Winter has only just begun in the Alps and ISPO in Munich is already just around the corner and with it the presentations of new products for the coming season. Some companies traditionally invite journalists to test the new products in practice shortly before the actual show at the trade fair. This year, beautiful Kals at the foot of the Grossglockner was the venue for these presentations, daring test tours, friendly shop talk and - due to the conditions in the terrain - also for fun on the slopes.
uvex
The traditional company from Fürth, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year, presents the p.8000 tour, a mountaineering helmet weighing just 310g. Thanks to the Boa system, the helmet is easy to adjust and meets the standards for climbing, ski and cycling helmets. The padding and ear pads are removable for climbing tours, warm climbs and bike tours. The helmet is also equipped with a Recco reflector. When we enquired, we were told that this system, which is familiar from the search for buried victims in ski resorts, was used in the helmet as the weight is negligible at just a few grams and ski tours are increasingly taking place close to the slopes.
uvex is responding to the call for a more modern design, including for the freeski target group, with the big40. In addition to the design, the focus when developing the frameless goggles was also on a large field of vision. This has turned out to be quite generous at 186 degrees! The name says it all: the distance between the forehead and the bulge of the nose is 40 mm. The glasses will be available with various mirrored lenses - optionally with automatic tinting (variomatic).
Blizzard & Tecnica
The Salzburg-based company, which until a few years ago was still very race-oriented, is continuing on its path towards freeride and freetour in the 2016/17 season. Following the launch of the Zero G ski series with a focus on lightweight freetouring skis without sacrificing downhill performance (the design has been successfully updated for the 16/17 season), the company has followed suit this year with its own Tecnica boots. With the Zero G Guide, they now offer a 4-buckle touring boot that can easily keep up with the freeriders in terms of performance, but is clearly in the ascent-oriented segment in terms of weight. With a flex of 130 and a last width of 99mm, the Zero G Guide pro weighs less than 1500g (size 26.5). This low weight was achieved by using a special plastic in the shell and a PALU liner weighing just 215g. The RRP of 549€ is cheaper than some comparable high-end freeride boots. There are deductions for the shaft rotation of 44° degrees, which is even less than that of comparable boots. The highly acclaimed Cochise freeride boot has been further improved for the 16/17 season and is now, according to the manufacturer, the "lightest 4-buckle PU boot in history". While the weight has been reduced by 100g compared to its predecessor, the shaft rotation has been increased from 23° to 42°. Above all, the forward mobility has been increased, as this is important for freeriders when touring (we have not investigated this in detail, but plan to do so in the course of a test). The tech inserts are now molded into the shell and the walking mechanism has been revised so that it automatically readjusts if play occurs.
Columbia
The Americans with German roots (the 91-year-old, still active, company boss, who is also part of the current marketing campaign, emigrated from Germany to the USA in 1938) have now brought their well-known "OutDry extreme"technology from the summer collection to winter. This technology dispenses with the third layer often used in shell jackets by reinforcing the waterproof and breathable membrane with plastic to form the outer layer. In the "OutDry EX Gold Down Hooded Jacket", this technology is combined with down for the first time, so the warm shell is designed to keep you warm and protect you from the wet at the same time on ski tours. All taped seams are deliberately visible in order to, as the manufacturer puts it, "make the technology used visible in the design". Opinions differed on the design during the test. But fortunately, tastes differ and if there is time to discuss the design, there can have been nothing majorly wrong with the function during the test.
