Snowboards are boards where the user places both feet, usually secured, to the same board. The board itself is wider than most skis, with the ability to glide on snow. Snowboards widths are between 6 and 12 inches or 15 to 30 centimeters. Snowboards are differentiated from monoskis by the stance of the user. In monoskiing, the user stands with feet inline with direction of travel, whereas in snowboarding, users stand with feet transverse to the longitude of the board. Users of such equipment may be referred to as snowboarders. Commercial snowboards generally require extra equipment such as bindings and special boots which help secure both feet of a snowboarder, who generally ride in an upright position. These types of boards are commonly used by people at ski hills, mountains, backcountry, or resorts for leisure, entertainment, and competitive purposes in the activity called snowboarding.
A ski is a narrow strip of semi-rigid material worn underfoot to glide over snow. Substantially longer than they are wide, and characteristically employed in pairs, skis are attached to ski boots with ski bindings, with either a free, lockable, or partially secured heel. For climbing slopes, ski skins can be attached at the base of the ski.
Skis Rossignol S.A., or simply Rossignol, is a French manufacturer of alpine, snowboard, and Nordic equipment, as well as related outerwear and accessories, located in Isère, France. Rossignol was one of the first companies to produce plastic skis. The company also owns the brands Dynastar and LOOK. In 2005, Rossignol was bought by boardsport equipment manufacturer Quiksilver for $560 million. In 2008, Quiksilver made a deal to sell Rossignol for $147 million to a former chief executive, Bruno Cercley.
Atomic Austria GmbH is an Austrian sports equipment company headquartered in Salzburg, Austria. It manufactures and sells skis and other skiing equipment, such as boots, bindings, helmets, ski poles, goggles, bags, apparel and protective equipment. Atomic is a subsidiary of Finnish retail conglomerate Amer Sports, which in turn, oversees Arc'teryx, Precor, Salomon, Suunto, Sports Tracker, and Wilson.
American Transportation Corporation was an American manufacturer of school bus bodies. Tracing its roots to Ward Body Works, AmTran was formed in 1980 following the 1979 bankruptcy of Ward to continue bus production. In 1991, the company became a subsidiary of Navistar International, leading to a series of acquisitions of school bus body manufacturers by chassis suppliers during the 1990s.
The Schwan-Stabilo Group is a German corporate group based in Heroldsberg. Established in 1855, the company is made up of two private manufacturing companies, "Schwan Cosmetics International GmbH" and "Stabilo International GmbH".
Völkl Ski International, GmbH, is a sports equipment manufacturing company based in Bavaria, Germany. Initially it manufactured skis, but has extended its line to snowboards, outerwear, and tennis gear. Völkl's United States subsidiary is located in Lebanon, New Hampshire along with its wholly owned binding manufacturer, Marker. In 2015 Völkl bought the ski boot manufacturer Dalbello.
K2 Sports, LLC is an American winter sports company headquartered in Seattle, Washington. K2 Sports operates the K2 Skis, K2 Snowboarding, K2 Skates, Backcountry Access, Ride Snowboards, Tubbs Snowshoes, Atlas Snow-Shoe Company, LINE Skis, Full Tilt Boots, and Madshus brands. Famous users of K2 Skis include pro champion Spider Sabich, World Cup and Olympic champion Phil Mahre, and his twin brother Steve Mahre, World Champion and Olympic silver medalist.
Never Summer Industries is a snowboard and apparel manufacturer based out of Denver, Colorado. Tim and Tracey Canaday founded Never Summer snowboards in 1991. As the company progressed, they began expanding beyond snowboarding, such as a clothing line. All Never Summer merchandise is made in Denver. In 2016 they celebrated their 25-year anniversary by filming a documentary on the culture of the company the Canaday brothers established.
Fischer Sports is an Austrian winter sports equipment manufacturing company, more specifically Nordic skiing, Alpine skiing and ice hockey equipment. Winter sports equipment include skis, boots, bindings, and accessories. For ice hockey, Fischer produces sticks, skates, pucks, blades, jerseys, and protective gear.
Head Sport GmbH is an American-Austrian manufacturing company headquartered in Kennelbach. It owns the American tennis racket brand Head. Head GmbH is a group that includes several previously independent companies, including the original "Head Ski Company" ; Tyrolia, an Austrian ski-equipment manufacturer; and Mares, an Italian manufacturer of diving equipment.
Volant is a brand of ski equipment, currently owned by Amer Sports. It was founded as an independent company in the US, by brothers Hank and Bucky Kashiwa in 1989. The brothers developed the stainless steel "cap" ski, and founded the company with the belief that stainless steel skis would provide better performance than skis made from other materials.
Blizzard is an Austrian sports equipment company, based in Mittersill, Salzburg, Austria. Blizzard is currently a division of the italian Tecnica Group S.p.A. and is specialized in the manufacturing of alpine skiing equipment, more specifically skis and accessories.
Chaparral Boats was founded in 1965 by William "Buck" Pegg and Reggie Rose in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The company's bellwether boat at the time was the 15-ft Tri-Hull with a sticker price of $675. Although the tri-hull was discontinued in the early 1980s, many remain in commission today.
The Spatula was a ski manufactured by Volant skis from 2001 to 2003. It was the first production ski to feature reverse camber as well as reverse side cut. The ski was initially envisioned by professional freeskier Shane McConkey as early as 1996, and he convinced the company to manufacture the first prototypes in the summer of 2001. The Spatula gained a cult following, and along with its successor the K2 Pontoon (2006), inspired other ski manufacturers to experiment with a variety of camber shapes.
Line Skis, commonly shortened to Line or stylized as LINE, is a new school skis company owned by K2 Sports. Line Skis was founded by Jason Levinthal in 1995 to produce short, twin-tipped skis for freestyle skiers, and has since moved to produce full-length freeskis.
A. O. Smith Corporation is an American manufacturer of both residential and commercial water heaters and boilers, and the largest manufacturer and marketer of water heaters in North America. It also supplies water treatment and water purification products in the Asian market. The company has 27 locations worldwide, including five manufacturing facilities in North America, as well as plants in Bengaluru in India, Nanjing in China and Veldhoven in The Netherlands.
Limited Snowboards was a Canadian snowboard brand founded in Toronto in 1993 by Perry Gladstone and Ricardo Camargo. Limited Snowboards Inc. and its successors distributed snowboards bindings, boots, clothing and accessories under the brands Limited and LTD.
Malibu Boats is an American manufacturer of recreational boats, founded in Merced, California in 1982, and currently headquartered in Loudon, Tennessee with additional production facilities in New South Wales, Australia. Malibu is "the world's largest manufacturer of watersports towboats", used both recreationally and in water skiing and wakeboarding events.
Nidecker is a family-owned Swiss snowboarding company based in Rolle, Switzerland. Nidecker was founded in Etoy, Switzerland, in 1887. They own and operate several snowboard product companies and brands including Flow, Jones, Nidecker, NOW and YES. It is considered the second biggest snowboard company in the world. The company was passed down 5 generations. The Nidecker Group was formed in 2008 by three descendants of Henri: Cédric, Henry and Xavier Nidecker. Henry Nidecker is the CEO of the company.
