Wood from nearby forests makes world-class downhill skis
The Puuppolan Suksi company, or Pusu for short, hand-crafts downhill skis from wood and wood-based materials. The company aims at the global market.
In the snow-laden North, travellers in winter have customarily used skis. The oldest skis found date back to the Stone Age, or to about 3,700 years ago. These days, cross-country and downhill skiing are among the most popular winter activities, both recreational and competitive.
The traditional material for skis was wood. Similarly, the core of modern downhill skis is made of wood or a composite material. The materials usually used for reinforcement include glass fibre, titanal metal or carbon fibre.
In Central Finland, the Puuppolan Suksi (Pusu) company has taken the manufacturing of downhill skis back towards more natural materials. The company aims at making the best downhill skis in the world with as small an environmental footprint as possible, and in recognition of this it was granted the international sports and outdoor industry’s ISPO Award in 2022.
The Pusu skis have a core made fully of wood and a surface of genuine wood veneer. The innovation in the Pusu downhill skis is due to their being reinforced with the Spinnova fibre, made by the Finnish Spinnova company by mechanically grinding conventional wood pulp into microfibrillated pulp.
’The pulp-based fibre from Spinnova is the most ecological fibre in the world. We’re proud of being able to integrate it in our products. The Spinnova fibre is used in structures inside the ski, and it also adds to the stylishness of the ski surface,’ says Jani Ahvenainen, founder of Puuppolan Suksi Ltd, in an interview with Audiomedia.
The Pusu skis are made of certified wood from the vicinity, such as aspen and birch. Ahvenainen says that wood was selected as the material for downhill skis thanks to its excellent characteristics. He describes wood as a dynamic and extremely well-functioning material, providing elasticity to the ski.
’Organic materials and especially wood play a great part in our products, because one of the basic values in making wooden skis is respect for nature. We aim at making our mark through the attention we pay to both materials and hand-crafted quality,’ says Ahvenainen.
’We don’t strive to be industrial mass manufacturers; rather, we want to be an artisan manufacturer in the ski world and to stand out in the global market.’
