Brad – tell us a bit about your ski background, bringing us up to current… A: One of my earliest memories is learning to ski at Alpine Valley in Northeast Ohio with “Uncle Bob.” Gripping the rope tow was a challenge, but having the support of my mom behind me made it possible. In my…
Walk us through your ski/s selection thought process when traveling to South America. When I travel down to ski in Bariloche, Argentina, it’s with the goal of skiing big lines, steep chutes, and amazing trees. Whether I’m enjoying resort skiing or the backcountry. Skiing in South America provides its own unique challenges and experiences; you…
Joel – tell us a bit about your ski background, bringing us up to current… A: My grandfather got me into mountaineering and skiing at a young age. He grew up skiing and mountaineering in the alps, and he wanted to make sure that family tradition lived on. I fell in love with the sport…
Luke – tell us a bit about your ski background, bringing us up to current… I grew up skiing at a few small resorts in Ohio: Boston Mills, Brandywine, and Alpine Valley. When I was about 7 years old, my parents bought a ski condo at Holiday Valley, NY. I joined the mogul team, but…
The Primary has been a staple of the Folsom Skis shape lineup for upwards of 10 years. Over these years, the Primary evolved into the Primary 110, however the waist width would fluctuate from 107mm, to 110mm, to 114mm underfoot depending on the ski length. In addition to the waist width variance, the radius jumped…
A retired FWQ competitor and big mountain connoisseur, Folsom athlete Tom Runcie has quite possibly the most years on skis of any ambassador. We recently caught up with Tom on his competition days, balancing family and skiing, and his favorite ski experiences in Canada… Tell us about your ski background – where and how…
Now that were well into the 22/23 ski season with a plethora of snow, it’s time for a new graphic drop for those late winter custom builds. The new offerings include a couple additions to the “Retro” graphics category, as well as 2 new “Nautical” graphics. There’s also an outside graphic donated to us from…
Folsom athlete Becky Walter skis as hard as any (harder than most in fact). Residing full time in Summit County CO, Becky can be found in the resort during her lunch breaks, and also spends a significant amount of time exploring Colorado’s expansive backcountry. Here’s a bit about her background, and her impact as an…
The snow is falling, and it’s time to kick off the 2022-23 ski season at Folsom Custom Skis. Come meet the Folsom team and join CEO Mike McCabe for a shop tour at 6pm, or post up in our newly finished Showroom to enjoy some light snacks, and FREE drinks from 10 Barrel Brewing, Breckenridge…
Folsom Skis Co-Founder and CEO Mike McCabe recently sat down with Jonathon Ellsworth at BLISTER to discuss what’s new at Folsom. There’s been a lot going on at the company here over the past year including new ski shapes, new construction styles, shop improvement and even a Junior Trade-In program. Listen below, or check it out…
When you picture skiing Alaska, what’s first word that comes into your head? Powder? Heliskiing? Cat Skiing? Yeah, us too. Few of us are lucky enough to ever go skiing in areas that have bottomless powder, but for those that do, it’s critical to have the right tool for the job. If you’re going to…
The Cash 106 and Cash 117 have been stalwarts in the Folsom Skis shape line up for years, providing skiers the perfect quiver combination for skiing crud and soft snow. For the 22/23 season, we are proud to announce the latest addition to the Cash family, the Cash 93. With a narrower waist width and…
It’s a Wednesday afternoon in mid December of 2021. Folsom’s build queue has been no-so-gradually stacking up higher and higher over the course of the fall and early winter. The holidays are right around the corner and every customer needs their skis yesterday. Our 12 year old CNC machine seizes up around 4pm while cutting…
Folsom Skis is proud to offer a full suite of ski tuning services at our Denver Headquarters. We are capable of tuning both Folsom Skis as well as skis from other manufacturers, however Folsom Skis customers will receive 25% off any ski tune in Denver. Tune Types and Pricing Pro Tune ($100) – Base…
Choosing what climbing skins (touring skins) to buy can be a bit confusing. There are many companies that make different types of climbing skins so what are the real differences between them? Aside from colors as well as the tip and tail attachments, the primary difference between climbing skins is what material they are made…
