insight issue 3: sia

4frnt Skis

4frnt Skis

ARMADA

ARMADA

ATOMIC

ATOMIC

BERNBern Unlimited, based out of a small town in Massachusetts, made a big splash in the wintersports pond years ago with their Baker-model helmet and its easily recognizable small yet effec-tive brim. Now it’s 2012, and their product line is looking great whether your looking for an EPS Hard Foam, Zipmold Hard Foam, or a Brock Soft Foam. Look for bright colors, both glossy and matte carbon fiber, and some of the lightest helmets you’ll ever wear.

BERN

BooneIndependent - The ski company by the bay, Boone Skis offers customers a choice between their graph-ics, ski shapes, and sizes. Rumor has it they are making a 175 Powder shape next year, for those not ready to send it on the the 185cm length. While Boone didn’t have samples with next years graphics ready for the show, judging by the graphics in their catalog they are looking good for 2012.

Boone

BULA

BULA

COREUPT

COREUPT

DISCRETE

DISCRETE

It’s always good to see Klaus at the show

DRAGON

DRAGON

DYNASTAR

DYNASTAR

FactionSomeone answered our wishes and made a rockered monoski (on Right), Yes! In the two-plank world, Faction has a new technology called STP. This process reduces the weight of the ski while making them stiffer torsionally by pressing a wave into the core. Less material = lighter.

The contraption below demonstrates the differ-ence between the non-STP core and the STP core. On the top is a 2011 core, and below is a 2012 core. The STP process reduces weight up to 20%.

Faction

Above - The Wednesday is Faction’s all-mountain twin and the Heroine, their Wom-en’s version that shares the same dimensions, but has a thinner core and slightly softer.

Right - The 3.zero comes in a wide range of sizes, from 167-191. A rockered fat twin, it comes in at 112 in the middle of the ski.

Below sits the Kennedy and Aria, Faction’s park skis each available in 5 different lengths. To the left is the Prodigy, 98mm underfoot, and rockered.

First Drop

First Drop

Full Tilt

Full Tilt

Arcade = Winning

GO PRO

Head

Head

Joystick

Joystick

K2 SkisI WANNA ROCK - Think rockered skis is a fad? K2 doesn’t, and every ski in their 2012 line has some form of rocker built into their construction. K2 is not just embracing the rocker concept, it is living it. They continue to better their product, innovating ava-lanche shovels and ski poles, as well as making some modifications to existing models.

K2 Skis

The Pon2oon has a more squared off, flatter tail in 2012, with what is proba-bly the best graphic this ski has seen in our opinion. The Darkside returns with no metal, powder rocker, and a flat tail. 108 in the waist, the Sidestash has a flat tail and the rocker has been moved back, giving a little more early rise. K2 is also releasing a carbon-carbon two piece pole with a bubble inclinometer built in taht you can lay on the hill and determine what degree the pitch is. Also on the backcountry side of things, the new Rescue Plus Shovel has been de-signed by Mike Hattrup to be the most versatile shovel in the business. With eyelets built in and hardware included, remove the rivets on your k2 skis and connect the shovel directly (along with rope and a pair of poles) to them and you have an extremely stable rescue sled.

2012 Hellbent has been nicknamed the Jeffery, and is reportedly 10% angrier than years prior. 132 underfoot, this ski is virtually unchanged, and has pre-cut climb-ing skins available. Seth gets a graphic facelift for next year, while the con-struction is the same. Pep’s ski, the Kung Fujas is available with- or with-out-schitzo, is 102 in the waist, and has all-terrain rocker. On the Recoil we find urethane sidewalls, helping reduce edge dam-age from rails or rocks you may land on. The Sight blends all-mountain and park with its 85mm waist. The Domain is again sym-metrical, weighing in at 115-90-115. On the left is one of K2’s new poles, with a tip that fits the schizo adjustment screw.

LIBERTYOne of the first to embrace the incorporation of Bamboo into the con-struction of their skis, Liberty has some exciting models coming out for 2012. Crowd favorites like the Helix and Double-Helix return. Revamped is the women’s line, now known as the Envy Series. Rocker makes an appearence on the Antigen, their new park/all-mountain machine.

LIBERTY

LINE

LINE

FAR LEFT - Eric Pollard has been push-ing the design of powder skis for years. His philosophy revolves around planing across the snow, not pushing it. Mr. Pollards Opus is just that, his masterpiece. 118 underfoot, low-rise tip, and some of the BEST graphics we’ve seen in years. To the right of the Mr. Pol-lards Opus, we find the SFB, sporting a com-plementary graphic. The Bacon of Sir Fran-cis is 107 underfoot, available in 3 sizes, as well as a ‘shorty’ version for younger rippers.

