The Friend "Elevations" + Marker Griffon Binding Bundle Shredding ImageThe Friend "Elevations" + Marker Griffon Binding Bundle Shredding Image

The Friend

Elevations + binding bundle

Chris Crossen x J Collab

$1,068
$799
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BINDINGS: Marker Griffon Binding

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On Snow GuaranteeSame Day Free Shipping2 Year Warranty

Waist Width: 117mm

J Says Best For:
Crud / Bottomless Powder / Glades / Steep & Deep / Freeride

Personality

Soft & PlayfulHappy MediumStiff & Aggressive

Conditions

100% powder
View All Friend Graphics

The Friend Awards

The Artwork

Chris Crossen x J Collab

200 Made

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Released August 4, 2023

In addition to being a ripping skier from Lake Tahoe, Chris Crossen is a wicked watercolor painter. He focuses on abstract landscapes involving tons of layering which is what really drew me to his work the first time we collaborated on a ski.

This time around I noticed that some of his circular layered work appeared like horizontal lines on the outer edges. This also made me think of the circular lines as topographic lines. Chris started this project by painting a handful of different circular layers, then Fank, our designer scanned them and digitally stacked them up the length of the ski and added topographic lines.

You’ll notice that the tips of the skis look like the side view of mountains. Those lines then morph into top down elevation lines which are really unique, and instantly give me a good vibez of being deep in the mountains. I hope you feel the same when slashing bottomless pow on them!

I'm building only 200 pair of these Limited Edition skis and hand-signing and numbering each, so grab a new pair before they sell out!

See more of Chris’s work at chriscrossen.com and follow @chris.crossen.

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The Friend

143 -

 117 

- 133

Surf and play in powder like a pro with versatility to continue having fun when the pow's gone.

“The Friend” ski was designed in collaboration with athlete Giray Dadali to surf pow, stomp landings and charge harder with less effort than ever before…. so you don’t have to be a pro to ski like one! Its long, gentle rocker and 117mm waist keep you effortlessly floating, slashing and popping even on the deepest days. When the pow’s gone you’ll be able to count on its solid maple wood core and high energy carbon fiber to help you blast through chunder with an unprecedented smooth and reliable feel. The real surprise comes from its tight sidecut, enabling you to have fun gripping and ripping firm snow for versatility like none other. The Friend is a rare breed of powder ski earning it more awards than any other in its class. Float, surf, slash and butter in the deep pow until it gets tracked out, then have equal fun charging endless top to bottom chunder and groomer laps. This is a powder skier’s dream one-ski quiver!

#JFriendSki

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The Friend IN THE WILD

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This ski is kind of a big deal!
Powder Magazine (Ski of the Year)Powder Magazine (Ski of the Year)
Blister Gear ReviewBlister Gear Review
Freeskier MagazineFreeskier Magazine
Backcountry MagazineBackcountry Magazine
SKI MagazineSKI Magazine

    "The Friend is the kind of ski I'd take on the trip of a lifetime without considering bringing a backup. It's PB&J exactly when you need it, and Dad made it."

    - Powder Magazine (Ski of the Year)

    An excellent pow ski for a wide range of skiers; capable as a directional or freestyle option.

    - Blister Gear Review

    For powder-hunters, The Friend should be considered essential when traveling out of bounds.

    - Freeskier Magazine

    "The Friend was designed with more than just overhead pow in mind: A sturdy maple core and surprisingly tight sidecut are intended to enable playfulness when the powder’s gone.

    - Backcountry Magazine

    "This is the ski you want if you need your legs to last all day, especially when it won’t stop puking snow. After all, no one should call it quits when the refills are free."

    - SKI Magazine

The Finest Materials

Carbon Fiber Construction

By selling these skis factory direct to you, we're able to invest more money into using the highest quality materials possible for a game-changing level of premium performance & durability.

Carbon FiberCarbon Fiber

Carbon Fiber

Lighter with more energy & pop than fiberglass
Just like fiberglass carbon needs to be fully stretched like a guitar string to give you the most pop. Unlike other brands of skis with wavy black carbon, not stretched, thus you’re not getting the energy out of it, we use pre-cured, pre-stretched carbon fiber laminates. This means the carbon is pre-stretched & cured under perfect conditions at the carbon fiber production facility prior to us receiving it. This pre-cured carbon laminate is twice the cost but also gives you many more times the performance. You’ll feel it!

Maple Wood Core

Highest quality wood for a lively energetic feel & long life
The factory is located in Quebec Canada, so we got Maple, eh! Maple is a very expensive high quality hard wood, thus the reason it’s used to build floors and furniture in your house that lasts a lifetime. Maple absorbs impact, and has a ton of energy for a very ski feel and long life. We run 4 – 20mm wide Maple laminates the entire length of the core, plus 100% under your foot for unprecedented energy, durability & binding screw retention. At the tips of my skis you’ll see more of the light colored Aspen which is incredibly lightweight with plenty strong when laminated alongside Maple for reduced swing weight at the tips.

Full Height Sidewalls

Maximum impact resistant & vibration dampening
We’re using super durable, high impact absorbing Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) polyethylene for our sidewalls. This is the same material we use on our ski's bases. It’s very impact resistant and since it’s full height, it also absorbs more vibration like using a longer spring in your car’s suspension. Take a metal pipe and hit it against a rock, then do the same with a piece of plastic. The metal vibrates through to your bones & the plastic absorbs the vibration for you. That’s the difference of having full height plastic shock absorbing sidewalls over your edges or not. We’re cutting the sides of the sidewalls to a 10* angle, with a nice step at the bottom for easy tuning like race skis.

Extra Thick Edge

The thickest, most durable edge in the industry
We use the thickest hardened steel edges in the industry 2.2mm x 2.5mm. More metal = more durable. Whether you’re accidentally hitting a rock or purposely sliding a rail, you’re edges will live a much longer life. You’ll also be able to re-tune many more times or file them round to slide rails longer.

High Performance Base

The fastest, thickest, most durable base material
I don’t match my clothes, but I always match my base & edge. We use the thickest edge so I also use the thickest base in the industry 1.8mm. I use sintered Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) Polyethylene, the highest quality base material available. It absorbs wax better, slides faster, and is more durable than any other base material. Basically it’s super hard & fast, like your _______ likes it.

Quasitropic Fiberglass

Fibers run in 4 directions to maximize energy & strength
Fiberglass works like a guitar string, when it is flexed it wants to spring back, that’s the energy or pop you feel in a ski. However this energy can only be applied in the direction the actual fiberglass is run. This means the more directions of fiberglass, the more energy, pop & responsiveness. Industry standard “Triaxial” fiberglass runs in only three directions, we use a Quasi Isotropic fiberglass configuration, same as the aerospace industry to maximize energy & strength in as many directions as possible, 4 different axis 0, 90, +45, -45. It costs more, but it’s worth the performance.

SPECS

Length177cm183cm189cm
Dimensions143 - 117 - 133143 - 117 - 133143 - 117 - 133
Sidecut Radius17.2m18.5m20.2m
Weight Per Ski2230g2310g2480g
The Friend "Elevations" + Marker Griffon Binding Bundle Design GraphicThe Friend "Elevations" + Marker Griffon Binding Bundle Design Graphic