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New Kid On The Block : Fauna Skis AMA

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FaunaSkis
Posts: 607 - Karma: 6,577
Sales of our 178 and 170cm Alparkas are now live on our site faunaskis.com. Check our the details, our future skis and if you're not in need of a new pair of park skis just yet, if you could support us by spreading the word and buying a t shirt we would really appreciate the support!

There's also a Roofbox review in the works so look out for that coming soon.

You might have seen our article about us and producing skis on the news page: https://www.newschoolers.com/news/read/New-Kid-Block-Fauna-Skis

We started building skis in 2014 with the help of members in the ski building thread and now we're at the stage of having skis in production with a factory in the Czech Republic.
Want to know more about building skis, how we found a factory to build my skis or anything? Ask here and we'll answer.

**This thread was edited on Mar 8th 2019 at 3:15:29pm
Feb 2 2019 1:04PM
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xxACIDTRIPxx
Posts: 5980 - Karma: 8,175
The skis look dope!
Feb 2 2019 1:58PM
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tsingtaofanatic
Posts: 3344 - Karma: 4,585
Very nice!
Feb 2 2019 2:00PM
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BrawnTrends
Posts: 1102 - Karma: 2,438
5 animals, 5 different skis?
Feb 2 2019 2:46PM
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Aric
Posts: 190 - Karma: 851
What are the prices? What kind of skis are going to be made? Website? Shipping worldwide?
Feb 2 2019 2:51PM
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razors-chaz
Posts: 2255 - Karma: 1,250
_

**This post was edited on Feb 2nd 2019 at 3:06:32pm
Feb 2 2019 3:05PM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 607 - Karma: 6,577
BrawnTrends5 animals, 5 different skis?


That’s the plan. We’re starting with the Alparkas this season. The Pioneer will be next season and then as soon as we have the money the others will follow.
Heres the link to our full line:
https://issuu.com/faunaskis/docs/fauna_20skis_202018-19
Feb 2 2019 3:09PM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 607 - Karma: 6,577
AricacriWhat are the prices? What kind of skis are going to be made? Website? Shipping worldwide?


Our first ski, the Alparka is going to be ~$730CAD depending on the exchange rate. You can see all the details of our current plan for the future line here: https://issuu.com/faunaskis/docs/fauna_20skis_202018-19

We plan to ship internationally too.

**This post was edited on Feb 2nd 2019 at 3:25:03pm
Feb 2 2019 3:14PM
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TOAST.
Posts: 7481 - Karma: 36,055
FaunaSkisOur first ski, the Alparka is going to be ~$730CAD depending on the exchange rate. You can see all the details of our current plan for the future line here: https://issuu.com/faunaskis/docs/fauna_20skis_202018-19

We plan to ship internationally too.

**This post was edited on Feb 2nd 2019 at 3:25:03pm


Seem pricey for a ski made in the Czech republic. Also, i dont think ive seen anyone outside of garage ski builders use wood sidewalls and I assume there is a reason for that.
Feb 2 2019 5:44PM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 607 - Karma: 6,577
TOAST.Seem pricey for a ski made in the Czech republic. Also, i dont think ive seen anyone outside of garage ski builders use wood sidewalls and I assume there is a reason for that.

The euro price is well within the normal range for equal quality skis and the location of a factory is increasingly having less affect on the quality. You get cheap, low quality skis from China, you get more expensive higher, quality skis from China. Same can be said for the Czech Republic. These ain’t no overpriced Walmart skis.
There are certainly other brands using wooden sidewalls. Generally smaller brands where the aesthetic, sustainability & performance is prioritised over a lower cost plastic sidewall and the extra work to finish a wooden sidewall ski. The most notable use is by Line using them on the Pescado.
Feb 2 2019 6:11PM
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Jems
Posts: 7503 - Karma: 97,091
TOAST.Seem pricey for a ski made in the Czech republic. Also, i dont think ive seen anyone outside of garage ski builders use wood sidewalls and I assume there is a reason for that.


