Here, test your knowledge of rollerskis:
Who makes these?
Perhaps a wider shot would help?
It’s actually called Snowwing, and is produced by Weihai Snowwing Outdoor Equipment Co., ltd., which was “established in 2010 and located in a beautiful seashore city – Weihai, Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China.” ( that’s a quote from their website)
They are just one example of the many Chinese companies that have lately been trying to expand into the cross country skiing market – aggressively.
Quality? Well, we don’t know – there’s not exactly a Snowwing dealer in our neighbourhood that can give it for a test. And our efforts to reach Weihai Snowwing Outdoor directly were less than successful due to a bit of a language barrier.
But the price – wait for that – is US $20-24 a pair! That is, provided you ordered no less than 200 pairs. Our educated guess is that their retail price could not be much more than $70-75.
Weihai Snowwing are far from being alone – here’s Shenzhen Colex Science & Technology Co., Ltd offering their take on the classic rollerski
Shanghai Jiushi Industry And Trade Co., Ltd is advertising for something that looks conspicuously similar to a product from a famed Finnish rollerski producer, for a knockdown price.
There’s little doubt that Chinese companies were/are OEM manufacturers for cheaper rollerski models for the well-known European brands (one of the Chinese producers is proudly calling its offerings “rullskidor” – hardly a word in English, but there’s surely one in Swedish) – and have learned the art of producing them.
Should we, users and customers, be happy? Well, if you use a Shenzhen-assembled iPhone or, increasingly, a Huawei or Xiaomi device, then you likely wouldn’t be too skittish to buy and use Chinese rollerskis. If only they would supply a pair for a test…
HAVE YOU HAD A CHANCE TO TEST CHINESE-BRANDS ROLLERSKIS? SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCE HERE, ON THE PAGES OF THE DAILY SKIER!
