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FAQ

CHOOSING AND ORDERING

Our skis are grouped into four families according to terrain: Piste, All Mountain, Touring and Freeski. Each model comes in several lengths, and the product page details the intended use, the sidecut and the construction. If you are torn between two models or two sizes, write to us: we will guide you according to your level, your build and the terrain you ski most often. You can also come to the workshop for advice, by appointment.

The more you tell us, the less back-and-forth there will be. What really helps us: your height, weight and age; your level, described in your own words rather than with a label; the terrain where you spend the most time, and the resort; the skis you have now, including brand and length — this is often the most telling information; and what you dislike about them, or what more you are looking for. With that, we can answer in one go.

Directly on the website: you choose the model, the length, with or without bindings, and pay online. We start making your skis when you order. If you would rather talk to someone first, write to us or come to the workshop by appointment — we take orders that way too.

Three weeks for a standard pair, four if you have asked for personalisation. We make to order: this lead time is workshop time, not stock time.

In France, delivery is free: we use DPD Predict 48 h. Elsewhere in Europe, we ship with DPD: €40 for Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands; €45 for Austria, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom; €62 for the other European Union countries; €70 for Switzerland, Norway, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Bosnia and Serbia. Elsewhere, allow €90: please write to us before ordering. Collection from the workshop in Villard-de-Lans is always free, and the exact amount is shown in the basket as soon as you enter your country.

Outside the European Union (Switzerland, United Kingdom, Norway…), import duties and taxes may be charged on delivery. If you live outside the European Union and collect your skis from the workshop, we can issue a tax-free (VAT refund) form on request.

Your phone number is essential: the carrier texts you to announce its delivery slot and lets you change it.

We have no retailers. Our skis are ordered directly here, or collected from the workshop in Villard-de-Lans. It’s a deliberate choice: direct contact lets us advise you ourselves and set up each pair to your measurements. To see and try them, book an appointment at the workshop, or come and find us at one of our demo days.

Because a binding has to be adjusted, and the adjustment depends on you. We need your boot sole length (BSL), which determines the position and spacing of the toe and heel pieces, and your DIN setting, calculated from your height, weight, age, level and that same boot sole length. This setting decides when the ski releases in a fall: too firm, and it won’t release when it should; too soft, and it releases at the wrong moment. So we mount and adjust every pair before shipping, so that it arrives ready to ski. If you don’t have this information to hand when ordering, you can email it to us straight afterwards.

We mount the bindings we offer on the website. We do not mount bindings you supply yourself, or models outside this selection: we could not guarantee either the mounting or the adjustment. If you have your heart set on a particular binding, order your skis without bindings — the option is on every product page — and have it mounted by the professional of your choice.

Yes. Your skis are guaranteed for two years from delivery against any manufacturing or material defect — delamination, sidewall separation, bonding defects. The warranty does not cover normal wear, scratches and impacts on the base or edges caused by stones and obstacles, knocks and falls, binding mounting or adjustment carried out anywhere other than with us, or modifications made to the ski. If in doubt, write to us with photos and your invoice: we look at every case ourselves.

Write to us stating your activity and your organisation: we consider each request on a case-by-case basis.

PERSONALISATION AND PROJECTS

There are two levels of personalisation:

  • Standard personalisation : the colour of the ski and a name or two lines of text. You order it directly online, on the ski’s product page.
  • Bespoke graphics : your own artwork along the full length of the skis. It is quoted per project: get in touch.

All our models can be personalised, except our carbon touring skis (Relief 62 and Relief 90). And if you would like us to create the artwork for you, it becomes a special project.

Almost anything: illustration, photo, pattern, text, your company or club logo, along the full length of both skis — identical, mirrored or different.

We do not accept:

  • artwork you do not hold the rights to — brand logos, characters from films, series or games, photos or works by someone else — unless you have written permission from their author or owner;
  • hateful, discriminatory, violent, sexual or unlawful content;
  • artwork that imitates another ski brand.

If in doubt, write to us before ordering. If we turn down a design, we will tell you why.

For bespoke graphics, yes: you supply the artwork. For the best result:

  • ideally a vector file (PDF, AI, EPS or SVG);
  • otherwise an image of at least 300 dpi at the actual size of the ski;
  • we send you the template of your ski, showing the areas covered by the bindings, so you can position your artwork.

No artwork yet, just an idea or a reference? We can create it with you: it then becomes a special project. In every case, nothing goes into production without your written approval of the proof.

Standard personalisation: €200. A change of colour, plus a name or two lines of ten characters. It does not change the lead time: three weeks.

Bespoke graphics: quoted per project, depending on your project. The quote covers:

  • the ski model you choose;
  • colour work and fitting your artwork to the exact dimensions of the ski;
  • the proof to approve before production;
  • preparing the production files;
  • dedicated follow-up during production, until your skis are handed over.

Payment is made in full on delivery or when you collect your skis at the workshop. If we create the artwork for you, it is a special project, quoted separately.

  1. Your request : send us your artwork, plus the model and size you want.
  2. The quote : we price it according to your project.
  3. The proof : we fit your artwork to the template of your ski and send you a proof. One round of corrections is included.
  4. Your approval : your written approval of the proof starts production. Allow three weeks.
  5. Handover : we ship your skis, or you collect them at the workshop in Villard-de-Lans. Payment is made at that point.

Good to know: the graphics are bonded into the ski during pressing, so they will not wear off. Slight colour differences from your screen are possible. We may feature some of our projects on our website and social media.

There is no minimum. We make one-off pairs — an object, a statement piece, or simply a colour that isn’t in the catalogue — as well as series of several dozen pairs. Tell us about your project and we’ll discuss it.

No. Our personalisation is done during manufacture: the graphics are built into the structure of the ski when it is pressed, not applied on top afterwards. So it is not possible to rework a pair that has already been made. This applies all the more to skis from another brand, whose construction and materials we don’t know: we would rather say no than risk damaging a pair you care about.

Yes. Because we control every stage of production in our workshop, we can take on special projects, R&D studies, prototype development and personalisation, to a greater or lesser extent depending on the brief. Brands, hotels, collectives and associations: the page Special projects shows a few examples. Write to us describing your project.

Yes, and we have done for several years. We make series and one-off pieces for brands and companies that come to us for our process, and we also produce semi-finished components for manufacturers who cannot find them elsewhere. We do not disclose our clients’ names. If you have a project of this kind, write to us: we will tell you what is feasible in our workshop.

TRYING OUR SKIS

Yes, at the workshop, by appointment. The showroom is part of the workshop: we prefer to arrange a time slot so we can welcome you properly and take the time to talk about how you ski. Write to us to agree on a date.

Yes, we regularly take our skis out for demos. The calendar for the season is being put together: write to us or sign up to the newsletter to hear about upcoming dates.

No. We have no retailers, so our skis are not available to test anywhere else. The two ways to try them are at the workshop, by appointment, and at our demo days.

THE WORKSHOP

Yes, our own: Sillage and La Fabrique du Ski skis. Re-bonding a tail, repairing a sidewall, restoring a ski after damage — allow €50 to €200 depending on the damage. Send us photos: we will tell you what can be repaired and at what price before going ahead with anything. We don’t take skis from other brands: we know neither their structure nor their materials, and a repair done blind does nobody any good.

It is actually one of our specialities: it's called ReNouveau. Over the seasons, the top edge of a ski gets marked and chipped by the steel edge of the other ski in the pair. We reshape the sidewall at a slightly steeper angle to remove the damaged part, and renovate the topsheet; the base and edges are reworked too, with sharpening and waxing included. This is possible because our bamboo core runs all the way to the edge of the ski. The ski is good for several more seasons, and looks better than before. ReNouveau: €250 dropped off at the workshop, €320 including return shipping, ready in one to two weeks.

For our skis, yes. But routine servicing — waxing, edge sharpening, bases — is not our trade: sports shops are equipped and organised to do it better and faster than we can. Entrust your everyday pairs to them. We keep this service for skis that come out of our workshop.

Our workshop is in Villard-de-Lans, in the Vercors, at 135 Avenue Jean-Séraphin Achard Picard (38250). The showroom is part of it: test sessions, advice and visits are by appointment, so that we can welcome you in the best possible conditions.

Because the name had become too literal. “La Fabrique du Ski” said what we did, not what we have become, and we no longer identified with it: it no longer represented the project, that of an exceptional workshop. Sillage is the same workshop, the same hands and the same process, under a name that suits us.

Write to us. We read every application and deal with as many requests as we can, but unfortunately we cannot reply to each one: if you haven’t heard from us within a week, please assume we are unable to take your application further.

OUR SKIS

Where most manufacturers opt for ash in their high-end skis, we favour bamboo for its outstanding mechanical properties. It naturally dampens vibrations and provides remarkable stability, whatever the snow conditions. Particularly resistant to moisture and frost, bamboo can be left directly exposed on the sidewalls.

It’s the way we press our skis. Rather than a press that crushes everything under a heavy load, the vacuum applies lower pressure, but spread perfectly over the entire surface of the ski, right into the curves. The result is greater consistency and, above all, greater freedom: changing a shape, trying out a construction or producing a prototype doesn’t require new tooling. That’s what allows us to explore, prototype and develop our models in the workshop.

Longer than a pair that can’t be repaired. Bamboo copes with moisture and frost, vacuum moulding gives a consistent structure and, above all, we take our own skis back for repair: a tail can be re-bonded, a sidewall repaired, top edges re-sanded. A ski that is maintained and repaired lasts several more seasons — and, in our view, that is the simplest way to make something durable.