Australian Ski Pricelist

LOL...the prices above are "old" ones...some of these skis are not sold anymore, some (e.g. EPIC) became much more expensive.

a) the Aussi dollar is weak - there will be more price hikes coming in 2015/2016

b) Most skis in Australia come from China which isn't cheap anymore to produce (but quality has increased a lot!)

c) The materials (carbon, kevlar, etc) are normally purchased at "market prices" (global prices) so I wonder how much they pay workers in SA?

Most of the glass cloth and resin used by local manufacturers are manufactured locally in South Africa, so that brings prices down. (On 2nd thought, I can't confirm this for sure, I just have a feeling they won't bother to import if you can get local for cheaper)

Even if you pay global market prices, you still save a lot on transport. Transporting big barrels of resin from overseas can't be cheap.

Regarding worker pay: I suspect your average boat building factory working doesn't earn a lot. But it's probably a lot more than his/her chinese counterpart.

I still dumbstruck at the price of the 'Chinese brand' though. You don't see many of them in this area, they are literally 300% more expensive. For no apparent reason. Other than a nicer bailer and some sharp looking stickers.

I am not sure but logistics today are cheap, if one could get materials cheaper in SA, one would import those to China by container...and sending a container from China to AUS or SA makes about $70 to $80 per ski (full 40' container...I might be wrong but at least I do have a production running in China (non related products - paying above the market wages for ethical reasons)so I do have a bit of an insight.

Hence, I still suspect that labour is the "cost" factor ..something to reflect!

Would be interesting if some manufacturers can enlighten us. (Although that might involve giving away trade secrets )

Like you say, logistics are cheap if you go big. But the ski market is small, so economies of scale aren't really 100% there. (like with say SUP boards)

You export a container to Australia, but then still have to move individual skis to their respective destinations. By the time a ski gets to his new owner, it passed through 3 or 4 different transporters, 1 or 2 shipping agents, 1 wholesaler and 1 retailer. Each of those parties have to make a profit. When I bought my new ski, I drove 25km to the factory and picked it up.

Some smaller local SA manufacturer will probably take years to work through a whole container of Resin and/or Cloth. So to keep cash flow going and fill orders quickly they might go local. There is also something to be said for an elastic supply, so that you can quickly order and receive more materials should you get big orders. Not so easy if you order from China. (not talking about dealing with a local agent to chinese manufacturer here)


But you definitely have a point. The local fiberglass laying laborers probably don't earn a fortune. The skilled guys overseeing the operations do make a proper living though.

You seem to take a lot for granted, however you have very little concept of whats going on in the manufacturing industry.
According to you Chinese earn much less? and for no apparent reason they are more expensive!
Ever paid for and engineer to design something for you? Clearly not.
Where do you think that nice bailer comes from? Many hours of design by dollar earning engineers, does not come free, unless you copy it.

Yes those fancy looking stickers, the plastic material is imported from the US and everyone individually cut on a special cutting machine. They look better because they cost more, take longer to make and to put on the skis, and you can wipe them with acetone.

Just to give you an idea how long it takes for those Chinese skis to get made, roughly 2 weeks in production. SA ski at best 3 days, but generally 2 days.
How many times are the SA built skis cut and polished? never!
How many hours do they spend in the oven post-curing? 0 hrs
How long does it take to do the seam tapped join? 0 hrs
How long does it take to make the Nomex honeycomb sandwich stringer? 0 hrs,
The list goes on....

The material used in those Chinese skis? Imported from outside of China, local stuff is not good enough!
Skis are actually 100% carbon, Kevlar, Nomex honeycomb, NO fiberglass! Even in the seat and footwell it is a honeycomb sandwich construction. Unlike those built in SA.
The bonding glue used is generally too expensive to be used in SA.
Once again I can go on....

As the saying goes, you get what you pay for. Yes prices in Aus are not cheap, but the one making the most money is the one selling the SA built skis here in Aus, based on local selling price here and what they cost in SA.

Your long rant still doesn't explain a 300% price difference.

You cannot equate prices of skis in SA against those in Aus. Fenn Elite Carbon V Epic V10 Ultra. My maths is not great but don`t think that it is 300%.
To be accurate you need to get the selling price of the ski in China.

Hi Ranga,

Interesting info, however I don't think anyone would say fenn was an inferior product. They are lighter than epics and seem to be just as robust. Maybe epic are over engineering their product.

I never mentioned anything about being inferior. Price is the topic.

By the way the quality comes through after a few years of use, like any top end product that you pay a premium for you would expect that.

Ranga, me thinks you inferred that the product was inferior.
But you are right, a few good years of use is a good indication.The Fenns really seem to age well! ...and they are made in SA! Sorry, couldn't resist that!

Ranga, I'm not doubting what you say goes into making an epic vs a fenn. I'm just saying that for all that extra time and effort the epics are not clearly better than the fenns. I have had both brands for extended periods and currently have an epic. Both lasted very well and I wouldn't say one brand was more robust than the other.