Collection: Custom-Made Bamboo Skis

I have been making skis as a hobby since 2018 in a little ski shop built in my garage; turning out a dozen or so handcrafted skis during the off-season under the Waist Deep Ski Company (WD) brand. 

After years of experimentation, I settled on making skis around a bamboo ‘platform’ which extends from edge-to-edge and tip-to-tail; finished with a simple bamboo top sheet. Although I have not found a replacement for fiberglass as of yet, our resins and finishes are all bio-based materials. 

It is a purposeful choice to use eco-friendly materials wherever possible and to have eliminated plastic sidewalls, plastic tip and tail fill, plastic top sheets, colour dyes, chemicals, and the resultant waste; in order to reduce my production ‘SnowPrint’. 

Why Bamboo
Bamboo is an ideal material to construct skis. It is a long, flexible and light weight wood that is stronger than most hardwoods and more flexible than softwoods; while having superb longitudinal and lateral torsion strength.

Bamboo is one of the eco-friendliest woods available and is ideal for crafting skis. When harvested, the plant is cut above ground and regenerates itself in a matter of weeks. In fact, it grows super-fast (up to 3 feet per day), it doesn’t die when cut so it does not need to be replanted; it does not need much water to grow; it requires no pesticides; and, is hard and long lasting.

Benefits of Waist Deep Skis:

• WD Skis use full ‘edge-to-edge’ integrated bamboo wood platform (cores) that are custom made to our specs. We do not use plastic nor synthetic sidewalls. By extending the bamboo through the sidewall to the outside edge, the skis provide more direct and powerful edge control, over those that use the traditional transition through plastic sidewalls.
  
  
• WD Skis use bamboo platform that run from ‘tip-to-tail’; allowing the ‘fully integrated wood core’ to enhance the skiing experience. Mass production manufacturers use ‘plastic fill’ in the tips and tails of their skis in order to reduce weight and cost. However, in doing so, they also give up the natural ‘pop’ that a ‘fully integrated wood core’ brings to the skiing experience.
  
  
• WD Skis specs environmentally friendly materials. We use only bamboo platforms due to its light weight, natural spring, unconventional longitudinal strength and eco-friendliness and we only use bamboo top sheets due to its light weight and natural water resisting properties, allowing us to eliminate plastic from the ski core, tips, tails, sidewalls and top sheet. We use a Canadian manufactured bio-epoxy that is environmentally friendly and made from predominantly plant based materials.
  
  
• WD Skis use a hardened tungsten steel lightweight racing edge to ensure the highest quality, sharpest and strongest edge. This is a hardened edge that is not as susceptible to damage from rocks and other obstacles.
  
  
• WD Skis are made with a high sintered graphite infused base. We are currently using Isosport IS NHS Race 7816 and Race 3428 sintered race bases featuring a graphite mix, making it super-hard and super-fast. Production skis are typically made with a softer extruded base material (that is comparable to a 2,500 sinter hardness or less) meaning a softer base that goes slower and is more easily damaged by rocks and other.
  
  
• WD Skis use a bamboo veneer top sheet on all skis. Bamboo veneer provides a natural water and snow repellant. The Waist Deep logo and specs are etched onto the ski by hand and skis are finished with a balsam/carnauba wax.

Our goal is to make some really fun, eco-friendly boards, for skiers who like to carve and ski deep snow.

Custom Ski Price
Fiberglass Ski - $1,200
Carbon Ski - $1,500