On the Come Up - Valerie Festavan

Brand overview and significance

Forward Outdoor is a technical outerwear brand born in the European Alps and built around the culture of skiing, snowboarding and mountain trail travel. With roots in Annecy, France and Verbier, Switzerland, the label sits at the intersection of freeride, freestyle and touring rather than traditional race culture. It first appeared under the FW / “Future Wild” name and has since evolved into Forward Outdoor, keeping the same design language and mountain focus while sharpening its sustainability and product strategy.

The brand was initiated by experienced snowsports industry designers, including people who previously shaped skis and outerwear for other well-known companies. That background shows in the way Forward’s pieces blend real backcountry performance with a clean, fashion-aware silhouette. Rather than flooding the market with dozens of overlapping categories, Forward builds a compact lineup centred on the Catalyst all-mountain range and the Manifest high-alpine line, plus a smaller collection of midlayers and lifestyle pieces. For skiers watching skipowd.tv, Forward sits in the same conversation as modern freeride-focused outerwear labels: not as big as the legacy giants yet, but clearly positioned as a serious player rather than a niche experiment.

Forward’s stated mission is to “evolve to a future wild”: apparel that enables more time in harsh environments while reducing long-term impact. That shows up in its design language (muted earth tones mixed with strong highlight colours), in marketing built around deep snow and technical terrain, and in its decision to anchor the company in real mountain hubs instead of a distant city office. For riders who care as much about line choice and snowpack as about fit and colour, Forward has quickly become a brand to pay attention to.

Product lines and key technologies

Forward’s lineup revolves around two main outerwear families. The Manifest High Alpine Series is the brand’s flagship for touring and big-mountain freeride days. Shells and insulated bibs in this range are designed for long ascents and exposed descents, the kind of days when you might skin in the Wasatch backcountry or drop in off the Aiguille du Midi above Chamonix-Mont-Blanc. The focus is on multi-layer systems: lightweight 3-layer shells for weather protection, combined with synthetic or down-insulated midlayers that can be added or removed as temperature and effort change.

The Catalyst Series is Forward’s all-mountain and freestyle backbone. These jackets, pants and midlayers are cut for mobility and style, with fits that work in the park, on sidecountry laps and on storm days under the lift. Insulated 2-layer jackets and pants sit alongside more breathable shell options, so riders can choose between a warmer, resort-focused kit or a lighter setup that handles both rail sessions and short hikes to natural hits. Across both series, Forward uses technical fabrics with waterproof-breathable membranes, fully taped seams and details like well-placed vents and snow skirts to keep riders dry without feeling boxed in.

Underneath those hero pieces sits a range of hoodies, midlayers and hybrid insulation tops that tie the system together. Quilted hoodies and hybrid puffies, for example, are meant to double as both on-mountain insulation under a shell and everyday wear in town. Rather than chasing loud gimmicks, the brand leans on purposeful patterning, smooth-acting hardware and fabrics chosen to move easily with a skier’s stance.

Ride feel: who it’s for (terrains & use-cases)

On snow, the Forward experience is built around movement and weather protection more than extreme stiffness or race-style precision. Manifest shells and bibs are cut with generous articulation through the knees, hips and shoulders so that kick turns, bootpacks and jump turns feel natural rather than restricted. The fabrics are protective enough for high-alpine storms yet soft enough that they do not feel like crinkly mountaineering shells, which helps on long days of touring or repeated gondola laps when comfort matters as much as outright performance.

Catalyst pieces skew a little more relaxed and playful. They are aimed at riders who split their time between groomers, side hits, tree runs and park features. The ride feel here is about confidence and forgiveness: roomy cuts for tweaks and grabs, enough insulation in some models for chairlift time in midwinter, and shells that handle slushy spring park laps without feeling heavy. A skier who loves slopestyle edits, sidecountry bootpacks and the occasional storm-day cliff drop will feel at home in this series.

Forward’s layering pieces appeal to riders who want one kit that can stretch from mid-December powder days to April touring missions. A Manifest shell can pair with a light hybrid hoodie for high-output touring or with a beefier insulated jacket on very cold lifts. That flexibility makes the brand a good fit for skiers who ride in multiple regions each winter, from continental cold snaps to humid coastal storms.

