Who We Are:

ExoticSkis.com is a group of lifelong skiers founded by Eric Edelstein and Tom Favro in Vermont, USA who recognize and encourage the creative independence of small and innovative ski designers and manufacturers. Many of us have come to our senses after working in other industries and realized we should put our talents and experience into something we are passionate about.  We really love what we do here at ExoticSkis.com.

We have decades of experience in the wholesale and retail sides of the ski business, database and information technology, international travel and skiing in all kinds of weather and terrain. Put it all together...and you have ExoticSkis.com ! What could be better?

What We Are:

ExoticSkis.com is regarded by the ski industry as the World's leading resource for lists, information and news about more than 400 small, independent, innovative ski designers and manufacturers around the globe. ExoticSkis.com also hosts some of the only on-snow tests of some of the World's most interesting and impressive skis from this list of rare, unusual and creative ski builders.

Since starting in 2005, our goal is to give ski enthusiasts a place to learn about alternative ski makers and their interesting products, and to give ski designers and manufacturers a place to notify the public about their efforts.

What We Are Not:

ExoticSkis.com does not sell or market skis for any manufacturers, so our reviews remain unbiased and accurate. We don't take payments for testing skis or writing articles and we are not hired by any ski companies in any way. We don't sell advertising space to ski manufacturers or distributors.

What We Do:

List of small ski companies around the World:

ExoticSkis.com maintains the definitive listing and information about these unique and unusual ski companies, sortable by country and type of ski. We promote awareness of these ski designers and their products to allow ski enthusiasts to choose skis from alternative sources rather than the industrial-scale manufacturers.

In-Depth Ski Tests Of Designs From Small Companies:

We produce some of the only on-snow tests in the World of these distinctive skis from small designers around the Globe. We detest short, one-day, single-surface reviews of skis, so we try to get at least 3 weeks on a pair of skis with a variety of testers in widely different conditions to see what it feels like to really live with that pair of skis like a skier would in real conditions. Our reviews might be a little more wordy than the one-paragraph summaries you read in many of the ski magazines and websites, but we think it helps to tell skiers what a ski feels like in real-World conditions day after day.

While the major ski manufacturers such as Atomic, Blizzard, Dynastar, Elan, Fischer, Head, K2, Kastle, Rossignol, Salomon, and Volkl all mass-produce many fine skis, there are hundreds of alternative ski builders making exceptional skis of countless varieties for enthusiasts around the globe. ExoticSkis.com brings knowledge of these small manufacturers to the public.

Confidential Prototype Testing Feedback

We often provide prototype design feedback to manufacturers looking to bring skis to a target market. Since we test many types of skis and designs, we are often regarded as a useful testing and feedback resource by small manufacturers. We do it for free.

OEM Production Recommendations:

We are often asked by ski designers for recommendations on OEM (Original Equiment Manufacturer A.K.A. "Contract Production Factory") workshops to produce their designs in numbers larger than their R&D workshop can manufacture, or for consistently high-quality production sustainabilily. We monitor the state of various workshops around the World with the capacity and expertise to produce skis to specifications, and often refer designers to various OEM shops around the Globe to help them produce their creations efficiently and consistently for enthusiasts around the World. We do it for free.

Trade Show Reporting:

We also publish reports about ski builders or the industry when we get the time and inspiration.

For example we started with an ISPO report waaaay back in 2009..., the ExoticSkis.com 2009 ISPO Report on small and independent ski manufacturers. (28mb PDF)

Industry On-Snow Demo Event Reporting:

We try to attend some industry on-snow demo trade shows each season to see which small companies are trying to get into retail channels, and to compare their designs to those of the larger, "Big 10" companies each season.

Sample below:
Report from Stratton Trade Show Demo Days: 2018