SkiLogik

If the beauty of the mountains could be poured into a pair of skis, Skilogik is what you would create.

Skilogik skis are not only a thing of beauty but socially responsible and high performance, winning a string of ski test awards.

The handcrafted skis predominantly feature natural materials and the
company buys supplies from sustainable sources that care about the natural environment. They also plant a tree in place of every pair made and pay all their workers above the market rate.

Yodel magazine in Morzine spoke to company founder, David Mazzarella about Skilogik and the
ethos behind it.

“The response to our work around the world has been amazing, it’s probably more focused in the US for now as we started in Colorado. The second most popular area for our skis is probably Europe. We get a really good response from France - I think you have a mindset that’s open to new things out there.

I grew the company out of a passion for skiing since I was a kid and I was drawn to making them. I never wanted to work in a regular job. I made skis in Colorado for years but I reached a wall because to put the effort I wanted into each pair of skis I would have had to sell them for about €1500 – which not many people are willing to pay!

Instead I opened a state of the art facility in China where it is easier to source materials from all over the world and we can put unlimited labour into each pair. It sounds odd but expensive locations just lead you to compromise your product by using cheap products or reducing labour times. We are making around 15 pairs of skis a day at the moment, that way we can put enough effort into each pair.

I moved my wife and kids out here to China which was a huge lifestyle change from the US. It means I can keep an eye on the quality of the skis to ensure it remains the same. It has actually been a fascinating and enriching experience but we still keep the HQ of the company in Colorado because we really believe in ski testing and it’s a great area to carry that out.

All of our skis are made with natural wood inlay, we also use mother of pearl cultivated abalone shell, they are all made with natural materials. Skiers need to be aware of their carbon footprint because the entire industry could disappear with global warming. There have been some bad seasons recently in the Alps as glaciers are receding and the future can look pretty scary for Alpine regions.

We are doing some things that are really innovative to enhance the edging and carving performance of our skis. We use black locust sidewalls, which transmit more energy down to the edge. We also use a Vector 8 carbon fibre and fibreglass with fibres running in eight different directions making the skis resistant to twisting. This gives better pressure along the entire edge of the ski and helps it to bite down into the snow. The wood veneer inlay absorbs and diffuses vibrations without losing the liveliness of the ski so it still rebounds out of the turn.

One of our unique services is the Skilogik custom lab, which we use to create a fully customised ski for individuals. I talk with each client to determine their skiing background and what they are looking for in terms of performance. We customise the rocker profiles, camber constructions, flex patterns and weights, more or less starting the design of the ski from scratch.

Some people know exactly what they are looking for while others are open to ideas. This is the same in terms of artwork for custom skis. We provide proofs for various designs and the clients then choose which is their favourite. We pride ourselves on offering the custom service for the individual but many people buy a pair straight from the store because they like to be able to see and pick out their own pair. Some people buy two pairs of our skis; one to ski on and one for the wall and we strongly encourage that!”

Skilogik skis cost around €600 a pair or around €1000 for a fully customised pair.

In Morzine they are available from Le Caribou Skiset on Route de Combe a Zorre.

In Avoriaz they are available from Sci Mir Famose in Place du Snow.

For more information, go to: www.skilogik.com