Team presence, competitions, and reputation

Forward’s visibility comes less from mass-market advertising and more from its tight connection to the freeride, backcountry and creative film scenes. The brand’s founders and current product leaders have long histories in ski and snowboard culture, which gives Forward immediate credibility among riders who follow films, photo projects and progressive outerwear design. Campaigns and editorial collaborations often feature photographers and athletes working on serious lines rather than staged studio shoots, underlining that the apparel is meant to be used, not just seen.

Forward has also worked with influential riders and creators whose names resonate in freeski and snowboard communities. Projects featuring skiers like Eric Pollard emphasise balance, style and creativity in deep-snow terrain, matching the clothing’s design language with a certain way of moving in the mountains. Retailers and media outlets that specialise in freeride and freestyle outerwear frequently call out the brand’s balance of technical build and minimalist styling, positioning Forward as one of the more design-driven options in the modern outerwear landscape.

Within shops and guide circles in Verbier and other alpine hubs, Forward is increasingly spoken of as a brand that takes both sustainability and performance seriously. It is not yet a long-established legacy label, but its outerwear has earned a reputation for feeling “real”—garments that hold up to storm cycles, bootpacks and travel days without sacrificing the clean lines and colour blocking that appeal to riders who care about how they look in photos and clips.

Geography and hubs (heritage, testing, venues)

Geographically, Forward is anchored in two of European skiing’s key reference points. Annecy lies in the French Alps, close to freeride-heavy resorts and touring zones, while Verbier sits above the Val de Bagnes in Switzerland as one of the world’s classic off-piste and freeride destinations. The brand identity openly references this dual heritage, and its collections feel tailored to the mix of steep gondola-accessed descents, tree shots and touring terrain that define these regions.

Product copy for the Manifest line explicitly imagines riders moving from the Wasatch in Utah to the high-alpine routes accessed from the Aiguille du Midi above Chamonix. Linking inspiration from North American backcountry with European big-mountain venues gives Forward a natural test lab: dry continental powder and rocky exits on one side; glaciated couloirs and long descents to valley floors on the other. For skiers who dream of ticking off classic lines in both hemispheres, that global mindset is part of the appeal.

Because the brand is based in real resort towns rather than a distant office park, riders are likely to encounter Forward products in places where they actually ski. Flagship retailers in Verbier and Annecy, demo events on local pistes and collaborations with mountain photographers all help refine the garments in real-world conditions. When you see a Forward shell in a gondola queue, it is usually on someone who spends a lot of days outside, not just a weekend visitor.

Construction, durability, and sustainability

Forward communicates its values very clearly: design for durability, use recycled materials, avoid PFAS/PFC finishes and create genuine end-of-life solutions. That starts with the fabrics. The outerwear uses modern waterproof-breathable technologies that balance storm protection with the ability to dump heat when skinning, bootpacking or lapping hot laps under the chair. Fabrics and linings are chosen not just for numbers on a spec sheet, but for how they feel over long days—supple enough to move with the skier, tough enough to resist scuffs from chairlifts, rocks and ski edges.

The durability message goes beyond marketing. Forward talks about building pieces that last many seasons and designing around repairability, not disposability. High-wear areas like cuffs, hems and shoulder zones are specified with longevity in mind, and the brand’s commitment to collecting, repairing and recycling garments at the end of their life stands out in a market where many “eco” claims stop at fabric content. An emerging network of resort-based collection points is intended to keep worn-out pieces out of landfill and feed their materials back into new products where possible.

On the chemical side, Forward emphasises PFAS- and PFC-free water-repellent finishes, aligning with a broader industry shift away from older fluorinated treatments. Combined with recycled and, in some cases, bio-based yarns, that approach helps reduce the environmental footprint of both fabric production and everyday use. For riders, that means you can choose a high-end shell or insulated jacket that performs in harsh weather without feeling like a compromise on sustainability.

How to choose within the lineup

Choosing the right Forward setup starts with where and how you ski. If your winters revolve around backcountry touring, high alpine traverses and steep freeride terrain, the Manifest range is the natural starting point. A 3-layer Manifest shell paired with matching bibs gives you a protective outer envelope you can wear almost every day, with midlayers swapped in and out depending on temperature. Look for more touring-oriented pieces if you prioritise uphill efficiency, and slightly heavier, lined options if you tend to ride lift-served freeride lines with shorter hikes.