Folsom Athlete Doug Mock is a touring machine. He’s been skiing on Folsom Skis for over a decade, and has seen the evolution of Folsom’s touring skis from day 1. Here’s Doug’s view of the touring ski evolution specific to Folsom, and how it has changed his skiing for the better… Don’t let anyone…
Over the last few years, the shift in the ski industry towards lightweight touring skis has been substantial. Through this time, Folsom’s touring builds have evolved slightly, but even in Folsom’s traditional lightweight touring constructions, skis still weighed in around 1800-2000 g/ski for longer mid-width shapes. This winter and spring, we’ve been prototyping a new…
In between spring cleaning, new shape / construction R&D, and (of course) custom ski building, we’ve been able to cook up a fresh batch of custom ski topsheet graphics for your next custom build. Although it won’t seem to stop snowing (no complaints here), many of the new graphics come from warm weather inspiration, as…
The second annual Blister Review Summit was a great experience! Hosted down in Crested Butte, CO attendees had the opportunity to try next season’s ’22-23 skis, bindings, boots, and more. In addition to the on snow demos during the day, Blister also held nightly panel sessions with industry leaders, product designers and professional athletes. …
The past 12 months have been a whirlwind. The uncertainty that COVID initially brought to the ski world was unparalleled, and left many small businesses wondering how much longer they’d be around for. Thankfully the ’20-21 ski season drew thousands of new skiers to the ski areas across the globe, and there was no shortage…
Custom skis always begin with the ski shape. The ski shape is what dictates your ski’s length and geometry (tip-waist-tail dimensions, sidecut, and taper), and we have consolidated our shapes into four families as follows: Spar, Completo, Cash, and Primary. (There are a few outlier shapes that don’t necessarily fall into a single family, and…
While we are experts in ski design here at Folsom, we know a thing or two about ski accessories and how they are properly set up and used as well. In this video tutorial, you’ll receive a full explanation on how to trim backcountry climbing skins to your skis. We even show you both trim…
One of the biggest misconceptions we get here at Folsom Custom Skis is that custom skis are intended to only benefit advanced or expert level skiers. Beginner and intermediate level skiers often think that their skiing abilities may not be good enough to deserve custom skis, or that custom skis will make it difficult for…
Here at Folsom, we’re always looking to innovate our ski building technology, but we also know that the recipes we’ve been using over the years work pretty darn well. The addition of a new additive – Functionalized Graphene Oxide – to our skis has been something we’ve been trying to achieve in the right way,…
Last season, we introduced Recommended Construction Combinations to our ski shape pages. Custom skis are magical when they use the right materials for the end user, but if you’re not an expert in ski materials and construction, how are you supposed to know what options to choose? This blog will first take you through our…
We’ll be the first to tell you that ski lingo and terminology can be (1) difficult to understand, (2) vague, and (3) just straight up confusing at times. Understanding terms like, “corduroy”, “après” and “gaper” are important if you ever want to walk the walk. But what about when you’re buying skis? If you’re looking…
One of the newest Folsom Skis team members, Mike Sampson hails from the Live Free state (New Hampshire), but resides full time in Carbondale, CO. While he may be carry larger clout in the mountain bike world, Mike rips harder than most on skis as well. We had a chance to catch up with Mike…
I’ve just cut the grass for the fifth time, the thermostat says its 80 degrees inside my house, and the skiing’s all gone to sun cups and mashers. It appears that summer has arrived again, which means it’s time to retire the Rapture, put up the Primary, stow the Spar, tap-out the Trigger and cash…
It’s been a busy spring here at Folsom HQ. While other brands shut their doors and took vacations, we’ve been hard at work perfecting new shapes and construction types, plus we’ve been brainstorming and creating fresh graphic ideas to have your skis looking better than ever aesthetically. As we move into the warmer months, we’re…
