The winter sports trade fair ISPO took place in Munich for the 40th time. 15 exhibition halls, crammed with new and not so new products and hundreds of exhibitors presented their collections for winter 2010/2011. During our ISPO expedition, we tried to filter out the most important new products for you from the big, but also the small innovative manufacturers.
LVS innovations
Something is happening again with avalanche transceivers. All manufacturers now offer at least one three-antenna device, with BCA being the last manufacturer to launch its functioning Tracker 2 on the market with the Tracker 2 and the device has been available in stores since the end of January (2010) after many delays. The Tracker 2 has an extremely fast processor and is extremely easy to use, but does not have a spillage marking function and costs a comparatively reasonable €299. According to the representative, "the Tracker 2 is a good device at an attractive price for 90% of users in 90% of all situations". This statement suggests that the people at Tracker/BCA are well aware that they are lagging behind the previous three-antenna devices with their new device, especially as Pieps and Ortovox have already introduced completely new devices.
New launches from Pieps and Ortovox
Thanks to a position sensor, the two new products from Pieps and Ortovox should be able to avoid particularly unfavorable antenna constellations (coupling positions) and in this case transmit via the much more favorable Y-antenna instead of the longest X-antenna, which should significantly increase the range.
The Three-Antenna-Plus device Vektor from Pieps, which was presented at ISPO without any technical inner workings, is particularly ambitious. This avalanche transceiver works with three antennas like the standard devices, but also uses GPS technology for better signal calculation, with the aim of significantly increasing range and reception and simplifying the search. The display also has the option of showing the buried victims graphically on an overview map. This device is no longer powered by batteries, but by a rechargeable battery that is charged via a USB port.
The device is expected to be available for €500 in a small trial run of around 1000 units (according to the manufacturer) in winter 2010/11.
Ortovox is stepping on the gas to regain its lost market share and also presented a new avalanche transceiver at the trade fair: The 3plus LVS comes with a bit of a flat I-Phone look and has three antennas. The device will be available for a reasonable €289. The small 3plus device is powered by just one AA battery instead of the 3 AAA batteries normally used.
BCA presents new avalanche airbag backpack
The US company Back Country Access (BCA) is also pushing into the avalanche airbag market and is launching a 150-liter mono airbag backpack, which is already available in the USA. According to the trade fair staff, market entry depends on when the European approvals are met. At €599, the device is expected to cost significantly less than the products of the inventor and market leader ABS. It is interesting to note that the Float 30, which, like the ABS backpack, draws in ambient air via a Venturi nozzle, fills the actual high-pressure cartridge with pure air so that it can be refilled in the dive store. The 200-bar pressure cartridge is triggered using a Bowden cable and does not require pyrotechnics. A major shortcoming of the backpack presented at ISPO is the backpack of the new avalanche airbag, which looks cheap and unloving compared to all common freeride or touring backpacks. However, before the Float 30 can become a real competitor to ABS and co. thanks to its attractive price, the manufacturer still needs to make significant improvements to the backpack.
Ski
The rocker revolution is now complete. Powder-suitable touring skis, e.g. from Black Diamond or Dynafit, are still in vogue: these skis are very light and up to 100 mm waist width are definitely suitable for freeriding.
In the pure freeride sector, there is rather little happening in winter 10/11: to generalize a little, the traditional manufacturers are a little less keen to experiment and mostly undercut each other with less innovative shapes. As the younger brands also stick to their various concepts and largely only change the topsheet design, this overview focuses on the changes in the boot and binding area.
Freeride and touring ski boots
Black Diamond is launching a slightly more touring-oriented boot line after the two successful freeride models (Factor and Method), with the aim of finding a downhill-oriented balance. Salomon presents several freeride models with the new Quest line. A walking mechanism, some with interchangeable soles and some equipped for the alpine and AT system. Dalbello officially presents the freeride boot Virus Tour and its touring-oriented brother Virus Tour Lite, some of which are already available. The advantages of these models are the 3-shell principle and the resulting very wide range of walking modes. Scarpa gives the well-known freeride boot Hurricane a walking mechanism with the addition Pro. In addition, a new model Mobe (AT system) will be introduced, positioned below it in terms of flex properties. The Maestrale will also be another option for ambitious ski mountaineers.
Freeride bindings
At Fritschi, the new Freeride Pro replaces the familiar Freeride Plus. Based on the principle of the Eagle, higher torsional stiffness values are to be realized with excellent walking characteristics. Marker is positioning two new ascent-capable alpine bindings for the target group of downhill-oriented ski tourers. Less weight than the Duke/Baron and improved handling with the same stability are the selling points for the new Tour F10 and F12 systems.
The touring ski manufacturer Hagan is launching a new binding on the market for the first time, which looks great, but is still in the development stage. As the maximum Z-value is 10, buyers are likely to be found mainly in the classic ski touring sector.
Snowboard
Long, powder-suitable snowboards have almost become a scarce commodity. The snowboard industry is also focusing on the rocker trend. However, whether the benefits of a rocker for a snowboard are as high as the rocker revolution in ski construction seems to be at least doubtful. It's a shame that the sport of snowboarding has been so badly shaken by the crisis, because snowboarding is actually much more than sliding down iron railings and behaving loudly, shrilly and badly. But despite all the prophecies of doom, there is a very lively scene from which, for example, the small manufacturer Spark comes, and which has come up with a new, convincing binding solution for touring splitboards.
