Kam K. Leang, co-founder of the fantastic "Build your own ride" SkiBuilders.com website (definitely check it out if you have any urge to build your own skis...no other site like it!)) created his own company called The SkiLab to sell some of his designs under the brand name "K Skis" as well as provide custom ski building services in 2011. Kam has been building skis since 2004 and has a huge body of expertise and knowledge since he is a Ph.D in mechanical engineering and a ski building fanatic. Not only can you buy pre-made skis or have your custom designs producted by Kam, you can get ski building materials through the website. You can also optionally participate in the construction of your skis at the shop...a unique opportunity. A full line of designs, including powder, all-mountain, touring and ultra-light models are available.  Kam is one of the inspirations behind the DIY ski building revolution in the U.S.A. Prices for the "K Skis" are $699 usd, full custom skis start at $799 usd.

One of the new models in 2012 is the "K Wild" which weighs in at 2.5 pounds per ski, with dimensions 170 cm length, 127-92-115 mm.

IDone (pronounced "eye dee wun") of Japan has a cult-like following of fanatical enthusiasts who swear by their extensive line of professional mogul skis.  IDone also produces technical carving skis as well as a collection of all-mountain skis.  We got our hands on two pairs of their technical carving skis, the TR-TTR GS and TR-TTM "cheater GS".  The initial review of the 180cm TR-TTM ski can be found here in the reviews forum.

The IDone TR-TTM 180cm is a narrow (105-68-94mm, 180cm R=21.3m) GS carving ski with a wood core of Japanese maple and beech (all hardwood). fiberglass and titanal pressed tightly into a precision chassis with exceptional quality, fit and finish.  The short story is this ski is a high-speed, quiet razor for groomed surfaces. It craves relatively large-radius turns at speed, but has no hint of nervous behavior at any time.  Like many high-end GS skis, the TR-TTM does not display a rowdy, snappy rebound when pressured and released.  Instead, it delivers an authoritative grip and powerful change of direction on command.  Read more of the review for some details and pictures.  The North American importer can be found in Canada.

Aspen Public Radio journalist David Frey prepared a story describing one of Colorado's new ski builders - Meier Skis - as an example of how the small and independent ski makers are making impacts across the ski industry.  As part of the story, Eric Edelstein of ExoticSkis.com was asked to comment on the phenomenon of small, new ski companies cropping up around the U.S.  We were psyched to offer a comment to the story of another independent, creative ski builder making impressions on their local economy and the ski industy as a whole. 

Below are links to the text of the story and the .mp3 autio file of the story itself.  We think it's great to have the media finally catching on to the wave of innovative ski makers blossoming around the World.  Kelly Davis of the Snowsports Industries Of America (SIA) was quoted as saying custom ski builders (we expect she means small, indie brands as well as custom builders) account for 1 in 6 new ski sales.  Wow.

Text of the story:

http://davidmfrey.com/2011/12/16/skiing-the-trees/

Audio (.mp3) link to the story:

http://www.aspenpublicradio.org/news_archive_detail.php?story=8992

Big changes are happening at Otnes skis USA. John Hawkins at Otnes Skis has moved all production to Belleview, Idaho and is introducing their 2013 all mountain rockered wood cap ski. We can't recall ever seeing a wood-cap ski before...so this is interesting. The ski is built with a poplar core and poplar cap and twin carbon fiber struts hidden in between the core and top-sheet. This is what Otnes calls their "torsion strut core" design.  The new ski will have  20cm of front early rise rocker, making it "lots of fun in marginal conditions", with dimensions of 126-90-116 @ 175cm.  The skiis will be sold in retail shops in Sun Valley, Vail, Alta, Bozeman and Minneapolis for approximately $889 usd.

The Otnes crew is interesting with the engineering talents of John Howe (of "The Claw" ski fame), Gary Schmidt (Omar) former Hart Ski employee and local Minneapolis ski tech extraordinaire, Brandon Doan in manufacturing Terry Mullins in marketing.  We hope to get reviews of the new ski as it gets finalized for sale....so stay tuned!

This weekend (Nov 25, 26, 27) only !

Keith O'Mearha at Praxis just e-mailed us about his "Black Friday" sale to get skis out to people early this season.  Right now, he's got every ski on sale...saving $62-$72 per pair....but you can get an additional 10% off these sale prices by using the checkout discount code EXOTICSKIS.  Keith says he's got every model in-stock (Get 'em while you can.).  It's rare to find a point in time when you can get any model of Praxis skis at a discount.  Spread the word (after you get your pair ordered first).  Winter is here!