In case you missed it, the first annual BLISTER Summit was an amazing experience where consumers were given the chance to test, rate, and review 21-22 skis from some of the industry’s leading brands. In addition to the on-snow experience, BLISTER coordinated a series of panels every afternoon to educate attendees about everything from ski…
Born in Boulder, CO, and one of the only custom ski companies still around. What’s their secret? Mike McCabe, Folsom Skis CEO So, Mike McCabe, you’re the CEO and Owner of Folsom Skis and you’ve been there from the start. Take us back to the beginning. Well, in a galaxy far far away,…
We are excited that our Sales Office & Showroom in downtown Aspen, CO is open for the winter. Based at the Hub of Aspen (616 E Hyman Ave), customers can demo a variety of alpine and touring skis, purchase stock skis, and go through Folsom’s custom fit consultation with a ski design expert at Folsom’s…
Last year we worked with our friends over at BLISTER Gear Review to bring you a limited edition ski, the BLISTER Pro 104 (you can check out their review HERE). We enjoyed that ski so much that we then created a customizable version of it, the Primary 104, based off the identical tip-waist-tail dimensions. Set to…
Folsom Custom Skis and BLISTER Gear Review have been working together for upwards of 5 years. From simple gear discussions, to the collaborative design of Folsom’s BLISTER Pro ski shape, the relationship has only been growing, particularly as of late. CEO Mike McCabe sat down with BLISTER’s Jonathan Ellsworth to discuss anything and everything pertaining…
Folsom athlete Steve Karczewski (better known as Steve the Pirate) has been riding Folsom Skis for a few years now, but was stoked out of his mind on the newest BTO build he ripped on for the 19-20 season. Steve is an amputee and skis on one leg (of steel) harder than most people ski…
Folsom has been manufacturing PPE since we could get our hands on materials back in May. With the COVID-19 Pandemic still very much present, we are committed to producing more PPE to help businesses protect their employees and customers alike, all in addition to full-time custom ski manufacturing. We want the chairlifts to spin…
Building skis is a very messy process that produces a lot of waste. Every ski manufacturer out there, big and small will all admit that building skis is not an environmentally friendly activity. The vast majority of skis that are built using modern day technology and techniques use epoxy, fiberglass, carbon fiber, and multiple grades…
A backcountry enthusiast, fitness guru, and Folsom athlete, Doug Mock knows much more about summer ski fitness than most. The following are 10 exercises that when done in sequence, will have you skiing bell-to-bell from the get go this season… As I look out my back window here in August, the yard is going…
We’ll be the first to tell you that COVID brought the North American ski season to a screeching halt. With the necessary policies going into place for the good of the public health, Folsom closed the doors on the Aspen shop, and sales across the board just about flat lined. With the exception of…
Folsom’s internship program is a larger piece of our business than most people realize. Typically, an internship position may sound like the “coffee run” job, but we can assure you that’s not the case at Folsom Custom Skis. We heavily rely on interns to get hands on with our skis before and after production, and…
The Spar 88 and Spar 78 have been flagship skis in the Folsom lineup since their inception. New for the 20/21 season, we are excited to expand the Spar series further with the introduction of the Spar Turbo. With a lightning fast turning radius and radically new tip and tail shapes, the Spar Turbo is…
Let’s set the record straight, you do not need to wax your skis to ski… but you should wax your skis if you want to have a good time on snow. Wax acts as a slippery lubricant that helps your skis glide faster and more consistently on the snow’s surface. There are a lot of…
Have you ever had to fix a pair of sunglasses, and needed to replace one of those really small screws? Or, have you ever had to fix a deck using hundreds of decking screws? If you use a precision screw driver on the sunglasses and a power drill for the deck, these DIY projects will…
In addition to the shape and construction of your custom skis, the graphic is the final piece that makes your skis truly unique to you. Graphics allow you to express yourself aesthetically on your skis, letting your creative side shine. They can turn heads in the lift lines and on top of backcountry peaks, or…
If you have ever been curious about how skis are made, you have probably learned that not all skis are made equal. Nearly every ski you can find on the market seems to made of exotic cores, state of the art composites, and base material that can withstand the harshest impacts. To the naked eye,…
Up until about a decade ago, rocker was virtually unheard of in ski design. Professional skier Shane McConkey was known for pushing the boundaries of skiing in all forms of the sport, and in 2006, there was brand new technology available on the ski market. Rocker was a term that was entirely foreign, and completely…
Not all skiers are created equal, so why should your skis be? This phrase is the backbone of Folsom Custom Skis, and rings home particularly in the world of lightweight, uphill touring skis. For some, this means a simple binding swap on an existing pair of skis (or better yet a pair of Daymakers), while…
Doug Mock is a Folsom athlete who, from the first skis he bought from us, to the builds we sponsor him with today, have all been full carbon, lightweight touring skis. He hasn’t ridden a chairlift in nearly a decade and knows exactly what to look for in a good backcountry ski. For these reasons,…
Deciding what ski you should bring to your next ski vacation can be difficult. Some locations will have predictable snow conditions. Japan turns into a natural snowmaking machine in January, Chamonix can be a little rough but definitely has steep terrain and chutes, while the east coast will often provide tough, icy conditions. We’ve…
We’ve had questions for years asking us, “when are you going to make a kid’s ski?” We’ve thought about making kids skis before, and have made some out of other ski molds, or have simply said no. There’s not that many kids skis on the market that have impressed us with their geometry or…
We’ve called Aspen our home away from home for many years now. In addition to the dozens of custom skis that are built and sent up to the Aspen valley from our Denver production facility every year, Folsom Custom Skis has also had a longstanding relationship with Aspen Skiing Company. In 2014 we had the…
BLISTER and Folsom Have been working together since the tail end of 2016. The relationship really started with Folsom CEO Mike McCabe sitting down to do the notorious Blister Podcast with Pete Wagner of Wagner Skis and Mark Wallace of Parlor Skis (listen below). This was a round table discussion with 3 of…
Have you ever wondered why some skis are more highly recommended than others? Sure a lot of the technology and materials are the same, but why do some retail shops tell you that one ski is better than another? The answer is that those opinions are formed once a year at FREESKIER Magazine’s Ski Test,…
We’ll be the first ones to agree with you, last season was incredible. Colorado (among many other western US states) received record setting snowfall which made for great early season snow, a plethora of mid-winter pow days, and stable late season conditions. Maybe it was the snow, or maybe was the capital we invested in…
Calling all dog lovers… Here at Folsom Custom Skis, we consider dogs to be a man’s (or woman’s) best friend. We also understand that a lot our customers might just love dogs even more than we do. Lucky for you, as a custom ski manufacturer, we have the capability to change any aspect of…
Last year we brought you the the Spar 88, a new and improved version of our original carving ski, the Blue Note Carve. With a modernized geometry and improved tip and tail design, the Spar 88 skyrocketed in popularity and became our best selling ski of the 2018-19 season. Whether you loved your Spar…
Being a strong skier is a mandatory requirement here at Folsom. One lucky intern of ours was especially able to reap the benefits of custom skis through her experience with us… My Story Growing up in Colorado as a ski racer, and being a woman, I always struggled to find a good pair…
We have teamed up with our friends at Pit Viper Sunglasses to bring you the best Spring giveaway. We would love for you to make all of your friends jealous with the only new straight ski option on the market. Win this giveaway and you’ll never have to leave the house without a sweet pair…
Doug Mock is a Folsom athlete who you won’t catch skiing the resort very frequently. We recently worked with Doug to build the first ever full carbon version of our Spar 88 with some other custom modifications for his ski mountaineering missions. Here’s what he had to say about the experience, the build, and how…
