Plywood - Interview with ski builder David Jäger

Self-made skis - certainly a boy's dream for many freeriders. David Jäger has not only fulfilled this dream, but has also taken the next step and started his own ski company. In our interview, you can find out how this came about, what it feels like and what the future might hold.PG.com: Hello David. First of all, thank you for taking the time to answer a few of our questions.
But let's start at the beginning: Actually, you should be a celebrity among internet skiers, but why don' t you briefly explain to PowderGuide readers who don't know you (yet) who you are, what you do and why it's a mistake not to have heard of you yet.David Jäger: Thanks for the flowers! I think my popularity has suffered a bit recently, as I don't have enough time to ski online at the moment. So a brief introduction is certainly in order: I'm the guy who produces handmade freeride skis in Switzerland under the name PLYWOOD.CH and dreams at night that these unique pieces will soon conquer the local Alps.

PG.com: So, ski builder then. That's not exactly a classic career. Tell us briefly how it came about.David Jäger: Oh, quite simply: If you ski so badly that you don't get sponsored skis, you have to build them yourself! No, it all started with slalom skateboards. Back then, that was my alternative to a snowboard to get me through the summer months. As I like tinkering, I soon decided to build my own slalom board. With luck, my first attempt was even rideable, so I then started to sell my boards. Of course, I needed a brand name for this. As I pressed my decks from several layers of 1 mm plywood, I came up with Plywood and the name has stuck to this day. At some point, snowboarding lost some of its appeal and I switched back to skis in 05/06. Back then, the skis were even less wide and I struggled a lot in the powder, I just didn't want to get that surf feeling - which of course couldn't be down to my skiing skills, but was clearly due to the equipment not being wide enough under my feet. Thanks to the slalom boards, I already had experience in bonding wood and fiberglass, so all that was missing for the skis were edges and base. I then found the final answers to my questions on skibuilders.com and started my first attempt at ski building. I primarily wanted to prove to myself that I could build better skis than the pair I had bought. That is probably still the central driving force behind my projects today: to see if I can turn my ideas and expectations into a concrete end product - in this case with plywood and freeride skis made of lots of wood.

PG.com: "Plywood", so the name says it all. And wood is the most prominent raw material in your skis. What is the philosophy behind it? David Jäger: It is important to me to make a sensible choice of materials for the production of my skis and I try to replace synthetic materials with natural, renewable raw materials whenever possible. During my "ski building career" I have tried out a huge range of different materials. However, I always came to the point where I had to realize that, in the end, wood often had better properties than the materials I was trying to replace it with. The different types of wood for the core, sidewalls and topsheet were therefore primarily used because of their outstanding performance. With fiberglass and carbon, for example, it's a different story: I haven't yet found an equivalent replacement that also has a better environmental footprint than these. For me, sustainability consists of a direct component, which includes the use of renewable raw materials such as wood and resource-conserving production methods, as well as an indirect component, which includes the durability and service life of the products. I aim to maximize these two components in my skis in a meaningful way.

PG.com: The "Terasaka" was your first ski in the range. Can you enlighten us as to how and why the ski became a reality? And what does the name actually mean?David Jäger: The Terasaka was created around three years ago. I had previously experimented a lot with rocker and 5-dimensional shapes. Rocker skis float nicely at low speeds and are easy to cruise on, but due to their construction they often reach a speed limit relatively quickly. At some point, they simply don't get any faster with a constant slope inclination, as the rocker causes too much resistance. My initial enthusiasm for full rocker shapes faded the better I got at skiing. Rocker brings advantages, but also comes with some restrictions. That's why I wanted a ski that no longer made any compromises. So the Terasaka was born with flat camber instead of rocker, 114 mm under the binding and a relatively classic shape with a bit of taper in the tail - a real big mountain charger. At the time Terasaka was created, I used a lot of bamboo for the skis. That's why I gave my models Japanese names, based on the history of the 47 Ronin. Terasaka was a Japanese samurai, which seemed somehow appropriate as a name for a ski in this class. However, I gave up on the bamboo but the name stayed.

