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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Bill Jennings: Spokane ski craftsman offers a holiday solution

Bill Jennings

Searching for the ultimate Christmas gift for the skier in your life? How about another pair of skis? After all, ski bums can never have too many arrows in their quiver – especially if those arrows are custom boards made to order by T.J. Sneva.

Sneva, Spokane’s resident ski craftsman, has been quietly building a following over the past several years for his handmade custom skis.

He’s on a pace to build about 1,000 pairs in 2014. His business, Sneva Mfg., continues to grow as word gets out about the high performance his skis deliver at a reasonable price.

Since he made his first pair in 1994 using a homemade press he built with his grandfather, Sneva has been refining his ski building technique. Based on skier feedback, he recently retooled his entire line into categories based on shape that he said will make it easier for customers to make the right choice. The specs are available at snevamfg.com.

“We wanted to make some corrections to some models that weren’t selling as much as we would like and we created some new shapes as well,” Sneva said. “There were a couple that had a little more sidecut than people generally want, but we’re talking small changes, as in millimeters.”

According to Sneva, a millimeter or less can make a big difference in matching a customer with the perfect ski. Whether a ski is right for someone depends greatly on the core it’s made with. He’s spent years tweaking different combinations of wood to achieve the proper flex for a skier’s weight and intensity level.

“The core is really important,” he said. “I build all the cores by hand and put a lot of effort into them. It’s kind of crazy to think about but a millimeter makes all the difference. For somebody 150 pounds we might plane the core to 9 millimeters thick. Say you’re 200 pounds, we would be closer, but not quite, to 10 millimeters.”

In the last few years Sneva has experimented with different cores, including poplar, maple and combinations of poplar and ash. He’s settled on a triple combination of maple, ash and poplar he claims puts the hardwood where it needs to be and makes the flex pattern just right.

Sneva’s skis have two layers of fiberglass – a triaxial and biaxial weave – top and bottom.

He said the extra layers allow him to keep the core light, add stiffness and make them tough.

For some larger customers who need an even stiffer ski, sometimes he adds a layer of carbon.

All Sneva’s skis are twin tips on the wider side with triple-digit waists, featuring the standard modern rocker/camber combo – slightly modified.

“Our rocker starts later than most, away from your binding, closer to the tip,” he said. “It’s a low-rise rocker, just enough to float you with a good amount of camber underfoot that gives energy to the ski. The late rocker makes it ski more true to its length, instead of having a shorter contact spot the way most rocker skis run these days.”

Because the rocker doesn’t contact the snow, Sneva also tapers the ski from the rise to the tip, instead of extending the sidecut the full length. This makes the ski lighter.

A pair of Sneva Mfg. skis, custom made to order, will set you back $650. Other custom shops (several thrive in their own regional niches across the country) commonly charge from $1,000-1,200. Once you sit down with Sneva and suss out your perfect shape and flex, you can add your own personalized graphics on the topsheet for an extra $100.

Customers who need to do their own research can demo the skis for free.

“Just contact me,” Sneva said. “If we have them in stock, we’ll set you up for the weekend.

“We build high-end skis. Just about everybody who demos a pair ends up buying them from us.”