skis

Carbon Ski Concept by Audi and Head

Filed under: Sports

Audi has culled its experience from motorsports and its partnership with the German Ski Association to design a fresh take on the downhill ski.

Built around a wooden core, sandwiched with aluminum and titanium and coated in carbon fiber, the Audi Carbon Ski concept is said to be some 200 grams lighter than a comparable conventional design. And though the design remains a concept for the time being, Audi and sports equipment firm Head are testing the skis for production potential.

Tags: audi, audi carbon ski, head, ski, skis, winter sports

Swiss Ski Maker Zai Unveils the Nezza

by Jonathon Ramsey (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

The last time we heard from zai they had just completed a new set of skis in conjunction with Bentley. But the seven-year-old maker of hand-built skis that works out of a centuries-old monastery in the Swiss alps has its own range, and the latest to join is called the Nezza. Called "a black blade to tame the mountain" – "nezza" means blade or sword – the carbon fiber composite ski has been specifically developed for hard slopes.

Even with that, zai's unique construction with the composite material it calls zaiira means that you can tailor the flexing behavior of the ski to your liking – so although hardpack is the Nezza's specialty, deep powder won't slow you down. The 173-centimeter skis weigh 3.1 pounds, and they're available now for 6,900 Swiss Francs, about $6,934. No, that's not exactly cheap, but the best never is. Yet it's almost guaranteed you'll see them on slopes sooner or later: zai was recently named the official supplier to the 2011 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Gallery: Nezza skis by zai

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Tags: nezza, ski, skiing, skis, winter sports, zai, zai nezza

Infiniti Limited Edition Ski Pack by Volant

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Sports

Infiniti Limited Edition Ski Pack by Volant

If you've undertaken the expense of buying an Infiniti to take you and yours up to the ski resort, you're not going to mount just any old skis on the roof now, are you? Of course not. That's why the luxury Japanese automaker has teamed up for a special package with premium wintersport equipment manufacturer Volant – the same company that made special skis for Prada.

The Infiniti-Volant Limited Edition Ski Pack consists of a pair of special skis – personalized with the owner's name – and the roof rack you'll need to mount them on the roof of your Infiniti. Only 100 examples will be offered at a £1,950 suggested retail price.

Gallery: Infiniti Ski Pack by Volant

Tags: amer, amer sports, amer sports group, infiniti, ski, ski pack, ski rack, skis, volant

Wally Supercar Concept for the Superyacht Set

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Luxury Cars & Autos

Monaco-based boatbuilder Wally, known for its avant-garde yacht designs, is responsible for some of the most eye-catching craft plying the waters. As we reported last year they also make some of the world's coolest high-performance skis. Now Matthew Hockham, an automotive design graduate of the UK's Coventry University, has come up with a Wally supercar concept inspired by both of the company's passions. Hockham's brief was to take Wally's distinctive design language and apply it to a suitably high-end and high-tech automotive concept. "The aim is to bring the essence of Wally onto the land and offer an exclusive user experience," he tells Car Body Design. Hockham's design uses Wally's trademark futuristic form language with sharp edges, black glass surfaces and hi-tech gray tones. The side profile was inspired by the lines of the stunning 118 WallyPower yacht. The interior makes extensive use of carbon fiber and teak, two materials used widely by Wally, and the elongated chassis is especially designed to transport a pair of Wally carbon fiber skis.

Gallery: Wally Supercar Concept

Tags: car design, carbon fiber, concept car, design, industrial design, Monaco, skis, supercar, teak, UK, Wally, yacht

Go Snowboarding on Chanel

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

For you brand loyalists out there here's a way to indulge your Chanel addiction that's especially appropriate for this time of year: snowboarding. Simple, clean cut, and uber-stylish. And also perfectly coordinated for the slopes in natural woodgrain and crisp white.

