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| Ski
Trab has manufactured skis in Bormio, Italy since 1946. Trab focuses
on producing efficient backcountry skis that maintain performance
and durability while achieving significant weight savings. The 60
year old company has a history of innovation, including the first
production fiberglass skis (1962), the first skis with steel edges
curved to fit the shape of the ski, the first carbon fiber skis
(1990) and the first skis featuring an aramide honeycomb core (2004).
By utilizing up to 30 different materials, each ski delivers a fine
tuned, long lasting performance. Trab skis feature only the finest
quality raw materials which are vigorously tested to ensure their
longevity, performance attributes and compatibility with other materials
and the manufacturing process. |
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Ski Trab
Factory, Bormio Italy
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Unigraphic
CAD/CAM Design
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Ski
Trab has all the modern CAD/CAM equipment necessary to design and
produce complex skis in addition to a complete array of testing
equipment. Trab's development lab includes four machines designed
to test durability and flex in all directions. A longitudinal flex
machine locks in the waist and than bends either the tip or the
tail until the ski breaks, measuring resistance along the way and
the breaking point. A torsional flex machine does the same by twisting
skis until they break. An impact machine punches skis with a pointed
nylon hammer, where they are cut apart to see the damage. A fourth
machine tests turn cycle durability by rapidly sessioning off thousands
of turns. All data is transmitted to a computer system for analysis.
For example, the Duo Race is designed to have downhill race caliber
flex; with the overall design goal of removing weight without sacrificing
performance and durability. Trab's location at the base of the 2005
FIS Alpine World Championships facilitates immediate feedback from
in-the-field testing. Athletes come into the factory daily to take
skis out for training & testing purposes, then report back at
the end of each day their findings. |
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Torsional
Flex Test
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Longitudinal
Flex Profile
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Patented
Aramid Honeycomb I-Beam Core
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Hand Layup
by Experienced Craftsmen
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Experienced
craftsmen utilize modern ski presses and vacuum molds to precisely
assemble each ski one at a time. Quality is pervasive throughout
the manufacturing environment, with each ski undergoing a 19 pt.
quality control checklist and getting numbered, dated, barcoded
and labeled with the initials of the 4 persons responsible for the
manufacturing of that particular ski (assembly, finishing, raw material,
and quality control). |
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Microfinish
Tuner
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"What strikes
you about the Trab factory is indeed their the mix of old and
new. They’ve got aproned and gloved layup craftsman hand-assembling
skis just down the hall from here, but the Unigraphics software
living on their computer system is state of art...they’ve
got 50 years worth of measurements and tests incorporated into
the software. They’re not just designing the latest and greatest,
but rather continuing a methodical and incremental process that
gets proven results. The
computers help with weight control as well. The exact mass of
materials and layers is programmed in, so weight can be easily
tuned by material choices — without making physical prototypes...they
indeed offer a killer combo of performance/weight that’s
definitely second to none." Lou Dawson - Read more about
Lou's visit to the Trab factory at Wildsnow.com.
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| "My
visit to the Ski Trab Factory in Bormio was a great window into
a small but high-tech company dedicated to making quality handmade
skis. From the 3-D software based design room to the custom flex
testing machiines and the room where each ski is layed up by hand,
Ski Trab uses cutting edge materials and design techniques. They
do everything in house, from milling the wood core materials to
creating the molds and pressing the skis. For a humble family owned
ski company, Ski Trab offers an impressive set-up." Dave Waag
- Read more about Dave's trip to Bormio & the Trab factory at
Offpiste
Magazine. |
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Located
in a vast basin surrounded by mountains, Bormio is well known for
winter sports, having twice hosted the FIS Alpine world championships
(1985 & 2005). Bormio sits adjacent to Stelvio National Park
and the Ortles Mountains, centrally located at the intersection
of roads leading to Livigno, Stelvio & Valfurva. Bormio has
an abundance of natural resources, among them Passo Stelvio's legendary
57 switchbacks form the hardest leg of the Giro D'Italia. Nearby
Livigno also plays host to the world's largest telemark ski festival,
La Skieda. |
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Bormio,
Italy
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®