Since the early days of Folsom Custom Skis, we’ve been fortunate enough to maintain a valuable relationship with Aspen Skiing Company. From the bulk orders we’ve built out for their executive side to the dozens of custom skis we build annually for Aspen Highlands Ski Patrol, we’ve always considered Aspen our home away from home.…
Doug Mock has been skiing on Folsom Custom Skis since our inception, and as a dedicated tele skier has strong feelings about what makes a good, quality ski. Here’s his story… Let’s rewind about 15 years. We walk into our favorite ski shop, head straight to the back wall. Beneath the big sign that…
The party so nice they had to throw it twice… We had so much fun at our first 10th Anniversary Party (shoutout evo Denver) that we’re throwing another one in our home away from home: Aspen, CO. This time around, our friends at Aspen Brewing Company have graciously volunteered to host the mid-winter bash.…
The Winter Warmup Giveaway is here! Ski season is upon us and we want to get you kitted out in the best gear on the market. Starting on Monday, November 19th, enter to win the Winter Warmup Giveaway for your shot at a (1) a full custom build from Folsom Custom Skis, (2) a…
Every year in early March, FREESKIER Magazine invites dozens of the ski industry’s top brands to enter their skis into the annual ski test dubbed FREESKIERFEST. With support from a fired-up FREESKIER Staff, a rowdy group of ski testers spends an entire week rigorously testing these brands’ skis day in and day out, on hardpack,…
We’re turning 10 years old this season and in this industry, that’s a damn good reason to celebrate. Our friends over at evo Denver happen to feel the same way and have graciously volunteered to host our 10th Anniversary & Season Kickoff Party! Join us on Thursday, November 8th from 7-10pm at evo Denver…
Folsom’s first flagship powder ski, the original Gambit was born way back in 2009. The shape’s early design created a wide-waisted ski with calculated amounts of tip and tail taper to provide the ski with a responsive turn style. The result? A nimble powder ski with a sprinkle of all-mountain capability. In addition to racking up…
Every custom ski that we we build is unique in a handful of ways. Internally, elements like the wood core type and composite structure separate one ski from another. On the outside, aesthetic meets performance in a ski’s geometry, tip / tail shape, and rocker / camber profile. But the most iconic and unique look…
The best skis deserve the best transportation, that’s why we’ve partnered with Boulder-based RockyMounts to provide Folsom customers with a safe, convenient, and stylish co-branded rooftop ski rack option. Starting now, Folsom customers have exclusive access to co-branded roof racks from gear transportation powerhouse RockyMounts. Here’s a bit about the racks themselves… “The RockyMounts LiftOp…
The 2017-18 season marked the start of a relationship between evo and Folsom. Coming into our second year in business together, we’re even more excited about the line of retail skis that will be for sale at evo Denver and on evo.com. The Folsom Skis for sale through evo are all still handbuilt in our…
Folsom Custom Skis and Zeal Optics are proud to present The Preseason Pregame, a demo and sample sale winter kick off party. The action takes place on Saturday, September 29th from 2-6 pm at 10 Barrel Brewing’s Denver location (that’s 2620 Walnut St, Denver, CO 80205). On top of the delicious beer brewed…
It didn’t snow much last year in Colorado, but that’s okay. We still managed to build more skis than we ever have (again), and when we weren’t handcrafting our signature custom builds, we put in hours upon hours of fine tuning our machinery, developing new shapes, optimizing our production techniques, and making our brand more…
For decades, the ski industry has been throwing buzzwords at consumers, advertising their latest tech such as “Flip Core”, “HRZN Tech”, “V-Werks”, and “TRN-TEK” (oh wait, that was us). A major player in the ski tech game particularly over the last few years has been carbon fiber and how it can be strategically used in…
An important concept to keep in mind is that for every hot summer day we have here in the northern hemisphere, there’s a good chance it’s snowing somewhere in South America. For the second year in a row, the crew at SASS Global Travel has been putting our skis to the test in a variety…
Aside from running SASS Global Travel’s day to day communications and trip development, Pete Connolly works as both Head Guide and Mountain Operations Director at SASS’s on-snow locations in Argentina and Japan. Add in a plethora of skiing across the US and Canada and you’ve got a skier that requires durable and properly built products.…
