If you want to know how the raddest ski shop in Denver builds custom skis and snowboards, look no further. This page will give you the lowdown on what our skis are made from, the reasons we choose our ski building materials, and why CRSP is everything that a Colorado custom ski and snowboard company should be.

We believe in transparency, quality, and education so here are the ingredients that make our custom skis and snowboards so tasty.

Base

When it comes to ski building materials, there are two options for your base: Sintered or extruded. Both options are made with UHMW (ultra-high-molecular-weight) polyethylene. The difference is that extruded bases are molded with heat, and sintered bases are forced together with pressure.

With an extruded base, the product doesn’t cost as much, but you’re also getting a less durable product. Because we live by quality custom skis, our bases are sintered to a thickness of 2mm (compared to the average thickness of our competitors 1.22mm).

The sintered UHMW polyethylene results in a porous base that gives wax something to grip onto. This means that you’ll have to wax less often, and you’ll speed through powder and groomers alike. Watch out, Jerry.

Sidewall

The sidewall provides you with edge stability, impact resistance, and adds damping (meaning it helps cut back on gnarly vibrations). Our ski and snowboard sidewalls are custom designed with either UHMW or ABS UHMW blend, depending on the color you choose. While both variations provide ample protection for the wooden core, each has unique benefits. If you want to read more about the exciting world of plastics, check out this datasheet.

Most big companies these days are either not using sidewall, only using some under boot, or substituting it with 2 base laminates. These big companies would like to sell cap core construction as “better swing weight” but the truth of it is, they save a lot of money by removing an important performance component.

In typical big company fashion, they do not pass those savings onto you. Instead, they push you on a gimmick that makes them more profits and leaves you with a less durable (and less fun) product. We believe in using tried and true full sidewall sandwich construction to make a product that is fun, durable, and customizable to your preferences.

Edge

At 2.5mm, our custom skis and boards are crafted with the thickest available high-carbon spring steel. The impact-resistant strength will protect your equipment if you accidentally scrape up against a rock or tree. And even if you rip through glades without a scratch, thicker edges will allow you to tune your custom skis or board more frequently without fear of wearing away at the edge.

VDS Rubber Tape

A vulcanized silicone bonding material is used over the edges to improve bonding, which prevents a yard sale from turning into total liquidation. When used correctly, this impact-resistant adhesive serves the dual purpose of reducing vibration. It is a Vibration Damping Strip, after all.

Cores

Our custom ski and snowboard cores are made in-house with almost any species of wood we feel like experimenting with, but we primarily offer and use poplar, aspen, and white ash. These three species are commonly used in skis, and they have what we believe to be the best combination of:

• Strength – Durable from big mountains to terrain parks
• Flex – Ranging from super stiff to super buttery
• Weight – Lightweight to keep you nimble

While we have our favorite ski building materials, we’re not afraid to play with other types of wood that our custom customers may request. But we may end up steering you away from some types based on our experience using them before.

Topsheet

The rad custom graphics printed on our custom skis and snowboards live on the topsheet, so we make sure all our custom skis and snowboard topsheets are textured for scratch resistance. They’re also sanded back from the sidewall to help reduce chipping or damage caused by edge strikes. For the material, we use a co-extruded polymer, and graphics are heat transferred using sublimation dye transfer.

Epoxy

The epoxy we use is from Forrest Technical coatings and is a low VOC. This means that it’s environmentally friendly and safe to use while functioning as strong laminating epoxy. It can also be used in a mix using MITO graphene to add even more durability and dampness.

Snowboard inserts

We mount the bindings on our custom snowboards with stainless steel M6 hexagon T nuts in a 4x8 pattern. We use a traditional hole pattern and the most-secure inserts for a tight hold on your bindings.

Splitboard hardware

Our custom splitboards use Spark R&D bindings for a durable, simple, and lightweight experience. Unlike traditional clip hardware, these bad boys slide away from hanging over your edge when you're trying to traverse.

The Love

The love that goes into your custom skis comes from passionate people who ski and ride themselves. People do what they do for the love of the product they are making. People who are proud to be a real part of the snow culture. Creating new shapes and coming up with fun, ideas is what keeps us inspired. That and all the happy faces and wonderful things our customers tell us. Come share our love for skiing and snowboarding with us