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 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.
A ski binding is a device that connects a ski boot to the ski. Before the 1933 invention of ski lifts, skiers went uphill and down and cross-country on the same gear. As ski lifts became more prevalent, skis—and their bindings—became increasingly specialized, differentiated between alpine (downhill) and Nordic styles of skiing. Until the point of divergence in the mid-20th century, bindings held the toe of a flexible, leather boot against the ski and allowed the heel to rise off the ski, typically with a form of strap or cable around the heel.
Sandvik AB is a Swedish multinational engineering company specializing in metal cutting, digital and additive manufacturing, mining and construction, stainless and special steel alloys, and industrial heating. The company was founded in Sweden in 1862. In 2020, the Sandvik Group had approximately 37,000 employees and revenues of about 86 billion SEK in more than 160 countries.
Atomic is an Austrian company that manufactures and sells skis and other skiing equipment, such as boots, bindings, helmets, ski poles, goggles, bags, apparel and protective equipment.
Elan is a Slovenian company, located in Begunje na Gorenjskem, specializing in the production of sporting goods. It is best known for its skis and snowboards. Other products include sailboats from 30 to 50 ft length, motor yachts, apparel, and equipment for sports facilities. The brand became better known in the late 1970s, when Swedish alpine skiing ace Ingemar Stenmark won three consecutive World Cup overall titles on Elan skis. The company also manufactured license-built DG gliders from 1978.
Burton Snowboards is a privately-owned snowboard manufacturing company that was founded by Jake Burton Carpenter in 1977. The company specializes in products aimed at snowboarders, such as snowboards, bindings, boots, outerwear, and accessories. The company, whose flagship store is in Burlington, Vermont, is privately owned: by Jake Burton Carpenter, until his death in 2019, and by his wife, Donna Carpenter, who has been active in the business since 1983.
Salomon Group is a French sports equipment manufacturing company based in Annecy, France. It was founded in 1947 by François Salomon in the heart of the French Alps and is a major brand in outdoor sports equipment. Salomon constitutes a part of Amer Sports, owned since 2019 by the Chinese group ANTA Sports with sister brands Wilson, Atomic, Sports Tracker, Suunto, Precor, Arc'teryx.
Ski geometry is the shape of the ski. Described in the direction of travel, the front of the ski, typically pointed or rounded, is the tip, the middle is the waist and the rear is the tail. Skis have four aspects that define their basic performance: length, width, sidecut and camber. Skis also differ in more minor ways to address certain niche roles. For instance, skis for moguls are much softer to absorb shocks from the quick and sharp turns of the moguls and skis for powder are much wider to provide more "float" in deeper, softer snow.
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.
Nordica is an Italian manufacturing company of winter sports products, focusing on skiing. Based in Giavera del Montello, Nordica is currently a division of Tecnica Group, after it was acquired from Benetton in 2003.
Amer Sports Oyj is a Finnish sporting goods subsidiary of China's Anta Sports with equipment brands including Salomon, Arc'teryx, Peak Performance, Atomic, Suunto, Wilson, Armada, ENVE Composites, Louisville Slugger, DeMarini, and Sports Tracker.
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.
Jiangsu Shagang Group Company Limited, Jiangsu Shagang Group, Shagang Group or Shasteel is located in Zhangjiagang, Jiangsu, China, an Economic Development Zone of the Yangtze River. According to a 2008 survey conducted by the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce (ACFIC), the company was the largest privately owned company in China at the time. It involves the production and sales of "Shagang" brand name steel products.
K2 Snowboards are snowboards manufactured by the sports equipment company K2 Sports. K2 Sports was founded by businessman Bill Kirschner in 1962. The company manufactured some of the first sets of fibreglass skis in the 1960s, and delivered its first lot of 250 pairs of fibreglass skis in 1964.
Blizzard is an Austrian sports equipment company, based in Mittersill, Salzburg, Austria. Blizzard is currently a division of the Tecnica Group S.p.A. and is specialized in the manufacturing of alpine skiing equipment, more specifically skis and accessories.
GOODE Ski Technologies is a sporting goods manufacturing corporation headquartered in Ogden, Utah. Its main products are carbon fiber-based snow skis, ski poles, water skis, and accessories.
Wigwam Mills is a hosiery company based in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, United States.
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.
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.