Often times, a major challenge that customers find in the custom ski design process is deciding what to pick for their custom ski graphics. You could pay a little extra for a full custom ski graphic if you’d like, or you could choose from one of the many options available on our graphics page for…
Folsom Custom Skis is proud to announce the release of an all new frontside / carving shape for the 2018/19 season dubbed the Spar 88. Earning its name from a classic high-speed carving run at Aspen Mountain, the Spar 88 incorporates a similar geometry to our award-winning Blue Note Carve but adds in a slightly…
Throughout skiing’s history, consumers have grown accustomed to certain kinds of equipment, and of course, trends have developed and shifted around as technology advances, and the sport becomes more popular. Whether it was the rise of parabolic shaped skis in the early 1990’s, or the popularization of fat powder skis soon after that, there’s no…
For better or for worse, skiing is a sport that relies heavily on equipment. Not just any equipment, but expensive equipment that has us covered from head to toe. With the seasonal nature of skiing, it’s easy to overlook summer ski care. In an effort to get the most out of your gear and make…
Folsom’s Mike McCabe talks with Blister Gear Review Guru Jonathon Ellsworth to discuss some of Folsom’s newest shapes. Check out their post here. TOPICS & TIMES: Background on The Hammer (2:33) Folsom’s new “Primary Plus” (11:14) Tweaks to the Primary to create The Hammer (12:08) The new Folsom SPAR 88 (27:06) New variation of the…
The Primary from Folsom Custom Skis has been a bestseller since it’s inception in 2014. In addition to satisfying the ski needs of advanced to expert level skiers across the country, the Primary has racked up numerous awards and accolades over years from Freeskier Magazine and Powder Magazine alike. Through years of custom fitting…
After a 1-year hiatus in Snowbird, Freeskier Magazine’s annual ski test was moved back to its proper home of Aspen this year and Folsom Skis made the trek for an action packed week of ski testing. With a trusty quiver of skis, we packed up our Subaru and hit the road to Aspen bringing with…
Introducing the latest offering from Folsom Custom Skis: The Cash 106, a rebirth of one of our original shapes, the Johnny C, utilizing a modernized geometry and build technique. The Cash 106 incorporates a mild user-friendly tip taper, that when combined with a powerful tail shape, creates the perfect all-mountain tool for intermediate to advanced skiers. Yes, that means…
The Pow Fish is an all new shape being released in limited fashion alongside TREW Gear for the 2017-18 season. With a mild tip taper and a swallowtail base design, the PowFish will have you slashing through deep snow in unparalleled style. Its 150.117.138mm profile creates a playful 18m turning radius that might just make this the…
Gear heads rejoice. Owner of Folsom Custom Skis Mike McCabe sits down at SIA along with some other guys to talk gear. From the Blister website: “This week on the podcast, we hold a round-table conversation with three custom ski manufacturers about the process of building custom skis, and what “custom” really means. We sat…
After nearly tripling our summer production numbers, we’re more ready than ever for another great Colorado ski season. We shipped hand-built stock skis off to backcountry.com again as well as the new evo Denver store in addition to a few other small retailers. Our skis made it south of the equator this summer as we sent a fleet of…
We at Folsom Customs are doing all we can to reduce our environmental impact, yet we humbly know we will always have one. Stimulating our economy is essential to the selling of our product, so everything starts with where we source our materials. 95% of the components in our skis are sourced from here in…
Press & Publications 303 Magazine Out of Bounds Best of Denver Best Skis in Denver Colorado Ski Companies are Going Big Growth of ski manufacturing in Colorado Folsom Dominates Freeskier Magazine Ski Test Micro Brew Test Results Folsom Custom Skis Taking the philosophy of having the right ski to a new level SKIMag.com: 10 Best…
Why should I invest in custom skis? Custom skis are an investment. They require more time from you, the customer. They also require more of our time to build and that is why they cost more. However, like many things in life, you will see the difference in the extra time spent. If you want…
