Spyder: The Racing Brand That Built a Market
Spyder was built around ski racing and has stayed close to that identity. A look at what the brand is, what it makes, and where it fits for British skiers.
Spyder is one of the few ski apparel brands whose founding story genuinely starts with racing. Founded in 1978 in Boulder, Colorado by David Jacobs, the company began as a small mail-order operation run from Jacobs’s kitchen, supplying race sweaters to a tight-knit ski-racing community that had limited options. Nearly half a century later, the racing heritage still frames the brand, although its commercial ownership and sponsorship footprint have both moved significantly over the last decade.
The founding
David Jacobs was himself a competitive ski racer: a member of the Canadian National Ski Team from 1957 to 1961, and its first full-time head coach and programme administrator from 1964 to 1966. He incorporated the business as “David L Jacobs, Incorporated” and began building race sweaters because he believed he could make a better product than the single option then available to the US race community. Jacobs’s sons Bob and Billy were on the ski-race circuit at the time, which is how the early customer base formed.
The “Spyder” name came from one of Jacobs’s earliest designs: a navy blue racing pant with yellow striped pads running from the knee to the hip, which his son Billy said other skiers were calling “spider pants” for the appearance of the pads. Jacobs kept the concept, changed the spelling to match the Porsche Spyder, and rebuilt the brand identity around it.
Racing engineering
In 1994 Jacobs was granted a patent on SpeedWyre, an aerodynamic race-suit technology that used a narrow raised seam along the legs and arms to break up airflow over the suit surface. Laboratory testing at the time recorded wind-drag reductions of up to 40%. US Ski Team members wearing Spyder suits with SpeedWyre captured gold, bronze, and fifth-place finishes at World Championships over the following two seasons.
The US Ski Team partnership ran for 33 consecutive years, from 1989 through to 2022, making Spyder one of the longest-standing national ski team supplier relationships in the sport. In 2022 the partnership ended, with the Italian sportswear brand Kappa taking over as the US Ski Team’s technical apparel supplier.
Current ownership
Spyder was acquired by Authentic Brands Group (ABG) in August 2013. ABG is a US brand-licensing company whose portfolio spans apparel, footwear, and entertainment labels. Under ABG, Spyder has continued as a branded product line, with manufacturing and distribution operated via licensing partners rather than directly.
What the range covers
Spyder’s ski range covers shell and insulated jackets, ski trousers, race suits, base layers, mid-layers, helmets, and accessories. The technical shell and race-suit range is where the racing engineering background is most visible. The consumer range sits at a higher price point than direct-to-consumer brands like Dope Snow or Montec but below the top-end luxury end occupied by Bogner.
Spyder is distributed through specialist ski retailers in the UK including Snow+Rock and through the brand’s own e-commerce channels.
Who it is for
Spyder is aimed at skiers who want ski outerwear built from a racing-first design tradition. The racing heritage is historically genuine, even if the US Ski Team sponsorship is recent history rather than current fact.
Where it earns its place: club racers, serious recreational skiers, and anyone who values athletic-fit outerwear with credible race-engineering ancestry. The brand is widely available enough to try before buying, which matters for fit-sensitive race-style cuts.
Where it is less suited: skiers looking for the lowest price point, or for the softer lifestyle-crossover aesthetic some competitors lean into. Spyder’s cuts and styling tend toward athletic and functional rather than relaxed.
BARSC has no commercial relationship with Spyder or Authentic Brands Group. This feature reflects an independent assessment of the brand and its products.