zai

Swiss Ski Maker Zai Unveils the Nezza

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

Bentley's Expanded Collection on Display in Paris

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Timepieces / Watches, Luxury Cars & Autos, Writing Instruments, Men's Style

For many customers, a Bentley is as much about the badge on the hood as the engine beneath it. So it should come as little surprise that the company's range of branded merchandise has expanded over the years to become one of the most extensive and the most exquisite in the business.

Among those partnerships on which Bentley has embarked with merchandising partners are timepieces by Breitling, writing instruments by Tibaldi, sunglasses by Estede, skis by Zai, leather goods by Robert Ettinger of London and newly-announced scarves by Heritage Cashmere. The full collection will be on display at the Paris Auto Salon, beginning precious few days from now at the Port de Versailles, but you can see them for yourself in our extensive high-resolution image gallery below.

Gallery: 2010 Bentley Collection

Tags: 2010 paris, 2010 paris auto salon, 2010 paris auto show, 2010 paris motor show, bentley, Breitling, Estede, Heritage Cashmere, paris, paris auto salon, paris auto show, paris motor show, Robert Ettinger of London, tibaldi, zai

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