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5 Legendary Ski Brands That Have Stood the Test of Time

Originally posted on Powder | By Izzy Lidsky | Last updated Jul 6, 2025 8:12 AM ET

Ski brands come and ski brands go, especially in an ever-changing and volatile market.

Many ski brands started out with the most humble of roots, usually from small wood or plastic manufacturers who were making skis on the side before diving in headfirst to snow sports hard goods. As humble as these beginnings might have been, some of them have ended up as the most well-known and loved brands of today.

Today you'd be hard pressed to find an Olin or Hexcel ski, like those that dominated the pages of early POWDER Magazine issues, but other brands have prevailed.

Here are a few brands you might recognize who have ads in some of the earliest issues of POWDER, and origins that have brought them to still being staples of the industry in 2025.

This piece is part of POWDER's Summer of Ski Nostalgia content series. Stay tuned in daily for more nostalgic articles, and keep an eye out for the upcoming Summer of Ski Nostalgia badge to identify future content.

You can also view all of POWDER's summer nostalgia content here.

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1. Rossignol

Founded in 1907 by Abel Rossignol, the Isère, France-based brand started out manufacturing wooden products for the textile industry. Rossignol himself was a dedicated skier and used his woodworking skills to fashion himself a pair of skis. The company was purchased in 1956 by Laurent Boix-Vives, who focused entirely on ski gear.

The 1960 Winter Olympics at Palisades Tahoe were a breakthrough moment for the brand when French skier Jean Vuarnet won the downhill race on a pair of Allais 60s, which were the brand's first all-metal skis.

In 1964, we saw the release of the Rossignol Strato, which were some of the first fiberglass laminate skis and had huge amounts of success. Today, Rossignol is known for making hard-charging skis like the Sender Free 100s as well as mountain bikes, trail running and hiking gear, Nordic skis, snowboards, and outdoor apparel.

2. Blizzard

Blizzard Skis was started by Anton Arnsteiner in 1945 in his family's joinery workshop. Legend has it the brand's name came from a brainstorming session one night in the booze cellar and the official Blizzard name was registered in 1953. Blizzard has long been known for their innovation in ski construction with skis like the Thermoski, Firebird, and Total in the 1970s and 80s, and skis like the Rustler and Cochise more recently. The brand still builds all of its skis by hand in its factory in Mittersill, Austria.

3. Salomon

Salomon was born in the French Alps in 1947 when François Salomon started producing ski edges in a small workshop with his wife and son, and later expanded to a binding that revolutionized the modern alpine ski binding. In 1979, the brand released the SX90, its first plastic ski boot.

The company didn't actually make skis until 1990 when they released the S9000. Not long after, the brand was making revolutionary skis like the TenEighty. Since then, Salomon has made skier favorites like the Rocker and continued to innovate in ski design with products like the QST line.

4. Fischer

Josef Fischer Sr. founded Fischer northeast of Salzburg, Austria, in 1924, making wagons and the occasional pair of skis. By 1938, the company had expanded and increased its ski manufacturing and employed 30 people. Fischer was the home of the first ski press starting in 1949, and by 1958, it was making 53,000 pairs of skis a year.

Fischer became one of the biggest ski manufacturers in the world by the early '70s, and, notably, Franz Klammer won the 1976 Olympics on a pair of their C4 skis. Today, Fischer makes a range of well-loved skis such as the Ranger series and the Nightstick series.

5. K2

K2 was started in 1962 by brothers Bill and Don Kirschner on Vashon Island, Washington. Two hundred fifty pairs of their skis hit the market for the first time in 1964, but the brand grew rapidly, making 1,600 pairs just the next year.

K2 was known off-the-bat for its innovation in fiberglass ski technology, which made skis much lighter. It was named for both the 8,000m peak, and the brothers' last name.

Several years after its founding, K2 sought to make a world-class racing ski, resulting in a World Cup victory, which was the first on an American-made ski. In 1988, the brand expanded to snowboards and later to inline skates. Today, K2 is still based in Seattle and makes crowd-favorite skis like the Mindbender and Reckoner.

This article first appeared on Powder and was syndicated with permission.

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