Deviation Factory Tour

Some of the first Thermally Modified Modes

The rains have returned to Oregon, and along with them, the first snows have begun to fall at the upper elevations. Hopefully temps will continue to cool, and snow line will continue to drop. In the meantime, it’s time to focus on getting gear dialed in for the season.

This past weekend I stopped off and toured Deviation’s factory in East Portland. Deviation is an innovative boutique ski company entering its third year of production. Deviation’s skis feature unique wood cores comprised of a variety of woods chosen for their even flex and superior dampening. In addition, they do custom top-sheets. 

Following are a few highlights from the factory tour:

Lighter Cores

Thermally Modified Wood Core 

Since its inception, Deviation has been focusing on skis for inbounds applications. They have generally eschewed weight saving attributes in favor of downhill performance. This is not to say Deviation skis are heavy (the standard 188 cm Mode runs 9.5 lbs per pair ). But good news for us backcountry skiers: things at Deviation are about to lighten up.

Though still in the protyping phase, Deviation is introducing thermally modified ash to its cores. Matt Hillbert, CEO, explained the process to me: thermal modification is a process where the wood is heated to a high heat without oxygen. The process removes moisture from the wood, and changes the cellular structure of the wood. The result is lighter, more durable core.

A lighter more backcountry-oriented version of the Function? We can hope

I got to play with some prototype Modes that were recently built with the thermally modified core. The weight difference was subtle, but apparent. On the scale, the 188 cm Modes with the thermally modified ash core weighed in a hair over 4.5 lbs for a single ski—a weight reduction of approximately 5%. Over the course of the winter, we can expect Deviation to continue to use this thermal modification technology to hone in on the sweet spot between uphill efficiency, and downhill performance. Maybe we’ll see a dedicated backcountry ski in the next year or so? Stay tuned!

Next Adventure

In the coming weeks, you will begin to find Deviation’s line-up in Next Adventure. Over the past few years the company has been doing most of its business online and in Europe (yes, they are an Oregon company...go figure). However, over past year, Deviation and Next Adventure have partnered up to sell Oregon-made skis in Portland’s premier gear shop.

You can check out Deviation's full line up here: