About Wooden Snow Skis

Wooden skis may be left completely natural, painted or finished. They tend to be more valuable if they have been finished or if the wood is in its original condition. Painted wooden skis can be nice decorations, but because the paint prevents viewers from appreciating the quality and grain of the wood, unless you have a scene painted on a wooden ski it tends to make them less valuable and much more unnattractive.

Wooden skis came in hundreds of types and models. They were manufactured by everyone from J.C. Penney to European custom manufacturers. Custom models tend to be the most valuable if the bindings are in good condition and if you can prove that they belonged to someone of note in snow skiing history. Many collectors will pay top dollar for wooden snow skis used by explorers or skiing legends.

You can generally identify a pair of wooden snow skis because they will be far heavier and more unwieldy than any modern skis. To find the manufacturer on them, look on the tops of the skis where the brand marking is less likely to have worn away. Wooden snow skis also tend to have some exposed wood since they tend to hold up more poorly than newer models that can take extreme temperatures and environmental punishment without chipping or scratching.

Many people think that if you can ski on modern skis, wooden snow skis cannot be all that different. However, wooden snow skis are an entirely different ball game from today's sleek, lightweight models. You will almost certainly need a great deal of practice before you can steer and navigate reliably on wooden snow skis.

If you are not trained in using wooden snow skis, do not attempt to use them in isolated areas or on your own. You could get injured and end up stuck or marooned without any way of returning to your home or base. Wooden snow skis are no longer the best option for travel or recreation, so do not use them if you do not have prior experience.