This snowboard is my personal fav (if only I knew how to snowboard) but if it's not striking your 'gotta have it' chord take a look at some of Chanel's other winter sports offerings, like boards and skis in darker shades of woodgrain, black instead of white, and coordinating poles and goggles.

Gallery: Chanel Winter Sports Accessories

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Tags: chanel, skiing, skis, snowboard, snowboarding, sports, winter sports, WinterSports

Wally Carbon Fiber Superyacht Skis

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Yachts & Sailing, Sports

Monaco-based boatbuilder Wally, known for its avant-garde yacht designs, has expanded its range of high-tech, high-performance skis made using carbon fiber technology borrowed from seagoing craft. The collection now includes six different models engineered for a range of expert skiing styles and conditions. Wally's skis are 30% lighter than conventional ones and combine exceptional grip on ice with high performance on powder. The carbon fiber is accompanied by cores of ash and birch wood, titanium accents and steel edging. The models in the range are the Original, Tradition, Magic, Freewally, Minipowder and Wallypowder. At 176 cm long, the new Wallypowder is one of the widest skis ever produced and the only full carbon ski specifically developed for off-piste runs.

[via Duncan Quinn]

Tags: carbon fiber, CarbonFiber, Monaco, skiing, skis, Wally, winter sports, WinterSports, yacht

Luxe Skis by Bentley & Paul Smith

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Sports

The sport of skiing gets a luxe boost this season from the automotive and fashion worlds thanks to new collaborations between Bentley, Paul Smith and high-end sporting good firms. Bentley has partnered with Swiss firm Zai on a "Supersports" set (top) comprised of handmade skis, poles and a ski bag worthy of bearing the famed British marque's moniker, limited to 250 pairs. The skis are fashioned from a special carbon fiber material called "Zaiìra" with a natural rubber core, and chromium-steel-infused carbon fiber for the flexible components backed up by Reinforced Thermoplastic Composites.

The Zai Supersports poles use the ExoGrid tech usually associated with the world of golf clubs. Each pair is priced at $9,800, making them some of the priciest skis on the snow. British designer Smith meanwhile has collaborated with Austrian experts Edelwiser on a pair of skis decorated in his signature multicolored stripes (above). Dubbed the Paul Smith Swing 162, at $1,000 a pair they're far more reasonable than the Bentleys. Every pair of Edelwiser skis is hand-made and built with state of the art materials like wood cores, laminated sidewalls and graphite bases for optimized flex and torsion characteristics.

Tags: Bentley, carbon fiber, CarbonFiber, Paul Smith, PaulSmith, ski, skiing, skis, snow, Switzerland, winter sports, WinterSports, Zai

Zai Skis Filled with the Spirit and the Granite of the Swiss Mountains

by Deb West (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

When I first opened the Zai web site I was greeted by a poem written by Leo Tour "In the beginning was the mountain". I was sure that I was going to learn about a new bottled water from the purist of mountain springs or possibly even a zen retreat. I was in fact entering a kind of temple, a secular one, where the worshipers follow not a god, but snow and a the sport of skiing.

The word Zai means "tough" in the little know dialect of Sursilvan which is spoken in the mountains of Switzerland and specifically in the town of Disentis where the Zai skis are crafted. As seems fitting, the town lies below an ancient Benedictine monastery. The personal dream of Simon Jacomet, who insists that his skis be made by people who have skiing and the mountains in their heart and soul, the company produces some of the finest and most technologically innovative ski equipment on the slopes. The skis are produced in a small and tightly controlled production plant using state of the art machinery and assembled by hand.

All of the Spada skis are limited editions, only 111 pairs of each model are made. The newest innovation just out for this winter season is a special ski that uses a carbon-stone-technology with a rubber exterior. Zai was the first manufacturer in the world to use a stone core in their skis and is still trendsetting in their product development being the first to use a natural rubber surfacing. It is not just rhetoric that the skis are "of the mountain" as each pair has Grisons granite in the core of the ski. As with all carefully thought out designs the skis themselves are beautiful too, they will definitely not get lost in the pile on the ski racks outside the lodge at lunch.

