What makes a ski manufacturer better than the rest?

Attention to detail. Quality of materials used.

yes. durability and performance are above all other factors for me.

customer service, passion, real knowledge of making skis, ect

there are only a handful of brands out there that I would say belong to that list

Vaguely this. Today, almost every company makes great product. The craftsmanship that goes into skis has gotten to such a great level, whether they are made in China or the USA or here in Austria.

One of the sweet things about Atomic is that we produce every part of the ski directly in our factory in Altenmarkt (we even custom built most of the machines). The bases, the top sheets, the edges, the woodcores- if it's part of our ski, we create the part directly from the raw materials to our specifications. We are one of the few companies that actually does this. This allows us to completely control our quality from top to bottom, as opposed to relying on a different top sheet manufacturer or base supplier or woodcore supplier. This level of quality and attention to detail is not standard in the ski industry.

Plus, we build each ski one at a time (not as a paired set). Each ski is weighed, flexed, and then paired with it's closest match. So when you pick up a pair of Punx, they have literally been hand built, hand finished, and hand selected to ensure you get the most legit setup possible.

Well not really helping here, but I put Surface up on the list because of the 3 stage rocker (nomnomonom)

Whichever company has better graphics and whichever has better pro riders for them. /thread

A company that listens to the skiers, like ourselves, and produces a quality product that reflects our wants, as well as needs.

How steezy they are

Having the cashflow to build whatever you realistically wish is cool for sure, but there is something to be said about the small manufacturer. We are limited, but our small volume allows us to pick and choose materials so we get the best of the best: 1.8mm thick bases from one place, beefier edges from another, etc. Having stuff in house is great, dont get me wrong, but once you go through all the trouble to machine and manufacture, for example, that certain type of edge, its a lot easier to stick with that certain edge than change and revamp the entire process to accommodate a new sort of edge for next year. Not saying all major manufacturers are lazy, but some definitely go stagnant, in my opinion.

For partly this reason, partly just the natural innovation that builders have, I see independent companies always riding the crest of the wave in terms of ski technology. Some of our ideas are too crazy to be implemented right and every company has its faults and failures, but if you're looking for innovation and best of the best, I really think its the small band of ski makers doing it on their own.

And its sweet you guys match cores, got a new employee downstairs with a caliper and scale doin the same. Hand flexing sucks, cant wait to get our machine built next year.

And yeah, before anyone says it, my opinion is worthless and horribly biased, its based on nothing I've seen in the 8 years I'd been freeskiing before joining the industry.

Hey, it's ok!

durability, if a ski fails in every other way at least you can say, "hey, at least they held up"

Right on, Rowen. Attention to detail and taking the extra steps to ensure that our skiers get the best of the best is what separates the top manufacturers from the rest. Looking at the bike industry is very similar, as there's something to be said for brands like Specialized (who even though they are one of the largest bike brands, they still keep innovating and literally inventing new categories of bikes) and brands like Moots or Santa Cruz who pride themselves in small batches and craftsmanship.

The brands that go stagnant, whether big or small, will surely fail. Borrowing from the big, red S- Innovate or Die.

some great sales pitches going down here.

this...any ski can break, but its the ones that back their product and replace it, those are the companies that care about the customer and really care about skiing

Quality. A ski has to be quality.
It's not a selling factor for me, but I don't like seeing skis made in China.

Quality assurance/customer support/"by skiers for skiers"