Left - Blue, orange, and green, the Blend is unchanged construction-wise from 2011. No metal in the ski means its easy to control and playful. Next to the Blend are the Chron-ic and Mastermind which are unchanged as well, aside from new paint jobs. The Mas-termind is Line Skis lowest priced pair of planks and ideal for the skier on a budget.

Below - Speaking of budgets, are you stuck on skinny skis for powder days? The 130 is Line’s most affordable fat ski. The 105 and 115 Influence are to the right of the 130, and have early rise, capwall construction and designed to rip turns in any snow condition.

ABOVE - Aside from the Gigantic Octopus, the Pandora has not been modified for 2012, it still has the early taper and early rise from this year. Also above, the Celebrity 100 has a clearly visible metal matrix present under its semi-transparent graphic.

Line bags and packs have been completely rede-signed for the 2012 season, developed for every-thing from school to the backcountry to storing your smelly ski boots.

MOMENTMoment - has done a complete 180-degree direction change with their out-erwear for 2012. Gone are pastels and here are blacks, reds, greys, and silver. Al-though colors have been toned down, features have not, look for removable sleeves and quality fabrics next year.

RIGHT - Kevin ‘Cinnamon’ Deane was able to make it back from Japan in time to help us shoot better photos by holding a pair of Ghost Chants.

MOMENT

Far Right - The Ghost Chant is a new ski from Moment, comes in two sizes, 176cm and 186cm, and is extremely rockered. Moment is now on the bamboo-core-bandwagon, and you can find bamboo in the heart of this ski. 100% symmetrical, mount this sucker dead center and jib off of something already.Below - The PG&J, a ski designed for the $-con-scious individual that skis all over the mountain. Available in 4 lenghts, all @ 101mm underfoot.

Scotty Dubs and Brian

MOVEMENT

MOVEMENT

NORDICA

NORDICA

A candid shot of Jeremy Jones signing autographs

OAKLEY

OAKLEY

ORAGE

ORAGE

To say that the personality of each athlete goes into their signature outerwear is an understate-ment at Orage. More than just a taller fit, the accents of Kaya’s jacket reflect her attitude and style. The Jacket length is adjustable, features colorful zipper teeth and a dream-catcher zipper pull. Also on the women’s side Orage is coming out with some very stylish Gore-Tex jackets, as shown in the middle above.

Outdoor tech

Outdoor techKnown for their neck gaiters called Yowies, Outdoor Technology is now manufacturing blu-etooth earphone dog tags amongst other acces-sories. Caps, water bottles, wallets, etc... are some of the products that OT has in their line.

POC

POC

ROLLICRollic - embraces sports of dirt, water, and snow. Relatively new on the scene, Rollic is coming out with a strong hat/headwear col-lection. Bottom Left - is their bandanna, made of a wool-blend exterior, microfleece liner and stylish button clasps to compliment the classiness of the pinstripes. Middle - one of Taylor Stanton’s de-signs on 100% organic cotton Rollic tee. Right - Just a few of the hats from their product line.

ROLLIC

Rossignol

Rossignol

The Scratch is

Back - See that black/white/yellow ski to the immediate left? Rossi’s pro-level park ski comes back with a name some of us are very familiar with. Wondering what that black/purple/blue ski is? Kevin Rollands signature graphic on the Scratch of course. On the far left we have the de-cambered rocker profile of the Scimitar, the ski ad-jacent to it featuring the black and orange graphic. Below is the bind-ing that has developed a cult-like following, the FKS Pivot. The Hunt-er Orange paintjob on these bind-ers will not help you while trying to elude ski patrol, but they will com-pliment your prison jumpsuit when you wear it to the hill.

SalomonSalomon has some of the highest-anticipated products coming down-the pipeline in 2012. First off, their 16 din all-metal binding is making a comeback labled as the STH16-Steel. Secondly, there is the Rocker 2, which Cody Townsend describes as ‘so poppy, I am a sold addict.” Below from L to R we have the STH 16, new poles, and the El Dictator.

Salomon

Have a tuxedo, but lacking ski boots to match it? The SPK Pro might be the boot for you, with its classic black and white styling. Gone is the leather wrap, while the flex is maintained at 110. Both the SPKPro and SPK90 are made with the SCS Soft Toe In-sert, designed to reduce toe-bang from those back seat landings.

