Staub were pretty upmarket Skis produced in Switzerland in the period between the two World Wars, 1930s/40s (some were a little earlier), a time when there were very few UK manufacturers of skis and British skiers bought their skis when skiing in Switzerland, or from UK importers such as Lillywhites in London or Forsyths in Glasgow, as per the advert above.

Each ski was made from a single piece of wood back then, with the camber – that’s the bowed bit in the middle – and the tips steamed to give the curve. The wood wanted to straighten as it got older and dried out, so the block in the middle and the spreader at the tips were to keep the shape when stored.

The bindings on this pair are a bit of a mess (ski conservators welcome) and it looks like they have been retro fitted. Staub invented a military binding at one time, pic above, and it looks like these skis had them fitted in the past – hence the slots.

So looks like a pair of re-purposed military skis as we know Staub had the contract to make skis for the Swiss army at some point.