$550 (usd) isn’t too bad, I’ve got faith in this company.
Feb 2 2019 6:14PM
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TOAST.
Posts: 7481 - Karma: 36,055
FaunaSkisThe euro price is well within the normal range for equal quality skis and the location of a factory is increasingly having less affect on the quality. You get cheap, low quality skis from China, you get more expensive higher, quality skis from China. Same can be said for the Czech Republic. These ain’t no overpriced Walmart skis.
There are certainly other brands using wooden sidewalls. Generally smaller brands where the aesthetic, sustainability & performance is prioritised over a lower cost plastic sidewall and the extra work to finish a wooden sidewall ski. The most notable use is by Line using them on the Pescado.


Are wooden sidewalls more durable than uhmw, since this is a park ski i can see that being of extreme importance. I guess it probably binds great with the epoxy.

And yea i should have done the price conversion, its not that bad.
Feb 2 2019 9:02PM
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@LANTASKI
Posts: 599 - Karma: 1,586
Good luck
Feb 2 2019 10:33PM
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corona
Posts: 12795 - Karma: 32,750
Out of curiosity, since you're a new company and don't have your own sales data, did you do a ton of market research before choosing ski dimensions? I ask this because your longest park ski is 178. That's short for anyone over 6' so you're already missing a not insignificant portion of skiers. Your longest ski is a 184, which is at the short end of what I'd consider buying for even a park ski, let alone an all mountain or pow ski.
Feb 3 2019 12:02AM
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suup
Posts: 1485 - Karma: 4,367
do any other manufactures use hardwood for sidewalls?
Feb 3 2019 2:46AM
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LukeTheWaffle
Posts: 1844 - Karma: 8,857
Will you ever make a ski with a narwhal on it
Feb 3 2019 3:06AM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 607 - Karma: 6,577
TOAST.Are wooden sidewalls more durable than uhmw, since this is a park ski i can see that being of extreme importance. I guess it probably binds great with the epoxy.

And yea i should have done the price conversion, its not that bad.

The way woods and plastics are measured for hardness and durability are totally different and it’s hard to get comparable numbers. They are similar in terms of material density though. From our testing with using vac pressed skis, the bond and tightness of the laminate above and below are more important than the material. With moving to pneumatic pressing in the factory we will have a more consistent spread of epoxy and tighter laminate than we’ve had with our vac pressed skis which have held up well to rail abuse on our park skis so we have high expectations.
suupdo any other manufactures use hardwood for sidewalls?

There are a few brands out there using hardwood sidewalls. From our research it’s more a Scandinavian brand thing, but the Line Pescado uses a bamboo sidewall too so we’re not alone.
Feb 3 2019 3:26AM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 607 - Karma: 6,577
VinnieFOut of curiosity, since you're a new company and don't have your own sales data, did you do a ton of market research before choosing ski dimensions? I ask this because your longest park ski is 178. That's short for anyone over 6' so you're already missing a not insignificant portion of skiers. Your longest ski is a 184, which is at the short end of what I'd consider buying for even a park ski, let alone an all mountain or pow ski.

The skis are the true tape pull length so add a few cm on and you’ll get the size others would call the skis, so they’re not super short.
When coming up with the line we did a lot of research about the sizes of skis others made and a lot of thinking about what we were going to do. We’ve started with these sizes as they were in the upper-middle of the range of sizes to suit the most skiers to start. We’ve got the shorter lengths in there to suit younger and women skiers which we intend to bring out in the Alparka and Pioneer as soon as we can.

There will be no watered down, flowery, women’s line with effeminate names. We’re a unisex brand.

As as for longer sizes, the dimensions on the skis are all proportionate to length (keeping the ski feel consistent across the lengths) so we could scale them up if there’s the demand.
Thankfully with the factory we’re working with there molds are made of tip and tail blocks and the camber comes from fully adjustable sections in the press, so making different length skis is not so expensive.
For short lengths we push the blocks together, use a little less of the block (to keep the tip heights propoertional) and have a shorter camber section. The opposite could easily be done for long.