Far Left to Right Pro Pipe - 161/171/181Suspect - 151/161/171/176/181Threat 145/151/161/171/176 Immediate Left - This helmet from Salomon features a translucent outer shell, show-ing you a little of whats is un-derneath. New to their helmets is a custom air-fit system that allows you to fill in any gaps/loose spots with a pocket of air.

Above - It is here, the STH16-Steel. The design is familiar, the feel of stepping into it cannot be repli-cated. To put it simply, we love it.

Right - The Ghost comes in both a 100- and 120-flex mod-el, designed for the backcoun-try/sledding/big mountain crowd.

Far Right - El Dictator, Rocker, and Rocker 2. Each ski is very differ-ent from the next, its purpose clear-ly defined by the design. The lack of fresh powder at the On-Snow only fueled our hunger to try these skis.

SCottScott - has really made some moves on the park skiing world, they signed Roz G. to their ski program this past year, and just recently inked a 3-year deal with Tom Wallisch to continue competing and putting out top-notch movie segments on their skis. Did we mention he has a signature goggle again this year? Can you guess the color? Yes, it has blue in it.

SCott

Color - The guys at Scott USA believe in the freedom to use as much color as one feels necessary, and we couldn’t agree more. From their new shades to the wide selection of poles for next year, bright colors are every-where.

Mega Dozer - coming in at 195cm long, the MD has camber underfoot to maintain versatility and rocker in the tip and tail to destroy powder lines. The Punisher returns in both its regular- and jib-form. What are we really excited about? The Punisher Jib coming in a 184cm length.

Whats This? Scott makes outerwear? They do, and while not primarily known for their out-erwear, it is looking great for 2012. Combinations of bright colors with prints, gradients, contrasting zippers, Gore-Tex, etc... Their line has it all from steezy puffies to technical pieces. There is also a wide selection of gloves for every discipline: park, pipe, extra-warm for cold big mountain skiing, etc...

SESSIONS

SESSIONS

Newschoolers - Thats right, your eyes are not decieving you, Sessions has teamed up with the ski-ing mega-community Newschoolers to produce a collaborative jacket. Appro-priately named the Newschoolers Jack-et, its design was heavily influenced by Matt Walker, and has a taller, ‘ski’ fit to it. Removable sleeves are a huge trend for 2012 and this jacket is no excep-tion. 10k waterproofing, xs-xxl sizing, and a 80g polyfill lining make this jacket perfect for virtually any day on the hill. Show your support of NS by rocking this piece.

Get Bent - Func-tional, Fresh, two words that were in the head of Chris Benchetler when he was de-signing this suit. 15k water-proofing, this gear will re-pel water while remaining breathable. The front right jacket pocket is accessible from both above and the side, and both the pants and jacket come slightly insulated. Other color combos include Navy/Red and Black/White.

SICKSTICKZ

SICKSTICKZ

SKIHOE

SKIHOE

Retro - Ski Hoe is a startup lifestyle ski-wear company based out of Southern California. They are focused on bright, loud designs, and are ex-panding to outerwear for 2012. Their jackets have a strong retro feel, are seam sealed and made of a 2-ply ripstop material. Their base layer is manufac-tured from recycled plastic bottles and have a much more ‘everyday clothing’ look to them than others.

Skullcandy

Skullcandy

SPYNew Models, Superior Optics Design, and goggles that make it look like you’re wearing some sweet shades...Spy continues to produce quality goggles that look great. The big hype for 2012 is around the Platoon, their biggest and most modern goggle yet, featuring Carl Zeiss Optics. We are particularly stoked about the Spy Trevor, lots of retro styling!

SPY

SURFACE

SURFACE

VOLKLMARKER

The Royal Family is growing with the addition of the Jester Pro, an 18-din version with a torsion bar and fixed AFD plate. On the Volkl side of things a big change for the Mantra with an introduction of Tip Rock-er to the best-selling ski. They also up their park ski line with updates to the Ledge, a park/all-mountain ski that has rocker in the tip and tail

VOLKLMARKER

This ski just keeps getting bet-ter and better each year - The Gotama returns in the year 2012 with an boost to the Tip and Tail kick and the width in-creased to 139-107-123. Also above is the Shiro, with a green and white paintjob that will un-doubtedly look great with the new Jester colorway. The Shiro is 119 underfoot and features Volkl’s Extended Low Profile, rocker, and camber underfoot.