skied my v's all season and they've held up perfectly. so, yeah, for 375 bucks or whatever they're a quality product. sorry if that doesn't conform to your world view.
chubbspetersoni would argue that a new brand cares more about the quality of their skis than a big established company thats trying to turn as much of a profit as possible. you ever seen a pair of atomic infamous that are in good shape? always funny to me when a ski comes with rivets already in the tip and tail
MikeWeinerONESo cool people making cool looking skis equates to a quality product? I still don't understand how a brand new company can make better skis then an established brand with huge R and D budgets and years of experience. Wish them well however.
MuggydudeThis is honestly hilarious.
Big brand companies' quality is usually shit compared to small American made indie companies. Not always, but usually. Line, armada, really? They make some good models but durability certainly isn't their forte.
Big companies make skis to make money. Sometimes they innovate, but $ is the priority. Small companies have to innovate so they can attract customers away from the big companies. Otherwise they don't have much to sell skis on
MikeWeinerONEObviously money is a factor but I'm going to listen to a Cody Townsend, Sean Pettit, Nick Goepper, JT Holmes, Joss Christensen, Alex Schlopy, Simon Dumant etc... about their opinions of skis and why they are skiing on certain companies skis.
danbrowni'm pretty sure if vishnu offered any of those dude $xxx a year, they'd tell the big brands to hit the bricks
cash is king
treebeardyour fear is justified on the back of fiascoes like Revision, CoreUPT, and so on, but the reason Vishnu has managed to make themselves successful so quickly is mostly to do with the fact that they do, in fact, make incredibly durable and innovative skis. have you heard a bad word about their skis from anyone? is any big company making a strictly urban-focused ski? it might not be innovation in the sense of making some crazy new shape, but it's still innovation
Chubz.Damn those pools are gonna look ill on snow
cobra_commanderIs Moment passé now?
hot.pocketBeing 'core' was becoming way too cool, we had to move on.
SofaKingSickim waiting for you to drop your new snowblade line