**This post was edited on Mar 9th 2019 at 10:01:48am
Feb 3 2019 3:43AM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 607 - Karma: 6,577
LukeTheWaffleWill you ever make a ski with a narwhal on it


Narwhals are cool. We might just have to. Not sure what kind of ski though...
Feb 3 2019 6:33AM
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LukeTheWaffle
Posts: 1844 - Karma: 8,857
FaunaSkisNarwhals are cool. We might just have to. Not sure what kind of ski though...


Since they swim in the ocean, and are majestic, I'd prolly say a super rocketed pow ski
Feb 3 2019 8:45AM
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Michigan_Sucks
Posts: 492 - Karma: 7,138
FaunaSkisNarwhals are cool. We might just have to. Not sure what kind of ski though...

Better be called The Gnarwhals.
Feb 3 2019 11:14AM
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Cyanicenine
Posts: 966 - Karma: 2,294
How do you handle resizing? Do you prioritize keeping the sidecut the same on all lengths (like atomic punx or 4frnt devys) or do you keep the tip, tail, waist width the same on all sizes and just allow the sidecut to change to whatever it will as the length changes (like most manufacturers)? Or are you somewhere in between?

It bugs me so no end when marketing campaigns will be like "thanks to our 20m sidecut you'll find this ski turns like a dream yada, yada, yada" and then you look at the size you'll be buying and it has a 16m sidecut, or a 24m sidecut, and you wonder if they even tested your size at all or if they just tested the prototype in one standard size and then haphazardly re-scaled and hoped for the best.
Feb 3 2019 2:35PM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 607 - Karma: 6,577
CyanicenineHow do you handle resizing? Do you prioritize keeping the sidecut the same on all lengths (like atomic punx or 4frnt devys) or do you keep the tip, tail, waist width the same on all sizes and just allow the sidecut to change to whatever it will as the length changes (like most manufacturers)? Or are you somewhere in between?

It bugs me so no end when marketing campaigns will be like "thanks to our 20m sidecut you'll find this ski turns like a dream yada, yada, yada" and then you look at the size you'll be buying and it has a 16m sidecut, or a 24m sidecut, and you wonder if they even tested your size at all or if they just tested the prototype in one standard size and then haphazardly re-scaled and hoped for the best.


We handle resizing proportionally. We have testd
our skis in all 3 of our planned lengths for both the Alparka and Pioneer. We wanted to keep a consistent ski feel across the size range and so as the skis get shorter the other dims change with and they’re not an afterthought.
Each ski is individually designed. We have made minor compromises to reduce tooling costs but from our testing the 178 skis as welll as our future 165cm Alparka.
Feb 3 2019 5:13PM
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JmckR
Posts: 1279 - Karma: 5,871
The Alparka's look absolutely stunning. Gotta ask though, what's your warranty policy on them?
Most major brands won't cover park use even on their dedicated park skis, is that the case with the Alparka's?
Feb 3 2019 7:29PM
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tino_
Posts: 59 - Karma: 136
Michigan_SucksBetter be called The Gnarwhals.


Sego has already used that name though... https://segoskis.com/collections/18-19-ski-lineup/products/gnarwhal-86
Feb 3 2019 7:51PM
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TOAST.
Posts: 7481 - Karma: 36,055
TheMailManThe Alparka's look absolutely stunning. Gotta ask though, what's your warranty policy on them?
Most major brands won't cover park use even on their dedicated park skis, is that the case with the Alparka's?

The only companies that covered rail damage are out of business.
Feb 3 2019 9:14PM
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K-Dot.
Posts: 3739 - Karma: 7,737
What is being done in your company to be carbon neutral? Are you using any non petroleum based plastics? If not, do you feel like your company is playing a role in emboldening climate change?
Feb 3 2019 10:27PM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 607 - Karma: 6,577
TheMailManThe Alparka's look absolutely stunning. Gotta ask though, what's your warranty policy on them?
Most major brands won't cover park use even on their dedicated park skis, is that the case with the Alparka's?

Thanks. We are still finalising our warranty but it will likely be the fairly standard warranty from ski companies. Offering a 2 year factory defect warranty for original purchaser but if you message with a problem we’ll try our best to help sort you out. Even if it’s just talking you through a repair/ telling you what to ask for from a shop repairing them.
K-Dot.What is being done in your company to be carbon neutral? Are you using any non petroleum based plastics? If not, do you feel like your company is playing a role in emboldening climate change?

Given we don’t have plastic top sheets or sidewalls our plastic consumption is lower than most companies. The only plastic in the ski is the ABS tip spacers, which are ~8mm wide and 3mm thick surrounding only ~150mm from the ends of the skis, and the bases. Currently we’re unaware of any base plastics from non petro sources and we are looking at a bio composite ABS for the tip spacer.
We are also keeping an eye on the development of recyclable epoxies and would like to end up having them in the skis.
Offsetting obviously isn’t as good as removing/reducing non environmentally friendly materials but it is something we’re looking at too. Could end up with something like a trees for skis scheme where we plant trees for every pair sold.
Feb 4 2019 4:19AM
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hi_vis360
Posts: 5032 - Karma: 51,069
FaunaSkisThe skis are the true tape pull length so add a few cm on and you’ll get the size others would call the skis, so they’re not super short.
When coming up with the line we did a lot of research about the sizes of skis others made and a lot of thinking about what we were going to do. We’ve started with these sizes as they were in the upper-middle of the range of sizes to suit the most skiers to start. We’ve got the shorter lengths in there to suit younger and women skiers which we intend to bring out in the Alparka and Pioneer as soon as we can.

There will be no limp-wristed flowery women’s line with effeminate names. We’re a unisex brand.

As as for longer sizes, the dimensions on the skis are all proportionate to length (keeping the ski feel consistent across the lengths) so we could scale them up if there’s the demand.
Thankfully with the factory we’re working with there molds are made of tip and tail blocks and the camber comes from fully adjustable sections in the press, so making different length skis is not so expensive.
For short lengths we push the blocks together, use a little less of the block (to keep the tip heights propoertional) and have a shorter camber section. The opposite could easily be done for long.


a 178 is fine for most skiers for sure, but it seems like you're really targeting the NS demographic, which is a little different from most skiers. I understand that a lot of other companies skis measure short, but a true 178 is still too short for me. tbh I would go for a 188 in a heartbeat. There simply aren't enough long park skis out there and it would be sick if smaller companies started making them
Feb 4 2019 10:16AM
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snowfinder
Posts: 2873 - Karma: 34,179
K-Dot.What is being done in your company to be carbon neutral? Are you using any non petroleum based plastics? If not, do you feel like your company is playing a role in emboldening climate change?



Go try to start a ski company and making it green from the get go.
Feb 4 2019 10:57AM
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K-Dot.
Posts: 3739 - Karma: 7,737
FaunaSkisThanks. We are still finalising our warranty but it will likely be the fairly standard warranty from ski companies. Offering a 2 year factory defect warranty for original purchaser but if you message with a problem we’ll try our best to help sort you out. Even if it’s just talking you through a repair/ telling you what to ask for from a shop repairing them.

Given we don’t have plastic top sheets or sidewalls our plastic consumption is lower than most companies. The only plastic in the ski is the ABS tip spacers, which are ~8mm wide and 3mm thick surrounding only ~150mm from the ends of the skis, and the bases. Currently we’re unaware of any base plastics from non petro sources and we are looking at a bio composite ABS for the tip spacer.
We are also keeping an eye on the development of recyclable epoxies and would like to end up having them in the skis.
Offsetting obviously isn’t as good as removing/reducing non environmentally friendly materials but it is something we’re looking at too. Could end up with something like a trees for skis scheme where we plant trees for every pair sold.


Thank you for the response. Not sure why I got down voted for asking legitimate questions but this is ns so who knows
Feb 4 2019 9:51PM
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SammyDubz
Posts: 2168 - Karma: 7,222
pinkcamo1000a 178 is fine for most skiers for sure, but it seems like you're really targeting the NS demographic, which is a little different from most skiers. I understand that a lot of other companies skis measure short, but a true 178 is still too short for me. tbh I would go for a 188 in a heartbeat. There simply aren't enough long park skis out there and it would be sick if smaller companies started making them


I bet a large majority of people on this site ski a ski that is 178 or under.
Feb 5 2019 11:40AM
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hi_vis360
Posts: 5032 - Karma: 51,069
SammyDubzI bet a large majority of people on this site ski a ski that is 178 or under.


really? maybe you're right, it would be cool to do a survey. All I know is that I heard a lot of people say they wouldn't buy HGs cause they only came in 178
Feb 5 2019 12:05PM
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corona
Posts: 12795 - Karma: 32,750
SammyDubzI bet a large majority of people on this site ski a ski that is 178 or under.


I'd say large majority is pushing it. I'd say 178 is roughly the median ski size.
Feb 7 2019 9:28PM
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corona
Posts: 12795 - Karma: 32,750
SammyDubzI bet a large majority of people on this site ski a ski that is 178 or under.

We have the data now (obviously not perfect).

46% of people who responded use a park ski longer than 178 and 41% use a park ski shorter than 178. So Fauna maybe should consider making longer skis. Most companies should actually.

Feb 8 2019 3:29PM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 607 - Karma: 6,577
VinnieFWe have the data now (obviously not perfect).

46% of people who responded use a park ski longer than 178 and 41% use a park ski shorter than 178. So Fauna maybe should consider making longer skis. Most companies should actually.



I saw your thread about the survey and so understand the problem with survey monkey which means your sample size is limited. I still stand by the 2 sizes of our first production of our park ski, our production run sits well within the range of the answers you got and we always expected for the 178 to be the most popular length with newschoolers.
Our intention is to create a range suitable for both men & women, and so we have always had plans to do more sizes including longer & shorter sizes. Our catalog was just our first fleshed out & tested design ideas, we'll be producing a new one soon enough as we refine our designs further. As we don't have investors, other than us & our available credit/business loans, we were limited how big a range we could start with and this was what we decided was best (with the help of shop buyers and other producers).
Our all mountain freeride skis also sit nicely in the bell curve of the data from your thread.
As for the powder/freeride line our future Ibex ski sizes table has an error and should read 191, 182, 173 & 166cm so we are aware of people riding bigger skis for freeride and again our sizes fit the bell curve of the data nicely.
Don't worry, we thought this through, tested and researched the range of lengths/dims of a lot of other ski companies before coming up with designs. I'm not ashamed to admit it I'm a ski nerd.
Feb 9 2019 2:55PM
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Lemuel
Posts: 14488 - Karma: 10,641
pinkcamo1000really? maybe you're right, it would be cool to do a survey. All I know is that I heard a lot of people say they wouldn't buy HGs cause they only came in 178


I had a pair of Stingers, my 177 Volkl walls feel wayyyyyy shorter than the HG's did. The price was definitely the demise of HG, ad if they had a longer size they probably would have lasted a little longer. Anything under 180 is too short for most of us, go into any ski shop this time of the year and try buying a park ski 180+. Nearly impossible to find.
Feb 9 2019 2:57PM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 607 - Karma: 6,577
Our sales went live on our site just now if you're keen for a pair, they're ready to go as soon as you order!
Mar 8 2019 2:56PM
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-SnowSnoli-
Posts: 756 - Karma: 1,703
Where are you guys based? I see you’re skis are made in Czech but where’s hq?
Mar 8 2019 3:15PM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 607 - Karma: 6,577
-SnowSnoli-Where are you guys based? I see you’re skis are made in Czech but where’s hq?


