OVERVIEW
Our spider sense tingles when we hear the term “handmade” applied to skis, as the implication is that such slats will receive extraordinary care in manufacture no mass-produced ski can hope to receive. One reason we look sideways at the “handmade” adjective is that all quality skis are to some degree handmade and some processes – even at “handmade” plants – are best managed robotically. In fact, there’s no obligatory reason a “handmade” ski should be superior, and likewise a “mass produced” model can be exquisite. While the “handmade” handle hopes to convey scrupulous craftsmanship, it’s just as likely to be a euphemism for “outdated, inefficient production technology with slack quality control.”
Of all the brands that hang their hat on a handmade reputation, Stöckli represents the best of what we associate with the term and avoids all the potential pitfalls. Perhaps all we need to say is that they are Swiss to the core. If they are inefficient, it’s because they choose to be; who else changes their production several times mid-season as new ideas are tested and adopted? Sure, other brands are also refining their products throughout the year, but they don’t usually make such midstream improvements available to the public. But if Stöckli concocts a faster race ski and their athletes confirm it, the next model they make – whether for a racer or a consumer – will incorporate those improvements. If that sounds special, it is.
Stöckli doesn’t condescend to their buying public. They assume if you want their race skis, you want the same race skis the amazing Tina Maze deploys, so that’s what you get. They don’t compromise on construction and the finishing steps applied to all Stöckli skis are state-of-the-art and beyond meticulous. Most companies would fire any engineer who recommended a method that took a week to produce a finished ski; at Stöckli, they’d probably promote him.
The only downside to Stöckli’s no-compromises approach is they have a habit of investing racing genes in every ski they make. They don’t try to pamper the clueless but reward the highly evolved. Thankfully for all concerned, they’ve finally figured out that freeride, all-terrain skiers have other, legitimate needs besides fierce grip at rocket speeds. The subtle changes they’ve made, such as adding rocker and softening the extremities, have expanded what we might call the “comfort range” of the latest series of Stormriders.
You’ll notice one consequence of being Swiss and made with the care of a Rolex is that they cost about the same as a Rolex. And as with Rolex, with Stöckli you get what you pay for.
The 2017 Season
You have to give credit where credit is due: Stöckli works overtime to make improvements to skis that require no improvement. Stöckli’s latest exercise in lily gilding is the application of a technology based on turtle shell construction to several of its Laser models. Developed in a joint research project with an independent laboratory that first conceived the idea and the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research in Davos, Turtle Shell technology mimics the function of how a turtle’s plates interlock, a joint that can either be elastic or rigid. As applied to skis, Stöckli cut two longitudinal squiggles into a Titanal top sheet and filled the gap with an elastomer. In straight running, the gap is loose and the ski is easy to flex; once tipped and pressured, the joint is impinged, stiffening the ski and accentuating edge grip.
The test pilots for the Turtle Shell tech are the Laser SX, CX and AX, all skis with a well-established reputation for excellence that presumably didn’t require burnishing. While the Laser CX isn’t often in the demo fleets we depend on for our testing, we received sufficient feedback on the SX and AX to confirm that turtle tech is the real deal.
The other development of note is the significant weight-loss program applied to the popular Stormrider 88, making it not just lighter but noticeably easier to ski without gutting its performance properties. The 88 also got a younger brother, the new Stormrider 83, that’s a little softer and uses a tad less metal in its Titanal laminates.