For riders whose days mix groomers, side hits, park laps and the occasional bootpack, the Catalyst all-mountain series fits better. Insulated 2-layer jackets and pants work well in colder climates and for those who spend a lot of time sitting on chairs, while shell versions suit more active riders or those who ride into spring. Pay attention to fit: looser cuts favour freestyle skiers who want maximum freedom for grabs and tweaks, while more regular fits appeal to freeriders who prioritise stability at speed.

If you are building a full kit from scratch, think in layers. Start with a shell from Manifest or Catalyst that matches your terrain, then add one or two midlayers that you could wear both on the hill and in town. Forward’s hybrid hoodies and insulated shirts are particularly useful here; they slide comfortably under a shell on storm days but also work solo on dry, cold mornings. Finally, match colours and silhouettes to your existing helmets, gloves and skis so that your Forward outerwear feels integrated into your overall setup rather than a bolt-on afterthought.

Why riders care

Skiers and snowboarders gravitate toward Forward Outdoor because it speaks the language of modern mountain culture. The brand is young enough to feel fresh, but it is built by people with deep experience in product design and in real-world riding. Its collections are compact, easy to understand and thoughtfully segmented, so riders can quickly identify whether they belong in a Manifest shell and bib for big objectives or a Catalyst kit for all-mountain and park-focused seasons.

Equally important, Forward’s sustainability work feels integrated rather than bolted on. Recycled fabrics, fluorocarbon-free water repellents and concrete end-of-life initiatives send a clear signal to riders who want gear that matches their environmental concerns without sacrificing performance. For skipowd.tv viewers who spend their free time watching powder lines above Verbier 4 Vallées or steep couloirs dropping from the Aiguille du Midi, that alignment matters: the same outerwear that looks good in a film shot in Switzerland or France is also taking steps to protect the terrain those films celebrate.

In short, Forward Outdoor occupies a sweet spot between core freeride credibility, thoughtful design and future-facing responsibility. It is a brand for riders who want gear that keeps up with ambitious days in the mountains, feels good to wear, and reflects a belief that the “future wild” should remain worth skiing in.

Brand overview and significance

Joystick is a rider-driven freeski accessory brand that focuses on poles, goggles and a tight range of extras built for park and street skiing. Originally launched as Joystick Skiing and later brought under the umbrella of Salt Lake City–based partner Surface Skis, the brand has grown up alongside modern freeski culture rather than the traditional race or rental markets. Instead of chasing every category in snowsports, Joystick concentrates on the touchpoints that matter most to park riders and film crews: poles that feel right in your hands when you’re hiking a rail, goggles that match a rider’s personal style, and mitts that stay dry through long winter sessions.

Within the broader ski industry, Joystick sits firmly in the “core” segment. You won’t see their logo on every rental rack, but you will spot it in independent street films, SLVSH-style games and edits coming from North American park hubs. The brand’s visibility also runs through signature projects: pro model goggles that pay tribute to freeski icons like Phil “B-Dog” Casabon, and limited-edition mitts designed with street specialists such as Alex Hackel. That approach keeps Joystick closely tied to the riders who actually shape park trends, rather than purely to catalog cycles.

For the skipowd.tv audience, that matters because Joystick often appears wherever modern jib culture is strongest. Athletes featured on the platform—riders like Graham Gray, Finley Good, Drew Hooker and others tied to Surface and OS Crew projects—frequently choose Joystick poles as part of their everyday setup. In a world where many accessories feel generic, Joystick’s combination of minimalist product range, rider collabs and long-term freeski roots makes it a recognizable, if niche, name.

Product lines and key technologies

Joystick’s winter lineup is compact and easy to understand. The backbone is a family of ski poles aimed squarely at park and all-mountain freestyle use. Classic fixed-length models such as the Spicoli and Ridgemont are built around durable 5083 aluminum shafts, soft rubber grips, adjustable nylon straps and steel tips, often delivered in graphic packages that stand out on film but remain clean enough for daily resort use. Shorter “park” lengths suit riders who spend hours in the rail garden or hiking stair sets, while longer options give taller skiers and all-mountain riders proper leverage on steeper terrain.

On the vision side, Joystick produces a focused goggle range. Frames like the Tyson and Wayne are modern in shape, designed to offer good peripheral vision and compatibility with helmets without looking oversized. The B-Dog pro model goggle is explicitly framed as a tribute to Phil Casabon, with colorways that echo his signature style and a lens package tuned for park and backcountry filming days. Across the line, the emphasis is on straightforward functionality—reliable lens swaps, anti-fog performance and strap designs that sit securely over beanies and helmets—rather than on endless tech acronyms.