Were based in Scotland but our skis have been developed over multiple winters with testing in resorts across the European Alps; British Columbia; New Zealand and Australia.
Mar 8 2019 3:38PM
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powpatrol
Posts: 1682 - Karma: 10,914
FaunaSkisWere based in Scotland but our skis have been developed over multiple winters with testing in resorts across the European Alps; British Columbia; New Zealand and Australia.


woah didn’t now you guys were up in scotland. Nothing beats scottish skiing when it’s good ;)
Mar 8 2019 5:21PM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 607 - Karma: 6,577
powpatrolwoah didn’t now you guys were up in scotland. Nothing beats scottish skiing when it’s good ;)


it's certainly something special when it's good and makes some of the hardiest billy goat style skiers we've seen.
Mar 8 2019 6:14PM
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partyandBS
Posts: 4508 - Karma: 69,458
5 point park ski?! Is this a first or no? RMU has an entire 5 point line except the park ski. Anyway, j skis started with their park ski only going up to 178. Got the NS x J skis that Toast designed. 178s are too small for me as well but I am pumped on these designs and would love to see the wood sidewalls put through the ringer and see how they fair compared to conventional sidewalls. Anyway, props for making your dreams a reality and committing to be a start up ski company. It’s not easy to be a start up nowadays. I’m still waiting to get my revisions in the mail . . .
Mar 8 2019 7:16PM
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skierman
Posts: 8334 - Karma: 7,757
I've interviewed 3 testers so far who stated they would rather use skis manufactured by children sweatshop workers than your crappy product. I'd say you're off to a great start but you may want to ring up Revision for some advice.
Mar 8 2019 8:28PM
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skierman
Posts: 8334 - Karma: 7,757
Oh and trying to use the NS forums as free advertising is so fetch. Fuck you.
Mar 8 2019 8:28PM
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skierman
Posts: 8334 - Karma: 7,757
FaunaSkisWere based in Scotland but our skis have been developed by multiple child molesters including Michael Jackson, R Kelly and the late great Jimmy Savile.



WTF
Mar 8 2019 8:31PM
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xxACIDTRIPxx
Posts: 5980 - Karma: 8,175
skiermanWTF


Leave this site

No one likes you or thinks you're funny
Mar 8 2019 9:10PM
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FaunaSkis
Posts: 607 - Karma: 6,577
partyandBS5 point park ski?! Is this a first or no? RMU has an entire 5 point line except the park ski. Anyway, j skis started with their park ski only going up to 178. Got the NS x J skis that Toast designed. 178s are too small for me as well but I am pumped on these designs and would love to see the wood sidewalls put through the ringer and see how they fair compared to conventional sidewalls. Anyway, props for making your dreams a reality and committing to be a start up ski company. It’s not easy to be a start up nowadays. I’m still waiting to get my revisions in the mail . . .


Not sure, others have taper in the tips, it helps nicely in spring slush. Others maybe don’t tell you the extra 2 taper points.
We currently have a pair with Peter to do a Roofbox review so you’ll see soon enough how well our sidewalls stand up to abuse. Thanks for the props, it’s been a while coming. Shame to hear about your experience with revisions. One of the reasons we swerved pre-orders, ours are ready to go in the post when you hit buy now.
Mar 9 2019 7:05AM
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skierman
Posts: 8334 - Karma: 7,757
ACID_Leave this site

No one likes you or thinks you're funny


Awww why don't you go ahead and create another thread about me? You little bitch.

I prefer not to see these POS ski "companies" flooding the forums trying to get free advertising under the guise of appealing to reddit shit fuckers like you. "OMG WE'RE A SKI COMPANY AMA YUNG BLOODZ!" Fuck off with this shit.
Mar 9 2019 9:32AM
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skierman
Posts: 8334 - Karma: 7,757
Also you gotta love the gay bashing going on with this company.

"There will be no limp-wristed flowery women’s line with effeminate names."

Yeah, limp-wristed.... I wonder were you got that term from....
Mar 9 2019 9:35AM
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skierman
Posts: 8334 - Karma: 7,757
Also you gotta love the gay bashing going on with this company.

"There will be no limp-wristed flowery women’s line with effeminate names."

Yeah, limp-wristed.... I wonder were you got that term from....
Mar 9 2019 9:35AM
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