ISPO

BCA and Alpride now have similarly lightweight and small airbag systems as the other manufacturers. Some companies that previously bought in airbag systems for their own backpacks are taking them out of the range completely after winters with low sales. Mammut has completely redesigned Barryvox avalanche transceivers - one in the mid-price segment and one high-end device.

What should we take a closer look at for you? In order to offer our community added value beyond simply presenting the interesting new products, we want to ask you specific questions and take photos of what you are most interested in. Send us your questions as a comment on the article by Saturday, February 4, 2017!

We were at ISPO in Munich again this year and have already reported on the latest innovations in skis, safety equipment, ski boots & ski bindings, snowboard equipment and clothing. As every year, we will also be presenting selected, interesting products from PowderGuide partners that we took a closer look at at ISPO. The second part of the partner news is about new airbag backpacks from ABS, the latest Fritschi pin binding, new skis from Scott, Line and Salomon, merino-mix underwear from Icebreaker, an Evoc touring backpack, an insulation jacket from Penguin and a helmet from Uvex

We were at ISPO in Munich again this year and have already reported on the latest innovations in skis, safety equipment, ski boots & ski bindings, snowboard equipment and clothing. As we do every year, we will also be presenting selected, interesting products from PowderGuide partners that we took a closer look at at ISPO. The first part of the partner news is about the new airbag backpacks from Arc'teryx and Mammut, skis from G3, Black Diamond and Völkl, ski touring boots from Dynafit, the new FreerideMaps and the new ski touring backpacks from Bergans.

Powderguns - split and in one piece - in all shapes and colors are the hot shit, but the biggest gun still does pogo, and has for 32 years! The experimentation department of the designers/manufacturers obviously had a merciless 'powder shortage' this year.

There were also no major revolutions in the area of ski boots and bindings at ISPO 2016. When it comes to boots, however, many manufacturers have at least followed suit in the freetouring boot segment with a focus on downhill performance and a weight of between 1500 g and 2000 g. For many manufacturers, however, only product maintenance was on the agenda. Tech inserts were often integrated directly into the shells instead of in removable soles. The biggest news in the ski boot sector is probably the withdrawal of Black Diamond. Following the end of telemark boot production this season, there will also be no more touring and freeride boots from Black Diamond from next season. There will be virtually no innovations in bindings. If anything, the manufacturers have limited themselves to product maintenance.

In the third part of our ISPO report, we present the new products in the textile sector. As we already saw last year, manufacturers are once again focusing on muted colors such as ochre and merlot. More and more companies are also attaching importance to ecological clothing and are using wool or recycled materials, for example.

Part 1 of the ISPO Report 2016: You could almost copy the text of last year's ISPO article, because the biggest trend in ski models is still: 15% lighter. Sometimes even 20%, but mostly with the same shapes. Balsa or paulownia wood in combination with carbon or particularly light fiberglass, depending on the price range, promise the same performance with noticeably less weight on the foot. Weight is now being saved on all wider ski models, not just the uphill-oriented ones.

Part 2 of the ISPO Report 2016: Pieps and Arva present new avalanche transceivers at ISPO, while the other manufacturers stick to their existing models. When it comes to airbags, various manufacturers are in a fierce race for the lightest system. Arcteryx and Arva are presenting airbag backpacks for the first time. Ortovox is now also using its own system.

Winter has only just begun in the Alps, and ISPO in Munich and the presentation of new products for the coming season are already just around the corner. Traditionally, shortly before the actual show at the trade fair, some companies invite journalists to test the new products in practice. This year, beautiful Kals at the foot of the Grossglockner was the venue for presentations, daring test tours, friendly shop talk and, due to the conditions in the terrain, fun on the slopes.

"Bavarian Alpine Manifest" (BAM) is the latest project from busy hobbyist Markus "Bambam" Steinke, previously best known as an indie ski builder for Mountain Wave and Skylotech. At the heart of BAM is the Pindung®, a touring binding that combines a PinTech system with an alpine jaw binding.

A stable avalanche shovel with a large blade is part of every freerider's basic equipment. With the Pocket Spike, Ortovox offers an extension that quickly turns the shovel handle into a lightweight ice axe. ISPO Award winner 2014 in the Basic Avalanche Gear category.