Beyond hardgoods, Joystick’s “Extras” category adds softgoods and accessories that align with the same culture. The Hackel Mitt, for example, uses a heavy-duty 500D nylon shell, a HIPORA waterproof insert, Thinsulate insulation and a leather palm, topped off with a detachable leash and elastic wrist cinch. Neck tubes, masks and hoodies extend the look into everyday wear, but the selection stays narrow enough that each piece feels intentional rather than filler.

Ride feel: who it’s for (terrains & use-cases)

Joystick’s gear is clearly built with freestyle-focused riders in mind. The poles are light and compact enough that they don’t feel like a burden when you’re spinning onto rails, but robust enough to survive repeated drops, stair sets and icy landings. Shorter park models encourage a neutral, centered stance, making it easier to tweak grabs or absorb impact without getting tripped up by overly long shafts.

For all-mountain skiers who still spend most of their time in the park or on side hits, Joystick poles work best in lift-accessed terrain with a mix of groomers, rail lines and natural features—think high-frequency laps at places like Palisades Tahoe or compact night-park layouts. The goggles and mitts match that use-case: large enough fields of view for rail setups and jump in-runs, reliable warmth for winter urban missions, and graphics that look at home in both street clips and resort edits.

If your riding leans more toward big-mountain touring or ski mountaineering, Joystick is less about technical alpinism and more about the creative side of skiing. Their products can absolutely handle freeride lines and sidecountry laps, but the brand’s sweet spot is the skier who sees the mountain as a park—traverses, rollers and cat tracks included.

Team presence, competitions, and reputation

Joystick’s team presence is closely intertwined with the Surface Skis ecosystem and a network of film crews and contest riders. Over the years, Joystick poles and goggles have shown up under athletes in independent movies, OS Crew projects and park edits filmed across North America. Riders featured on skipowd.tv often list Joystick alongside their main ski sponsors, underlining that the brand is part of their everyday kit rather than a token logo.

The brand also connects to headline names through signature products. The B-Dog pro goggle ties Joystick to Phil Casabon’s influential style, while the Hackel Mitt pulls in Alex Hackel’s street credibility. Another example is halfpipe specialist Noah Bowman, who has been highlighted riding a Joystick signature colorway in mainstream media gear breakdowns. These associations, combined with Joystick’s long-term visibility in freeski magazines and core shops, have built a reputation for authenticity: the company is seen as “one of us” by park skiers rather than as a distant corporate label.

While Joystick itself is not a contest organizer, its products are present wherever modern freestyle is scored and filmed: World Cup and X Games riders using their poles in the halfpipe, SuperUnknown-era slopestyle skiers hiking rails with Joystick grips, and film crews capturing street segments in Quebec or the American West. The brand’s reputation rests less on podium counts and more on the idea that if you spend your winter in parks and streets, Joystick understands what you put your gear through.

Geography and hubs (heritage, testing, venues)

Organizationally, Joystick is linked to a Salt Lake City–based ski group via its connection to Surface Skis, placing the brand within reach of classic Utah terrain and a dense park scene. From that base, Joystick’s presence spreads through the places its riders call home and film: Sierra resorts, Pacific Northwest glaciers and Canadian hotspots that appear frequently in skipowd.tv videos.

Edits and athlete profiles referencing Joystick often revolve around North American hubs that have become shorthand for contemporary park and street skiing. Spots like Palisades Tahoe show up in rail-heavy projects and Level 1 SuperUnknown battles, while summer and early-season footage ties the brand to Mount Hood’s park lanes. In Canada, Joystick gear appears in clips from urban missions and resort parks linked to the wider Surface and OS Crew family, and its goggles and mitts are a natural match for cold, high-contrast conditions at destinations such as Whistler-Blackcomb.

This geography matters because it tells you where Joystick prototypes get abused and refined: on real features, in real parks and city streets, under riders who hike the same rail for hours. The brand’s identity is less about a single “home resort” and more about living inside the modern freeski migration between street spots, winter storm cycles and summer glacier sessions.

