The influx of dozens upon dozens of small, independent ski designers and builders around the world over the last few years has been impressive.  Some people say the true measure of the strength of an underground movement is when it becomes mainstream.  The introduction of not one, but two web merchants this past year specializing in selling independent ski gear (hardgoods and softgoods) should get your attention and prove the proliferation of small ski builders is not a fad, but indeed a movement in the industry.

Josh Salvo's ReddyYeti.com and Dan Parker's GearCartel.com both offer skiers the opportunity to shop for skis and related gear from a good variety of small and independent companies as an alternative to the bigger, more corporate-style brands typically found in the marketplace.

Gear Cartel:

As Dan Parker puts it: "We got in to the ski and snowboard market because we realized there were so many quality brands out there that were extremely hard to find and were not getting the exposure they deserved. Customers are always looking for something new and different. We wanted to offer a single place where avid skiers and snowboarders could find products that they can identify with."

ReddyYeti:

As Josh Salvo puts it: "The idea behind ReddyYeti.com started a couple years ago when we started building and designing skis in our garage. In doing so we discovered these smaller homegrown brands that are rider and builder owned and who put the highest level of craftsmanship into their products. We started riding on their products our selves and then decided to build an online store around these brands and exclusively offer American made products in the snow sports industry."
Sound similar?  Definitely. Both sites are essentially virtual merchants carrying no real inventory, but taking orders on-line, submitting the sales invoices direct to the manufacturers who then ship the products to the end-user.  The merchants keep a commission on the sale, providing the remaining payment to the manufacturer.  The cool thing about both sites is you can shop for a variety of brands you might never see in a brick-and-mortar ski retailer, and feel good about paying your hard-earned cash to small businesses instead of large corporations.  While this model may not upset the balance of power in the ski industry, it opens up a new channel for small and independent companies to reach enthusiastic skiers.

As of November, 2012, Gear Cartel offers skis from Viice, Grace, Meier, Wubanger, Rocky Mountain Underground, Bluehouse, Folsom, Shaggy's Copper Country, Fat-ypus, PowderNorth, Majesty, Praxis, Ramp and Epic Planks. 

ReddyYeti offers skis from Rocky Mountain Underground, Shaggy's Copper Country, Fatypus, Epic Planks, Slant and Fortitude.  Both stores offer some sale deals on some models, with ReddyYeti listing some used demos in some models.

Both stores have accessories and snowboard gear, with GearCartel offering indie-brands of ski-chairs, art and custom skis and snowboards.

It's a bold new world out there, with many new ski gear companies offering great products, and now, there are competing on-line stores for enthusiasts to explore and support!  See both stores at:

GearCartel.com
ReddyYeti.com