PG.com: The product range was recently expanded to include the "Okano" and another child of the press has already been given a birth date, so to speak. So where are we going with "Plywood"?David Jäger: The focus is clearly on the freeride segment, which I more or less want to cover. The Terasaka remains the flagship for the really big turns. With the Okano, a medium-width touring freerider suitable for everyday use has now been added - the Terasaka's little brother, so to speak, for all those who also want to go uphill. I am currently in the process of finalizing further lengths for the Okano. In the near future, there will be a slightly wider cruiser with a bit of rocker for those deep powder days. With these three models, you should actually have the right ski for every day of the season - at least that's how I feel personally.

PG.com: That brings us to one of the worst, classic questions an interviewer has in store: Where do you see yourself in 10 years'David Jäger: It's going to be really difficult to answer that now... I'm sure I'll still be skiing my own skis in 10 years' time. That's perhaps the difference to other freeski labels that have their skis produced somewhere else: I never wanted to simply sell finished skis. My focus was on building and developing the skis, the "business" came much later. I wanted and still want to be able to understand exactly why a ski behaves the way it does in the end. And that is only possible if you really build your own skis and acquire your own experience. My advantage is that I now have the necessary knowledge and equipment to make my skis completely independently. If I fancy a new ski, I go to my workshop and build myself a pair. In 10 years' time, I'll still enjoy using these opportunities and trying out new things - it remains to be seen what form this will take, whether as a hobby or more.

PG.com: Tell us a bit about David, the skier: What kind of skiing do you enjoy the most? How important are friends to you when skiing? And what is essential for you for a great day in the mountains?David Jäger: My heart beats for freeriding. For a great day in the mountains, you need powder and first tracks. Ideally, of course, a day with few people and lift access. If necessary, it can also be a one-hour ascent from an area. I have not yet found access to longer ski tours, but it is actually one of my to-do's for this season. The peace and seclusion in the mountains on tours definitely has its appeal, if only it weren't for the struggle with fitness... On the wish list for a perfect day is also a varied terrain, preferably a bit hilly and different steepnesses with some forest. However, I leave the big cliffs and technical lines over 45° to others, as I don't have to try to hold my own in the circus of freeride pros. Friends are definitely important. Riding together is more fun. Safety considerations also play a role, especially in the backcountry. And quite apart from that, it's very difficult to take photos on your own, which is why you need friends. That's why I don't like freeriding without friends!

PG.com: What's your favorite spot?David Jäger: I haven't been around that much in different areas. You either ski or you build skis, which leads to a time conflict, especially in winter. That's why I'm relatively often in the area around the corner from me [Hoch Ybrig - author's note], as I can get back home quickly after skiing and, if necessary, still take care of building skis in the evening. Quite apart from that: when the temperatures are right, the foothills of the Alps around my home base are the best snow holes anyway. That's why I'm not going to name any more specific spots!

PG.com: Nasty question: favorite ski?David Jäger: Definitely: Terasaka. A tester [grins - author's note] once wrote about the Terasaka: "It's not a ski for quick turns, but works best if you build up the relationship slowly." That's perfect, I also needed a day or two to get used to the 192 cm and the tight flex. However, this familiarization phase was followed by the revelation and now it is by far my favorite ski - I actually only ski my three pairs of Terasakas throughout the season: once with alpine binding, once with telemark setup and once in a weight-reduced version with touring binding.

PG.com: What things put a smile on your face?David Jäger: Great days in the mountains naturally cause a lasting grin. On your own skis, this is even bigger. It only gets better when you strap on a self-made ski for the first time on such a day and it then skis as planned. Generally speaking, it is always a joy when you can take a ski out of the press and everything has worked out. Just being able to realize such a project and having the right environment that tolerates or even supports this madness is enough to put a smile on my face.

PG.com:Thank you very much for your time!