Bases and edges
Quotes are verbatim and attributed to their original authors.
The base is the P-tex running surface; the edges are the steel that holds on hard snow. They are laid up together at the bottom of the stack, and getting their thicknesses to match is one of the quiet make-or-break details.
Base material
Bases are P-tex (UHMW polyethylene) in two grades: sintered, which is denser, holds wax and runs faster; and extruded, which is cheaper and easier to repair. Commonly named products include Isosport 7200 (about 1.2 mm), Durasurf, and Spectrum 2001/4001. Suppliers set minimum lengths — one builder notes Durasurf "require a minimum order of 50 ft," so plan to build a few pairs from a roll.
Matching base thickness to the edge
The base and the edge flange sit in the same plane, so if the base is thinner than the edge is deep, the finished ski comes out "railed" (edge-high). One builder traced exactly this problem to a change in base stock:
Buy your base to match your edge depth, and see Tuning & grinding for correcting a base that comes out slightly high.
Steel edges
Edges are supplied straight in long coils or lengths (84" lengths are commonly mentioned) and must be bent to the tip and tail radius before layup — see Edge bending. Sources named on the forum include snowboardmaterials and CDW.
Suppliers and base printing
Beyond the base itself, shops such as Miller Studio, Isosport, and Crown supply base and topsheet material, and can print graphics directly onto the base by epoxy screen-print. As with topsheets, bonding is sensitive to prep — flame-treating and adequate resin saturation matter.