Available in the United States exclusively at the high end winter sports retailer Gorsuch whose stores in all the nicest ski areas of Colorado, such as Beaver Creek, Vail and Aspen, sell the Zai Spada skis for $5,900.00 a pair.

Tags: Aspen, Gorsuch, skiing, skis, switzerland, winter travel, WinterTravel, wintertravel-pedia, Zai

Winter Resort Company Fails, Prince Andrew Could Be Out His Deposit

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Britain's Prince Andrew may be out a big vacation deposit. The London Times reports that ski chalet rental company Descent International has gone into liquidation meaning that guests may lose their deposits for winter vacations. A total of nearly £500,000 including a deposit made by the Duke of York might not be returned. The chalet company offered the most exclusive winter chalets in the Alps at resorts like Courchevel, Verbier, Zermatt and St Moritz.

Earlier this year, Prince William and some friends rented luxurious villas at Klosters from Descent. Prince Andrew also stayed at Descent's Chalet Eugenia in Klosters last January during the time of the World Economic Forum in Davos and hosted a small party. He had booked the same villa for next year to coincide with the Davos conference. A total of 42 groups have already paid deposits for an amount of around £450,000. Looks like we can blame the recession for this one too, the reduction in luxury travel is being cited as a reason for the company's failure.

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Tags: alps, descent international, DescentInternational, prince andrew, PrinceAndrew, ski holiday, SkiHoliday, skis, switzerland

Dunhill Skis by Speciale

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

The latest offering from timeless men's London luxury outfitters Dunhill is a super-stylish set of skis specially commissioned from racing experts Speciale. The Dunhill Skis (above) are available in either teak (bottom) or carbon fiber (top) finishes with tough titanium bases. Available in two sizes, the $2,100 skis feature Vist bindings, handmade in Italy, which "fuse innovation with security." The speed lock can be adjusted with the use of a simple lever "moving the center of gravity of the skier depending on his skill or angle of slope." The Dunhill and Speciale logos are engraved on each ski, and owners can also have their names, initials or even their favorite resort - no doubt Aspen or Gstaad - engraved there as well.

Tags: Aspen, Dunhill, Skiing, Skis, Winter sports, WinterSports

Courchevel Lacroix Ski Set

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

For those with the money to make it to the most exclusive ski resorts, you need a luxury travel trunk. The Courchevel Exclusive is a limited edition of just ten trunks which each hold a pair of 'Courchevel Exclusive' skis, Lacroix Smartrack bindings, full carbon ski poles, leather ski gloves, ski goggles and two leather pouches. The trunk was custom made by Pinel & Pinel of Paris (whose luxury cases we've swooned over before). It has sleek details of carbon fiber and steel with full-grain leather upholstery inside and outside, with a drawer and corner-mounted wheels. The trunk also comes with a full one-year 3 Vallées ski pass, maintenance service, storage and delivery. It sells for 50,000 euros.

[via Classic Driver]

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Tags: courchevel, lacroix, pinel, skis

Hot Tips On Skis

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Sports

Sporting equipment is very personal, since every sport has so many variations in the capabilities and performance benefits of the various shoes, racquets, clubs or, in this case, skis. You have to start somewhere, no matter what you are specifically looking for, so Style has a guide for men's skiing gear that will help you get the ski season started off on the right foot. Or slope. They cover ski, binding and boot picks for four categories: Downhill Racer, All-Mountain Expert, Powder Hound and Laid-Back Cruiser. They also provide a great FAQ section with the 9 things you need to know before buying skis. Their tips include how to choose the right length, buy wider skis for powder skiing and narrower for icy downhills and recommending parabolic-shaped skis for just about all recreational skiers. You can also find some great skis at rental shops, where they tend to have the very latest equipment and you don't have to commit if you only ski once or twice a season.

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Tags: equipment, ski, skiers, skis, sports, winter

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