Reno, Nevada seemed like a place we wouldn’t want to be for very long – filled with casinos and people who spent way too much time inside them, weird temperature inversions, and a smog that beset the city for the week that we were there. It wasn’t until we located and toured the Moment ski manufacturing facility that we began to look at Reno in a new light. We were suddenly excited by the quiet yet apparent cultural diversity that Reno stood for. We were even more excited about the skis.
Industrial areas of town – any town – are often intriguing and interesting and for some reason show the core of the city. The Moment shop is tucked away in Sparks, Nevada where auto repair shops and factories alike linger together. But there’s something so magical about a ski factory. Because that’s where the activity that we love so very much is born.
The building itself is not large by any means. It’s a good size, but you know walking in that it houses a limited production facility. In our minds, Moment was already one step ahead of competitors because of the choices to design, create, and produce all of company’s skis right here in the U.S. of A. While you may spend a little bit more on a pair of skis, you know your money is supporting the American in the back of the shop wearing dirtied Carhartts, listening to his Pandora station of choice, and schralping the skis he’s recently built an hour away at Lake Tahoe.
The people of Moment were all very friendly and helpful. Casey Hakansson, founder and CEO, was personable and welcoming. We wanted to know every piece of information that they were willing to share. After all, shouldn’t you get to know your horse before you ride it? Nick Knecht was awesome and he gave us an insightful tour while answering many more of Tyson’s questions than he needed to.
We thought it would be appropriate to take notes and photographs and enlighten our readers and viewers with a simple tour of how Moment gets it done. We are not Moment employees, nor do we know much more about producing skis than Nick taught us. But it’s neat. And very intriguing. And learning about the process of how anything is made or built can be good for your soul and mind.
We weaved through the different staging areas, amidst saw dusted floors, and began the tour in the woodshop portion of the building. Shelves towered high with planks of quality woods including aspen, ash, and pine. Handpicked and high quality wood ensures that the core – the foundation – of the ski is perfected. Combining the carefully chosen wood varieties results in a unique flex to the ski – something that Tyson likes to call the ski’s soul. The sheets of wood are laminated and then pressed to create a rather large block of wood that, I will mention, does not at first sight resonate as skis.
Once dried, the pressed wood is taken to the resaw where it is ripped into multiple pairs of skis. At this point, the pair of skis begins to show its identity. The pair (the two skis are actually still one unit at this point) is then set into a reverse planer mold where, upon being planed, will receive their specific and particular thickness. Finally the unit hits the CNC machine, which separates the pair and gives the skis specific lengths and widths.
We followed the friendly shop dog through the plastic, sawdust trapping doors into the area where the core was elaborated. High density plastic is used and applied to the wood core for tips, tails, and sidewalls. Carbon stringers are measured, cut and glued, and the skis’ three fiberglass mats are cut to size (but not yet installed). The fiberglass mats are cut according to where on the ski they will be placed: the tip to tail, underfoot, or under the binding.
Our understanding remained clear throughout the tour as Nick did a terrific job of taking us through the shop in a sensible progression. It probably didn’t help that our intrigue for something unrelated to what we were observing would begin to distract us.
The printing room was a quiet and small room in the middle of the positively chaotic wood saws, grinding machines, and heavy presses. Metal shelves housed multiple bottles of high-quality and expensive Italian ink. The printer’s pronounced size filled the room. One could see the identifiable Moment graphics as they wrapped a spindle coming off the printer but would be teased as the sheets rolled. They first print all the graphics onto paper and then using heat and pressure, the ink is transferred off of the paper and onto the top sheet and base materials of the skis.
We carried on, making our way next to the base and edge perfecting area. The base material is placed on a jig and routered to shape and size and then a relatively thin metal edge is super glued on to the base. Now the skis have their base and edge, the wood core with carbon stringers, tips, tails, and HD plastic sides, the correctly sized fiberglass mats, and the top sheet with sick Moment graphics.
The layers of the ski are then ready to be epoxied and placed into the press. Each layer is covered with epoxy and carefully assembled. The skis are then put under pressure and heat for 45 minutes. After they exit the press, the carefully handcrafted layers of love are beginning to look very much like skis. To ensure that the epoxy dries completely, Moment lets the skis sit for at least 24 hours before the next step. Then they are ready for their final touches.
The perfectly constructed base and following layers looks a little bit messy when it comes out of the press because of the fiberglass mat and epoxy expansion. Imagine a sandwich, when you press everything together your mayo will drip over and your tomato will slip out the back. It’s inevitable. But one would never know because Moment does such a great job cleaning up the mayo.
The metal edge serves as a guide for the shape and size of the ski. A band saw is used to remove any excess material. A lot of complex and cool machinery comes into play when they are working to create the finished and unflawed ski. Edges are beveled and bases are taken to a belt grinder. The tip and tail are cut with a jigsaw by hand, and then sanded for perfection.
The Moment logo, as well as suggested mounting locations, is stamped on the sidewall of each ski. The top sheet edge is sanded by hand. The vibrant colors and graphics are finally released when the protective film is removed and the skis are polished, wiped down, and inspected by human eyes. Even though the skis are inspected fully and carefully at the end of the manufacturing process, they have already been handled and inspected by dozens of people at each step along the way. They all work diligently and attentively and find any flaws in the skis before they are wrapped and sent out to skiers all around the globe.
A flawless finish, beautiful graphics, and a nice handmade note would have anyone excited about a fresh pair of Moment skis. Be careful though, if you take a tour of the shop and then look over the current line-up of skis, you will be reluctant to leave Reno empty handed.
