Custom Gear: Built to Spec - Yours

If you think custom gear is strictly for the pros, you’re wrong. Think about it: High-end athletes already have all the natural advantages—ligature, musculature and skeletons all aligned to perfection. That’s why they’re so good. It’s the rest of us—we of the knobby feet, the knocked knees and the collapsed arches—that really stand to benefit from equipment conceived or modified to conform to the specific needs of its user. Sure it’ll cost you. Unlike the rock stars, you don’t have a factory R&D team standing by to prototype your every whim. But you’ve got options, some of which could elevate your game or solve an aggravating fit or performance problem. The place to start, of course, is with a custom footbed, which optimizes the interface between foot and boot. We’ve recommended them so often, we assume you already have one. Here are a few additional products that take you to another level.

Personal Pro Model
What’s skier DNA? It’s how Wagner Custom describes your personal profile: not just height, weight and ability, but also style, aspirations and expectations. It’s all taken into account before the Telluride, Colo.–based ski maker builds a ski just for you. Company founder Pete Wagner is an engineer with experience making custom equipment for golf pros. His manufacturing technique itself is unique. Instead of using excessive amounts of epoxy to fill the voids between components, Wagner custom-cuts the pieces to fit together precisely. Skiers work with a personal designer to select geometry, materials and layup. The fun part: choosing a graphic that reflects your style.
$1,695–$2,300; http://wagnerskis.com

Niall Bouzon