Ortovox

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.

It is one thing above all: eye-catching. The Merino Guardian Shell jacket from Ortovox stands out with its bright colors. But what can the jacket do apart from being colorful?

The program of the second Splitboard Festival in Lenggries was impressive. In addition to numerous splitboarders, the who's who of splitboard manufacturers were represented with test material: Burton, Jones, K2, Arbor, Karakoram, Dupraz, Amplid, Spark, Rome, Goodboards. From the manufacturers of emergency equipment, Ortovox and BCA presented themselves on the large test area. All 80 splitboarders who had traveled to the event got their hands on a splitboard or two from the over 100-strong splitboard test range.

In the fourth part of our ISPO report, we present the new products and trends in the textile sector. The trend from last year continues: it remains colorful, even if the colors will be a little more subtle and no longer so bright. Every manufacturer now has a selection of colorful high-tech textiles in its range. Manufacturers who have long been known for their love of color, such as Norrona, have already passed the peak of colorfulness and are back to more muted colors. Groundbreaking innovations are not to be expected, especially in the textile sector, but many materials are being combined and product lines and production processes are being further developed. The issue of reducing the environmental impact of textile production is becoming increasingly important. This is also reflected in the fact that more and more natural materials such as wool are being used.

The PG team has also explored the fashion facets of the world's biggest sporting goods fair for you. It goes without saying that the style factor naturally carries much more weight here than in other areas. Nevertheless, we also focused on function when it came to clothing. To cut a long story short: here you'll find the latest clothing innovations that won't let you down off the slopes and in the park and, ideally, will also make you look good.

At ISPO, all manufacturers let their innovation cats out of the bag. Read about the new products in the Splitboards & Miscellaneous section.

The first impression of the Ortovox 3+ is appealing and the device makes a handy impression. The positive first impression is also confirmed in practical use. With a total weight of 315 grams including the carrying system and battery, the 3+ is about as heavy as the old M2 from Ortovox, which accompanied me for 10 years, and is therefore slightly heavier than stated by the manufacturer.

"La Grave" is the name of the men's model in Ortovox's new hardshell clothing line. We became aware of the jacket because, according to the manufacturer, it combines the function of a three-layer hardshell jacket with the warmth and comfort of merino wool. To find out what the top jacket can really do, we put it to an extensive test in the powder snow of the still young winter of 2010/11.