Ski Boot Manufacturers

U

UlrickSkiDude

New member
Hi all,

I'm currently writing my master's thesis on the ski boot industry. I'm very interested in researching the different ski boot manufacturers and suppliers globally.

My hope is that some of you can provide me with insights, information, or webpages of ski boot manufacturers and suppliers.

This could be manufacturers for the bigger ski brands but also independent ski boot manufacturers.

Thank you!

Best regards,

Ulrick
 
Now, Im more curious about your schooling, OP. I gotta get a few things cleared up:

1.So you are doing a master thesis on the ski good industry (good choice), but you know nothing of the industry. Is it about supply chain management?

2. What made you come up with something specific like ski boots?

3. Whats your title?

These things puzzle me
 
14568696:tomPietrowski said:
Hey what information are you looking for OP?
Click to expand...

I have not been very successful with finding public information on specific manufacturers/factories of ski boot brands. Interesting information could be factory names, websites, locations, etc. And also if ski boot brands outsource their production or own the entire value chain.
 
14568892:UlrickSkiDude said:
I have not been very successful with finding public information on specific manufacturers/factories of ski boot brands. Interesting information could be factory names, websites, locations, etc. And also if ski boot brands outsource their production or own the entire value chain.
Click to expand...

A lot of this is kept secret on purpose- there are a lot of trade secrets that need to be protected. Even providing locations can give too much away sometimes.

In general, all aspects of the boot are managed and developed by the boot brand. The boot brands, however only produce shells, cuffs & (sometimes) liners and rely on 3rd party manufacturers/suppliers to produce buckles, power straps, and other small components. The brand will assemble everything together in their factory(s) and create the boot. There are exceptions to this, but it's the general flow. And going more specific will vary from brand to brand but no brand owns the entire value/supply chain.
 
As ONK said above the process is pretty similar for most brands. Perhaps a good place to start would be to research Montebelluna and why that town developed. There is a reason nearly all good ski boots are built within that small region of Italy. From the mold shops to the component makers to brand factories. It’s very interesting looking at how it all grew together and how today it would be really hard for ski boot manufacturing to move from that region.
 
Op have you tried reaching out to the corporate offices of ski boot manufacturers? They may or may not wanna give out the desired info but perhaps. Please do post here when you're done. I'd be curious to read.

Now for me being an asshole. Your initial post asked for websites of ski boot companies. ??? How lazy are you?

Dude just Google "ski boot brands". Then follow each brand to the corporation that manufactures them. Click the "about us" section or "contact info" section at the bottom of the page. Some corporations make multiple boot brands under the umbrella of the main brand. Fishing on forums is not going to yield the specific information you desire. Another alternative would be to find people on linkedin with prior employment history in positions at these companies in areas you want to know about. Reach out and ask for an interview. Google search algorithms are your friend.

Because I've been such an asshole, here's your freebie. Click the contact info and send an email: https://k2snow.com/en-us/support/about-k2
 
14569003:HypeBeast said:
Op have you tried reaching out to the corporate offices of ski boot manufacturers? They may or may not wanna give out the desired info but perhaps. Please do post here when you're done. I'd be curious to read.

Now for me being an asshole. Your initial post asked for websites of ski boot companies. ??? How lazy are you?

Dude just Google "ski boot brands". Then follow each brand to the corporation that manufactures them. Click the "about us" section or "contact info" section at the bottom of the page. Some corporations make multiple boot brands under the umbrella of the main brand. Fishing on forums is not going to yield the specific information you desire. Another alternative would be to find people on linkedin with prior employment history in positions at these companies in areas you want to know about. Reach out and ask for an interview. Google search algorithms are your friend.

Because I've been such an asshole, here's your freebie. Click the contact info and send an email: https://k2snow.com/en-us/support/about-k2
Click to expand...

Well these forums do work, he has myself and Matt answering directly and we are the product managers for k2 and Atomic boots.
 
14568904:onenerdykid said:
A lot of this is kept secret on purpose- there are a lot of trade secrets that need to be protected. Even providing locations can give too much away sometimes.

In general, all aspects of the boot are managed and developed by the boot brand. The boot brands, however only produce shells, cuffs & (sometimes) liners and rely on 3rd party manufacturers/suppliers to produce buckles, power straps, and other small components. The brand will assemble everything together in their factory(s) and create the boot. There are exceptions to this, but it's the general flow. And going more specific will vary from brand to brand but no brand owns the entire value/supply chain.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the insights, I appreciate it! My assumption was also that the value chain must be out sourced to some extend
 
14568916:tomPietrowski said:
As ONK said above the process is pretty similar for most brands. Perhaps a good place to start would be to research Montebelluna and why that town developed. There is a reason nearly all good ski boots are built within that small region of Italy. From the mold shops to the component makers to brand factories. It’s very interesting looking at how it all grew together and how today it would be really hard for ski boot manufacturing to move from that region.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot! Montebelluna is already in my scope but always good to have it approved by someone in the industry.
 
14569024:tomPietrowski said:
Well these forums do work, he has myself and Matt answering directly and we are the product managers for k2 and Atomic boots.
Click to expand...

If that's enough for a thesis then I must be a woman lol Jesus christ
 
14569024:tomPietrowski said:
Well these forums do work, he has myself and Matt answering directly and we are the product managers for k2 and Atomic boots.
Click to expand...

Ive got a couple questions for you actually.

These spiky bits have been really annoying me ive had to flatten the piece out to get it back into place. Why do they have to be spikey? Why cant it just be a bit bigger and not spikey? Why do they just pop out with no force but require the hand of god to get back in?

1081963.jpeg

Then theres the bottom bits. These also really bother me. Why do these screws rust so fast? And why do they just screw into the plastic instead of a metal bit? After one swap I already had a screw that wouldnt re-thread. And when you replace the outsole why cant I just buy the same one instead of a slightly different one that then requires me to go re-adjust the afd settings on all my bindings?

1081965.jpeg

Lastly theres this piece. Its drawn more blood out of my hands than the ghetto girl who stabbed me in the hand in 5th grade. Why couldnt it just be a bit longer so I could get more than one finger under it? Why does it have to be so sharp on either side of where you hold?

1081966.jpeg

These are all FT pieces ofc, please let me know if any of this changed when yall aquired them.
 
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