Construction, durability, and sustainability

Joystick’s construction philosophy leans on proven materials tuned for park abuse. Their park poles are typically built from 5083 aluminum, a grade chosen for a balance of strength and ductility—it can survive the odd bend and tap against rails without shattering. Steel knurled tips bite into firm snow and icy in-runs, while soft rubber grips and adjustable nylon straps prioritize comfort when you’re hiking or skating between features.

On the softgoods side, products like the Hackel Mitt showcase a straightforward, hard-wearing recipe: a 500D nylon shell for abrasion resistance, a HIPORA waterproof insert to keep meltwater and slush out, Thinsulate insulation for warmth, and leather palms that can handle tow ropes, shovels and repeated grabs. The inclusion of detachable leashes and elastic wrist cinches points to real-world use, where riders want to drop mitts temporarily without risking a lost glove on the chairlift.

While Joystick does not promote an extensive sustainability manifesto, the durability of its products is a quiet form of responsibility. Poles that survive multiple seasons of park laps and mitts that hold their structure through repeated winters reduce the need for throwaway replacements. Simple, repairable constructions—bolt-on baskets, replaceable straps and straightforward fabrics—also make it easier for committed riders to keep gear in circulation longer instead of discarding it at the first sign of wear.

How to choose within the lineup

Choosing Joystick gear starts with an honest look at how and where you ski. For poles, park-focused riders who spend most of their time on rails, boxes and jump lines should gravitate toward shorter, fixed-length models like the classic park poles built from 5083 aluminum. Aim for a length that keeps your arms relaxed and elbows slightly bent when you’re standing on flat ground; going too long can feel clumsy during spins and rail tricks.

If your winters mix park laps with deeper all-mountain days, a slightly longer pole from Joystick’s freeride-friendly range can offer better support in chopped snow and longer traverses without sacrificing freestyle maneuverability. In both cases, pay attention to grip feel and strap simplicity—details that matter after hundreds of hikes and landings.

For goggles, think about face shape, helmet fit and local light conditions. Riders who regularly film or ski in variable weather will benefit from frames that offer easy lens swaps and versatile tints, while those who mostly ski bluebird park days can prioritize darker lenses and personal style. When it comes to mitts and gloves, park and street skiers often prefer warmer, more insulated options like the Hackel Mitt for long winter sessions, while all-mountain riders in milder climates may pair lighter mitts with liners to stay adaptable.

Why riders care

Riders care about Joystick because it feels like a brand built from the same sessions they live through: park laps until dark, urban missions in mid-winter and road trips that string together resorts, parks and street spots. Instead of chasing every possible product category, Joystick focuses on doing a few things well and letting its gear speak through the clips and contests where freeski style actually evolves.

For skipowd.tv viewers, Joystick is often a quiet but consistent presence in the background of the skiing they watch most—on the poles that tap rails before a trick, the goggles under a beanie in a night-shoot, or the mitts gripping a shovel during a park build. That combination of straightforward construction, rider-led collaborations and long-standing roots in the freeski scene gives the brand a credibility that outlasts graphics and marketing trends. If your skiing revolves around park, street and creative all-mountain lines, Joystick offers tools that match that mindset: simple, durable and designed for the way modern freeskiers actually ride.

Brand overview and significance

Olympic Bootworks (often written as Olympic Boot Works) is a specialist ski boot–fitting and performance shop based in the Lake Tahoe region of California. Rather than trying to be a general ski retailer, the business focuses on one thing that matters hugely to committed skiers: boots that actually fit, transmit power and stay comfortable from first chair to last lap. With more than three decades of bootfitting experience in the team and roots going back to the early Squaw Valley era, Olympic Bootworks has become a reference point for custom ski boots in North and South Lake Tahoe.

The shop is closely associated with founder and bootfitter Buck Brown, whose work on performance footbeds and orthotics has attracted a mix of everyday skiers, professional guides and Olympic-level athletes. The company is home to the proprietary Heel-Loc orthotic system and has become the world’s leading dealer for ZipFit liners, which are widely respected among expert and pro skiers for their cork-composite fit and longevity. While the business now also supports mountain bikers and other sports, the core identity is still shaped by winter: solving boot pain, improving stance and unlocking the full potential of modern skis.

