OUR STORY

Karhu was founded in Finland in 1916, building cross-country skis for the Scandinavian market. The name Karhu means bear in Finnish, hence the Skiing Bear logo found on Karhu skis. From its home in Kitee Finland, Karhu Sporting Goode produces some of the most technical Racing and Performance skis.

In 1976 Doug Barbor, along with some partners, founded Karhu Canada to manufacture cross-country skis for the U.S. and Canadian markets. For three decades, the factory in Cowansville Quebec specialized in Backcountry and Telemark skis and Karhu quickly established itself as the number one source for metal-edge Nordic skis.

Today, Nordic Skiing is seeing renewed interest in North America and the interest is coming from all directions. Mountain bikers are exploring winter singletrack on XCD Backcountry skis. Runners and road bikers are staying fit at touring centers on Fitness Touring and Racing skis. Alpine skiers are seeking new adventures and challenges on Telemark and Alpine Touring skis. Karhu is committed to supporting this growth with a diverse offering of Nordic skis, boots and bindings to take your winter experience to the next level.

Karhu has always been a leader and innovator in the North American Nordic ski market. Over the past 30 years, we have offered revolutionary products, such as the first XCD™ Backcountry skis, the first Widetrak™ Touring skis, the Sweeper Winter Trekking skis, and the Omnitrak™ waxless base. These innovations have pushed Nordic performance to new levels. Into the future, Karhu will continue to aggressively develop and promote key areas of growth in Nordic skiing.

As an independently owned ski company we are proud to use the Karhu brand name and the Skiing Bear Logo as the enduring images of our commitment to the sport of Nordic skiing. Karhu's North American headquarters are located on the shores of Lake Champlain in Burlington, VT, one of the ski capitals of North America. Within an hour's drive to some of the best Nordic, Backcountry, and Lift-Access skiing, we are able to test our latest product innovations. As an enthusiastic and driven company, we feel lucky to be able to provide you with the best equipment available.

Thank you for your continued support of Karhu and the growth of Nordic Skiing.

Our Shop Admnistrators hand pick products and these are our Karhu Hot Picks: