From what started as a question of “How difficult would it be to make a pair of skis yourself?”
5 years later, has progressed to having skis produced in a factory in the Czech Republic, starting sales in February, and we couldn’t have done it without Newschoolers.
Through the help we got in the Official Ski Pressing/Shaping/Building/Constructing Thread especially NinetyFour, RudyGarmish & loganimlach, we started building first pair of skis in my parents garage in 2014. Working from a basic knowledge of joinery, composites and a pretty comprehensive knowledge of what goes into skis, a concept was born.
View attachment 923036View attachment 923037View attachment 923039
They were a powder ski concept of dreams, 126mm underfoot, more rocker than camber and just enough sidecut to not look like a jerry on anything less than 2ft deep. As far as construction they were to have no sidewalls, fibreglass top and bottom of an ash core, on a standard base & edge, and a stained wood veneer topsheet.
View attachment 922922
Without the ski building work and advice from NinetyFour and Logan the mould would have taken far longer to work out, using ideas like using a mould formed of multiple rib sections to form the rocker profile and a metal sheet lining. This has been carried into the factory to streamline tooling costs. After a leap into the unknown with trusting a small vacuum pump to put enough pressure on the glue sandwich of all the materials. They came out the press having the rocker profile planned.
Despite their simple construction and low-tech vacuum pressing technique they performed amazingly. Running fast in fresh snow and turning in the surfy way dreamed of. This went on to inspire a future of building prototypes of a range of designs, taking advice from Logan and Rowen on how best to refine the finish of the wood veneers and get a more complete, consistent ski, something like what you could pick up, buy and ride yourself.
View attachment 922923
Through seasons worth of extensive testing in resorts across the European Alps; British Columbia; New Zealand and Australia, these designs were refined to the point of looking to the future and scaling up.
After finding a factory who specialised in wood veneered skis, were able to make skis to our spec, we had samples made and working through some finishing decisions, we are now ready to start selling skis.
View attachment 923154
Our first ski for factory production is of the Alparka, coming February 2019, an 86mm underfoot, a full blooded, full symmetric park ski, 108-115-86-115-108 @ 178cm. Named so as a nod to its use and topsheet design of an alpaca, in recognition of Newschoolers long association with the Drama Llama. For our first production run we are selling them at a promotional rate of €485/£420/$550/$730CAD.
View attachment 923146View attachment 923152
Coming from a techy side of starting a ski company, the ski details are the parts we're most proud of.
Starting from the bottom, taking cues from other bomber skis that are fan favourites on newschoolers, like ON3P, J Skis & Moment, we have selected an extra-thick 1.8mm sintered PTex 3000 base for speed going into park features and a thickness so as to remove the worry of core shots from rocks or sharp edges on rails. To accompany the extra thick base we have a 2/3rds wrap of extra thick edges to match, a 2x2.4mm (WxH), extra thick in the good way, so you can worry less about edge cracks and focus on your riding. From there we’ve got an ash core, with ABS surrounding the tips, paired with triax fibreglass and carbon bands for a lively and responsive mid-stiff flex, giving you endless amounts of pop for hucking onto high rails and over kickers.
View attachment 923155
Here’s where we diverge from the crowd.
Our skis use Black American Walnut Hardwood sidewalls, a wood which has been relied on in the harshest environments as a material for gunstocks, known for it’s strength, durability and shock resistance, this is protected from moisture and strengthened with a coating of Teak Oil. Unlike ABS or UMWPE plastic sidewalls, the hardwood contributes to the flex of the ski rather than dampening, adding to the liveliness of the energy of the ski.
View attachment 923157
Around the same time ON3P were starting to play around with their wood veneer topsheets, we started making skis and were inspired to bring it to newschoolers as standard on our skis, but with the inclusion of some pieces of different wood types and include some graphics. These graphics were hand-drawn by a friend, an OG-style skier and somebody far more talented than me with ink, Jack Peppiette.
View attachment 923159
We’re starting with the Alparka in February 2019 and then come winter 19/20 we will be introducing our all-mountain freeride ski, the Pioneer, a light, fairly stiff, 105mm underfoot directional ski which we’re really pleased with the samples and can’t wait to get it into production!
View attachment 923160
Along with getting our factory skis produced we’re going to be continuing to developing our line of skis using hand built prototypes. We have a line of a few more skis to come and we want to share that process and the details with you as it progresses.