For skipowd.tv viewers, Olympic Bootworks is not a distant brand logo but part of the on-the-ground infrastructure that keeps Tahoe’s freeride and resort scene running. Many riders who film at nearby Palisades Tahoe or stack days around the lake rely on shops like this to fine-tune their boots, dial in ZipFit liners and build custom insoles before stepping into big lines, deep trees or heavy park laps.

Product lines and key technologies

Olympic Bootworks is built around a focused service and product mix rather than a huge catalog. At the center is precision custom boot fitting for skiers and snowboarders. The fitting process combines shell selection, shell modification, liner work and stance analysis so that the boot matches both the foot and the way the rider moves on snow. New boots from major brands are available in-store, but the emphasis is always on fit and performance first, model name second.

A signature technology is the Heel-Loc orthotic system, developed over decades by Buck Brown. Unlike generic insoles that simply hold up the arch, Heel-Loc aims to lock the heel securely while allowing more natural movement through the arch and toes. The goal is to create a stable platform that improves edge control and power transfer without creating dead, numb feet. That approach has been used not only for recreational skiers but also for high-level racers and big-mountain athletes who need precise feedback from their skis in variable conditions.

Alongside Heel-Loc, the shop has become the number-one dealer worldwide for ZipFit ski boot liners. These cork-composite liners are known for molding gradually to the foot and lower leg, retaining shape longer than most stock liners, and offering a snug but responsive feel. Olympic Bootworks installs and tunes these liners as part of its bootfitting service, pairing them with custom footbeds and fine shell work. Complementary offerings include custom footbeds for other sports, carefully chosen alpine and touring boots, select skis and accessories, and—on the summer side—Fantic e-bikes and related gear. Full details of current services and product lines live on the official site at olympicbootworks.com.

Ride feel: who it’s for (terrains & use-cases)

Because Olympic Bootworks focuses on fit and alignment rather than a single boot model, the “ride feel” is about how you connect to your skis. A successful fit from this shop tends to produce a strong, centered stance, secure heel hold and enough toe room for circulation, which together translate into better control and less fatigue. On hardpack and in bumps, skiers often notice they can pressure the front of the boot more confidently without their feet sliding forward or banging into the shell. On steeps and in chopped snow, improved support under the arch and heel makes it easier to stay balanced over the middle of the ski rather than falling into the back seat.

For all-mountain resort riders, this shows up as cleaner transitions from edge to edge and a more relaxed feel on long days. Instead of constantly unbuckling on the chairlift or nursing hotspots, skiers can keep their boots closed and focus on laps. Freeride and big-mountain skiers who spend time in technical terrain benefit from the consistency: when your boots fit correctly, you can rely on predictable feedback from the ski even as snow, speed and exposure change.

Backcountry and touring skiers tend to arrive with an additional requirement: long uphill sections in lighter boots. For them, Olympic Bootworks works to balance uphill comfort with downhill security, often combining a carefully chosen touring shell with a custom footbed and, where appropriate, a ZipFit or other performance liner. The result, when done well, is a boot that climbs without hot spots and still feels trustworthy when the skintrack turns into serious descents.

Team presence, competitions, and reputation

Although Olympic Bootworks is not a race team or equipment manufacturer, its work appears quietly at high levels of the sport. The shop has built and serviced boots for World Cup racers and big-mountain athletes, including skiers who have stood on podiums at major downhill events. Their Heel-Loc orthotics and custom fits have been used by Olympic-level competitors seeking precise alignment and power transfer, as well as freeride athletes who push hard in consequential terrain.

The reputation extends beyond headline names. Ski media aimed at serious enthusiasts frequently lists Olympic Bootworks among the top bootfitters in North Lake Tahoe, and women-focused platforms have highlighted the shop for its attention to detail and ability to work with a wide range of foot shapes and ability levels. User reviews and long-running word-of-mouth in the Tahoe community reinforce the story: skiers are willing to drive several hours to the shop, often planning multi-day trips so they can ski nearby while returning for follow-up tweaks.

In practical terms, that reputation matters to skipowd.tv viewers because it shows up in how athletes move in front of the camera. Clean landings, balanced stances and the confidence to ski fast in rough snow all depend partly on boots that are properly aligned and custom-fitted. Olympic Bootworks operates behind the scenes in that process, but its influence is visible in the way many Tahoe-based skiers stand on their skis.

