screen-shot-2017-01-25-at-9-05-09-am“Normally, we build skis for somebody because they like skiing, right? The goal with 10th Special Force was different. This is like a tool; a working ski.”

Brothers Caleb and Morgan Weinberg of Romp Skis scored a one-year contract to craft 350 pairs of skis for the 10th Special Forces Group out of Fort Carson as reported by The Denver Post.

The former ski racers who grew up in New Hampshire got their foot in the door after crafting custom skis for some 10th Special Forces vets a few years back. The custom powder skis had a WWII bayonet overlaid on a topo map of Camp Hale with the words “the worst is yet to come” in German on the tail. They originally pressed 5 pairs but have since made an additional 50 (only available to vets or active-duty soldiers from the elite unit.)

Here’s the design parameters they were tasked with:

“Those elite Green Berets, weighing up to 225 pounds, not including their 75- to 100-pound packs, needed tools for traversing deep snow. And the kicker: Some of them aren’t accomplished skiers, so the skis needed to be short — 165 and 175 centimeters — enabling a quick, easy turn.

They needed an atypical combination of characteristics for a ski: nimble, but capable of floating 300 pounds of soldier over snow. Durable yet lightweight for touring. Rivets in the tips and tails allowing to convert the skis into an emergency sled. And built with a flexible — or “rockered” — tip and tail for navigating deep powder.”

Not your average ski by any measure, check out some prototypes below:

militaryskis1

Besides all the difficulty of navigating the bureaucratic thicket of procuring government contracts, the tiny Crested Butte based company faced the challenge of fulfilling the largest single order in the companies history.

Caleb and Morgan certainly have their work cut out for them but with strong track record of quality products delivered on time, we are sure expectatinos will be exceeded on the contract.

screen-shot-2017-01-25-at-9-06-56-am

READ THE FULL DENVER POST ARTICLE HERE

 

[images from kunc.org & denverpost.com]

Unofficial Networks Newsletter

Get the latest snow and mountain lifestyle news and entertainment delivered to your inbox.

Hidden
Newsletters
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.