The Original Shaper

When you walk through the doors of the ZAG Lab, prototypes line the walls. Most are missing their topsheets. Raw carbon fiber, exposed wood cores, edges waiting for snow. Some bear notes written in marker and marked with tape. Others show signs of testing. A few look perfect, intact, ready for Les Grands Montets. In this workshop, everything exists in dialogue with what happens on the mountain.

Bastien Saillard has been having this conversation since before he even joined ZAG. In his garage, using clamps and vacuum-sealed bags, he built skis that didn’t really work but taught him something nonetheless. Seventeen years later, he heads up research and development. The dialogue remains the same. A prototype hits the snow, the mountain responds, Bastien listens and then makes adjustments, before sending out the next version. The cycle continues without pause. The shaper shapes the ski. The ski, in turn, shapes the shaper.

Three new freeride skis are currently in development. The deadlines are tight, the stakes are high, and Bastien is navigating the most critical phase of the project. These skis are set to revolutionize the way ZAG approaches freeride terrain. The prototypes speak for themselves. He’s listening more closely than ever.

B.S. — Yeah, even back when I was a teenager, I always loved making things. Windsurf boards, surfboards—it’s always been kind of my thing. And then, naturally, since I’m a skier and love it—it’s my passion—I started making skis at home, in my garage. It didn’t go very well, to be honest. I didn’t have a press; I think I used clamps or a vacuum. Anyway, I was just tinkering, but I was super proud to have my own skis, even if they didn’t really work.

B.S. — I have a very clear vision on this. In my opinion, ZAG’s identity is all about performance, but always with a touch of comfort and accessibility in its products. I think it’s really important that the products are designed for a very wide range of uses and that they appeal to people who are absolutely looking for performance, but all within a certain level of comfort.

B.S. — I don't always have ideas when I'm sitting in front of my screen, working in my design software. I might get ideas when I'm out on skis, anywhere. Ideas just pop into my head about what settings I could use to make the ski work, what I could change. I mull it all over for a while, and then eventually, something comes together at the tip of my mouse, at the tip of my finger on the screen.

B.S. — I’ll always remember the first ski I designed at ZAG. It was the Slap 122—which we called the Slap XL back then—and it’s a ski I really loved. I’m very proud of that first ski I designed for the brand. And I still ski it on big powder days, even if those are getting a little rare these days. I love that ski, and it was truly a great product that won awards for many years.

B.S. — The testing phase is divided into several stages. The first stage, which focuses on the basic prototype, involves only a few testers. There are just a handful of us—maybe four or five—because we really need specific feedback. I need to know the person giving me feedback so I can truly understand it and translate their language into technical terms when I’m at my computer. Once we start to have one or two prototypes that work really well, we expand the testing. And that’s when the problems start, because we get a lot of feedback from a lot of people.

B.S. — My goal is for the skier to feel comfortable on the slopes right from their very first turn, the moment they step off the chairlift. They might not even be able to explain it or put into words why they feel so comfortable, but they just do. They shouldn’t need time to figure out how to ski; they should get it right away on that first turn, and then boom. From there, they really take off, and that’s it. The skier will push themselves beyond their limits—they won’t just ski at 100 percent, they’ll ski at 120 percent—and they’ll absolutely love it.

B.S. — Paul and I have been working together for a few years now. So we’re a well-oiled team. We’re the backbone of research and development at ZAG. He’s the prototyper. Usually, I send him the files and he works on them to produce the prototype. He’s also involved in every stage of development, especially testing. Julien just joined the team, and we’re going to be collaborating, especially on the new freeride shapes. So it’s going to be really interesting to have two shapers, sometimes with two different visions and two different ways of working. But that’s what keeps things moving forward.

B.S. — The big challenge is that we have to release three pairs of skis in a short amount of time, and that’s a real challenge. Especially since if the skis aren’t amazing, we won’t release them. So we’re setting the bar really high. But I think we’ll pull it off—we’re going to have a blast with these products. The idea is really to release some awesome gear that revolutionizes freeride performance just a little bit.

This interview is part of Shape, an original series produced by ZAG, which goes behind the scenes to explore the creative process behind three new freeride skis.