Check out our website faunaskis.com, ask any questions you've got on our AMA thread in Ski Gabber and look out for more from us here on Newschoolers, including a planned Roofbox Review. While you're at it you might as well follow us on instagram
5 years later, has progressed to having skis produced in a factory in the Czech Republic, starting sales in February, and we couldn’t have done it without Newschoolers.
Through the help we got in the Official Ski Pressing/Shaping/Building/Constructing Thread especially NinetyFour, RudyGarmish & loganimlach, we started building first pair of skis in my parents garage in 2014. Working from a basic knowledge of joinery, composites and a pretty comprehensive knowledge of what goes into skis, a concept was born.
View attachment 923036View attachment 923037View attachment 923039
They were a powder ski concept of dreams, 126mm underfoot, more rocker than camber and just enough sidecut to not look like a jerry on anything less than 2ft deep. As far as construction they were to have no sidewalls, fibreglass top and bottom of an ash core, on a standard base & edge, and a stained wood veneer topsheet.
View attachment 922922
Without the ski building work and advice from NinetyFour and Logan the mould would have taken far longer to work out, using ideas like using a mould formed of multiple rib sections to form the rocker profile and a metal sheet lining. This has been carried into the factory to streamline tooling costs. After a leap into the unknown with trusting a small vacuum pump to put enough pressure on the glue sandwich of all the materials. They came out the press having the rocker profile planned.
Despite their simple construction and low-tech vacuum pressing technique they performed amazingly. Running fast in fresh snow and turning in the surfy way dreamed of. This went on to inspire a future of building prototypes of a range of designs, taking advice from Logan and Rowen on how best to refine the finish of the wood veneers and get a more complete, consistent ski, something like what you could pick up, buy and ride yourself.
View attachment 922923
Through seasons worth of extensive testing in resorts across the European Alps; British Columbia; New Zealand and Australia, these designs were refined to the point of looking to the future and scaling up.
After finding a factory who specialised in wood veneered skis, were able to make skis to our spec, we had samples made and working through some finishing decisions, we are now ready to start selling skis.
View attachment 923154
Our first ski for factory production is of the Alparka, coming February 2019, an 86mm underfoot, a full blooded, full symmetric park ski, 108-115-86-115-108 @ 178cm. Named so as a nod to its use and topsheet design of an alpaca, in recognition of Newschoolers long association with the Drama Llama. For our first production run we are selling them at a promotional rate of €485/£420/$550/$730CAD.
View attachment 923146View attachment 923152
Coming from a techy side of starting a ski company, the ski details are the parts we're most proud of.
Starting from the bottom, taking cues from other bomber skis that are fan favourites on newschoolers, like ON3P, J Skis & Moment, we have selected an extra-thick 1.8mm sintered PTex 3000 base for speed going into park features and a thickness so as to remove the worry of core shots from rocks or sharp edges on rails. To accompany the extra thick base we have a 2/3rds wrap of extra thick edges to match, a 2x2.4mm (WxH), extra thick in the good way, so you can worry less about edge cracks and focus on your riding. From there we’ve got an ash core, with ABS surrounding the tips, paired with triax fibreglass and carbon bands for a lively and responsive mid-stiff flex, giving you endless amounts of pop for hucking onto high rails and over kickers.
View attachment 923155
Here’s where we diverge from the crowd.
Our skis use Black American Walnut Hardwood sidewalls, a wood which has been relied on in the harshest environments as a material for gunstocks, known for it’s strength, durability and shock resistance, this is protected from moisture and strengthened with a coating of Teak Oil. Unlike ABS or UMWPE plastic sidewalls, the hardwood contributes to the flex of the ski rather than dampening, adding to the liveliness of the energy of the ski.
View attachment 923157
Around the same time ON3P were starting to play around with their wood veneer topsheets, we started making skis and were inspired to bring it to newschoolers as standard on our skis, but with the inclusion of some pieces of different wood types and include some graphics. These graphics were hand-drawn by a friend, an OG-style skier and somebody far more talented than me with ink, Jack Peppiette.
View attachment 923159
We’re starting with the Alparka in February 2019 and then come winter 19/20 we will be introducing our all-mountain freeride ski, the Pioneer, a light, fairly stiff, 105mm underfoot directional ski which we’re really pleased with the samples and can’t wait to get it into production!
View attachment 923160
Along with getting our factory skis produced we’re going to be continuing to developing our line of skis using hand built prototypes. We have a line of a few more skis to come and we want to share that process and the details with you as it progresses.
Check out our website faunaskis.com, ask any questions you've got on our AMA thread in Ski Gabber and look out for more from us here on Newschoolers, including a planned Roofbox Review. While you're at it you might as well follow us on instagram
