13260842:grifrowl said:
			
		
	
	
		
		
			you can only expect so much from skis at their price range and weight.
		
		
	 
Something we all need to remember: small companies don't always produce amazing skis, and big companies don't always churn out sub-par skis.  It all comes down to how much love and attention get put into the skis, and this is what makes a great ski.
Atomic has by far one of the most tricked out ski factories in the world.  We make our own molds, presses, tuning machines, jigs, etc. all in house and custom to our needs.  So if we want something, we make it the way we want, rather than a pre-made set up designed by someone else.  Same goes for all of our construction materials.  We select all of our raw materials and then we custom make all of the woodcores, bases, edges, topsheets, sidewalls in house.  Nothing is pre-selected out of a catalog, it's all custom the way we want it (which is not the norm in the ski industry).  And there is only enough raw material on hand to last 4 days, where temperature and humidity are strictly controlled.  That means nothing is sitting around aging, getting funky- only the freshest and highest quality goodness goes into the ski.  FYI- all of our sintered bases are a minimum of 7000 series, even on the Infamous.
After the skis are made, they are hand finished, individually weighed, flex tested, and paired with their perfect match.  So when you see a pair of Punx on the wall, you know that pair is actually belongs together.
The point here is to not discount a brand because of its size (not that you specifically said that).  Rather, look into the details about how a ski has been made, what goes into it, and you'll see the difference.