Geography and hubs (heritage, testing, venues)

Olympic Bootworks is anchored in the Lake Tahoe basin with two main locations: a flagship shop in Olympic Valley near the base of Palisades Tahoe, and a second store in South Lake Tahoe. The Olympic Valley shop sits just across the road from the lifts, making it easy for customers to ski, return for adjustments and then head straight back onto the mountain. That proximity is crucial for bootfitting, where even small changes can feel very different once you start linking turns on real snow.

The surrounding region provides a near-ideal testing zone. Palisades offers everything from firm morning groomers to steep, chalky faces and heavy Sierra powder, while other nearby resorts around the lake add trees, park features and variable conditions. This diversity lets the shop evaluate how different boots, footbeds and liners behave under real-world pressure: icy mornings, deep storm days, spring slush and long traverses. In summer, local trails and bike networks allow the Heel-Loc system and custom orthotics to be tested in running shoes and cycling footwear as well.

That geographic context grounds the brand’s promises. Olympic Bootworks does not design gear in a vacuum; its staff skis and rides in the same terrain customers travel for, and they see directly how their work performs across full seasons of Tahoe weather.

Construction, durability, and sustainability

From a construction standpoint, Olympic Bootworks operates at the intersection of existing boot shells, aftermarket liners and custom-made footbeds. The shop works with established ski-boot brands and performance liners, then reshapes shells through punches, grinds and stance adjustments to match each skier’s anatomy. Heel-Loc orthotics and other custom footbeds are built using proprietary casting and molding techniques that aim to capture the foot in a neutral, unweighted position before adding support and heel retention.

Durability enters the picture through the choice of components and through precise, conservative modifications. A well-executed punch or grind extends the usable life of a boot rather than shortening it, and performance liners like ZipFit are known for lasting many seasons when properly installed and cared for. By focusing on high-quality shells, liners and footbeds, the shop encourages skiers to keep a dialled-in boot for years instead of cycling through uncomfortable pairs that never quite fit.

While Olympic Bootworks is not a sustainability brand in the marketing sense, its model of extending product life and reducing “boot churn” has an environmental benefit. Custom-fitting a solid pair of boots and supporting that setup with follow-up adjustments usually means fewer discarded shells and liners over time. For skiers who care about impact but also need high performance, that combination—buying once, fitting well and maintaining the system—can be more responsible than repeatedly replacing poorly fitting gear.

How to choose within the lineup

Working with Olympic Bootworks starts by being honest about your skiing and your feet. Before anyone recommends a boot model, fitters will typically ask where you ski most, how fast you like to go, whether you tour or stick to lifts, and what problems you’ve had in previous boots. Bringing this information, along with your current boots and footbeds, makes the selection process smoother and more accurate.

For resort-focused skiers who mainly ride lifts around Tahoe and similar mountains, the shop will usually steer you toward an all-mountain or freeride boot with the right flex and last for your weight, ability and anatomy. Custom Heel-Loc footbeds and liner work then fine-tune comfort and stance. If you split time between resort and backcountry, you can expect a more detailed conversation about weight, walk mode performance and binding compatibility, with the goal of finding a touring-capable boot that still skis strongly inbounds.

Budget and timeline also matter. Custom bootfitting is a process rather than a single appointment; many skiers return after a few days on snow for additional tweaks. Planning a visit around several days at nearby resorts, and being ready to invest in both boots and custom work, will help you get the most out of what Olympic Bootworks offers. Checking current services and making an appointment via olympicbootworks.com before a peak weekend or holiday period is strongly recommended.

Why riders care

Riders care about Olympic Bootworks because a good boot fit can transform their skiing more dramatically than almost any other equipment change. A properly aligned, comfortable boot lets you ski longer, push harder and explore more terrain with less pain and fewer distractions. Instead of thinking about numb toes or burning shins, you can think about line choice, snow quality and progression—whether that means charging steeps at Palisades, lapping trees on a storm day or simply making confident, clean turns on blue groomers.

For the wider skipowd.tv ecosystem, shops like Olympic Bootworks are part of the hidden infrastructure behind the footage. World Cup racers, freeride athletes and dedicated locals all rely on expert bootfitters to keep their gear dialled as they chase seasons, travel between resorts and film in demanding conditions. Olympic Bootworks has earned its place in that network by focusing on craft, innovation and long-term relationships with skiers. For anyone planning serious time on snow in Tahoe or beyond, it stands out as a destination where investing in your boots means investing directly in how well—and how happily—you ski.