Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in 2021 and has since been updated with our new favorite small ski brands.
Ski small to go big.
Much like mega ski passes, you can make the argument that the biggest ski companies are almost too good. While there’s nothing wrong with blasting out thousands of pairs of world-class skis and shipping them all over the world, large-scale ski production just feels a bit canned. Where are the crusty characters? The grassroots inspiration? The skis built for skiers, by skiers?
Beating to the same drum as the ski areas who remain ruggedly independent, a small collection of ski companies are keeping the soul of skiing alive. These are the places where the ski designers are the testers and the testers are the decision-makers and the decision-makers are the…well, you get it.
As a small company that started in a garage west of Denver, we will always be closely tied to the little guy. During our 13 years of existence, we’ve had a front row seat as we watched various companies sink, swim, and send it. So, in the name of originality, we want to share a little backstory on nine of our favorite small ski brands that matter.
Coalition Snow
On a mission to claim space in the male dominated ski industry, Coalition Snow is a ski and snowboard company for women, by women. It’s not hard to find shredding ladies that inspire in the ski scene any more, but there’s still a lot of room for more women in the design, marketing, and production of snow gear. That’s where Coalition Snow comes in. Women deserve equipment that not only works well for them, but that helps them feel seen, supported, and welcomed in an intimidating environment.
In typical lady fashion, their business goes beyond turning a profit. They sponsor a scholarship for indigenous women to help increase their access to backcountry education and gear. They host virtual discussions and sessions on backcountry travel and how to overcome mental blocks. Not to mention, the entire community they’ve built for women to meet and connect over their shared love of sliding on snow.
Must-ski: SOS
Icelantic
The idea for a ski company zipped into founder Ben Anderson’s brain when he was in high school. He pursued the notion through a short stint studying industrial design in college before returning to Evergreen, Colorado to begin building skis in his parents’ garage. That was 2002. By 2006, the dream had materialized into Icelantic Skis.
These days, Icelantic is one of the most vibrant brands in skiing. They also happen to make some of the most fun skis in the industry.
Icelantic builds their shred sticks in Denver and runs the show out of their HQ just down the road from us here in Golden, Colorado. With a rockstar roster of employees, ambassadors, and athletes, Icelantic is a brand that you can’t help wanting to be part of.
Must-ski (men’s): Nomad 115
Must-ski (women’s): Nia Pro
Folsom
Folsom lives just down the street from us in Denver and focuses on building custom skis for their clients. With a huge spread of shapes and constructions to pick from, you can truly build the perfect ski for you. Started out of a love for hand crafted items and building more durable gear than the mass produced stuff, Folsom has become a household name in the ski industry with plenty of awards to boot.
We linked up with Folsom this year to build our very own dreamy skis and share them with you. With custom art from our very own Sarah Beabout, these skis have become a shop favorite and are always checked out of the demo fleet. Learn more about the models we brought in by checking out the video above, or if words are more your thing, read more here.
Must-ski: Cash 106
Liberty
Liberty Skis started as a roll of the dice. Literally. After winning $32,000 at a craps table in Las Vegas, founders Jim Satlaff and Jim Chalfant contracted with a Canadian factory to build the original Liberty prototypes.
Headquartered up I-70 in Avon, Colorado, Liberty has dreamed up some iconic models over the years, like the super-fat Genome, Helix, and do-it-all Origin 106. The brand was one of the first to use bamboo in their core constructions after being inspired by handmade fly rods.
Some of the most passionate skiers along the Colorado Front Range ride on Liberty skis, like Powder7 ambassadors Doug Evans and Ben Leoni. Over 17 years, they have worked their way into ski shops from Seattle to Portland, Maine.
Must-ski (men’s): Origin 106
Must-ski (women’s): Genesis 96
ZAG
Zag was born in 2002 in the French Alps when Stéphane Radiguet, nicknamed “Zag,” decided to build skis that could surf powder better than the existing array of models on the market while still being able to carve on groomers. Drawing inspiration from snowboarding, he shaped skis with wide, long tips and some of the very first iterations of rocker. One of the original models, the Gold, measured 93mm at the waist and was offered in lengths up to 201cm. Those were the days…
Six years later in 2008, Zag introduced its first “double rocker” ski: the Slap, named for the French term for freestyle backcountry: “Style Libre Arrière Pays.” Today, the Slap remains the brand’s flagship ski, and we are huge fans of the Slap 104 and Slap 112. Based and tested at Chamonix, Zag skis crossed the Atlantic, and we are stoked to be their first North American dealer.
Must-ski (men’s): Slap 112
Must-ski (women’s): Ubac 95 Lady
Majesty
Founded in 2007 by professional windsurfer Janusz Borowiec, Majesty skis drew inspiration from surfing and the long tradition of ski touring in southern Poland. Borowiec simply wanted to build skis that excelled in the backcountry and allowed skiers to take their freeride to the next level. With freeskiing, human-powered adventure, and sustainability at its core, Majesty has built a distinct and widely loved brand.
North American skiers began getting their first tastes of Majesty skis around 2011, when the brand started moving skis across the pond. In 2016, they established a North American HQ in Seattle. And today, the driving force behind Majesty’s entire identity, freeride ski touring, remains more relevant and popular than ever.
Must-ski (men’s): Havoc Carbon
Must-ski (women’s): Vestal
Movement
It’s safe to say that most people who shop with us don’t immediately think of Movement Skis when they think of Swiss ski companies. There’s too much Stockli stoke for that. While they’re just as Swiss as Stockli, Movement’s story couldn’t be more different.
Movement originally started as a snowboard company called Wild Duck, which was dreamed up in 1980 by three friends on a farm in Laussane, Switzerland. Over a few years of designing and testing shapes, and ultimately selling snowboards, they inadvertently created some then-unique ski shapes. Tinkering with narrower and narrower snowboards, the team at Wild Duck found themselves surprisingly well-prepared to pivot to skis when the snowboard market hit a downturn around 2000. They adapted their designs and launched Movement Skis in 2000.
Today, those designs have been polished by another 20 years of experience and testing in the Swiss high country.
Must-ski (men’s): Fly 105
Must-ski (women’s): Alp Tracks 85 W
RMU
RMU, like a fair number of ski companies, began as a passion project for some core skiers who just wanted to see if they could make skis they liked to ski on. In this case, the skiers were longtime Summit County locals, and it took about 15 presses for them to “land” their first custom ski project. The going rate? The cost of materials and 30 beers.
One became two, two became four, and before long, the colloquially (and aptly) named crew at “Rocky Mountain Underground” was talking about how to pump out 30 skis. Then 50. Then 75. By 2011, they had won an innovation award at ISPO. Today, they employ more than 60 folks. RMU encourages that they all ski at least 50 days per season, and have rolled out an employee ownership program.
If that’s not a grassroots story, we’re not sure what is.
Must-ski (men’s): North Shore 108
Must-ski (women’s): Valhalla 97
