Ya know sometimes I just don't get it. A lot of ski discussions have been arising as a result of the upcoming season. In just about every single thread concerning a selection of skis, there's always a "fuck the big companies, support the smaller companies" comment. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but why give the big companies such a hassle.
Many people rant on here about how the industry needs to grow, we need more exposure, and more money in the industry. Who are some of the culprits for fueling this growth and exposure? Many can disagree with me, but i think some of these bigger companies have something to do with it.
To start out, diversity of ski brands...aka competition... is necessary for a great industry, leading to better research, new technology, and a better value for us the skiers. Boone, Line, Moment, fatypus, rocky mountain ski company(i think its called) and more have great skis and are doing great things for riders, as i have a few pairs myself. Supporting growing companies is good, awesome, terrific, but bashing bigger ones? let them do their thing.
Their is so much hate from some people on the bigger companies, "bent on making profits" and only caring about making money. How do you make profits? Well to start out with one way some companies are making big profits is.....a quality product..what a concept. Taking a look at Salomon, Head, and Atomic for example, while everyone has their own preference as to the attributes of a ski, no one can really say they make a shitty product....really. You can notice that bigger companies, like Salomon, have allocated a lot more of their resources and time to developing better freestyle products for us the riders. An argument against that is that yes, these companies have deep pockets for r&d for their products, but that's besides the point.
Sponsorship is a two way street for both the riders and the companies in the industry. These bigger companies have the resources to sponsor up and comers and assist riders in living their dreams of becoming a professional skier. How does is that hurting anything?
Sure, these smaller companies are at a disadvantage of not having the backing and resources of an older corporation, but in the whole scheme of things, how is a companies ability to sponsor people, events, and movies a bad thing?
A quick word on blocking ads
It looks like you are using an ad blocker. That's okay. Who doesn't? But without advertising revenue, we can't keep making this site awesome. Click the link below for instructions on disabling adblock.
