David's Ski Picking Update by David Chamberlain

All considered this was one of the best ski picking summers that I can remember.  Good skis, visits to the factories in Europe, and a glimpse at some new developments coming down the pipe were all welcome after the dismal winter we had last season.  We are very excited at Gear West to turn the page and preparations are underway for a great season this year.  I just checked the almanac this morning and the news is good J!  The following are a few of the highlights from the summer picking trips.

My final stop this summer was spending a couple days at the Fischer warehouse in New Hampshire.  Fischer’s Rick Halling as always was a gracious host and allowed us to have a close look at all the product in stock there.  The big objective was to take a look at a fresh stock of Helium 61k skis – a new offering this year.  There has been big interest in this new ski, we had great luck with the new Helium last year and the Speedmax 61k, pairing the two constructions simply makes sense.  We found some great skis and are excited to bring them to our customers this winter.

Skis are coming in now and we are about to receive the new Rossi SX Premium.  This is another ski that we are really excited for and will be a great addition to the Rossi lineup.  The skis have a softer tip and tail with less contact zone – better for uni/soft conditions – conditions that have often been the achilles heel of the Rossi lineup.  It will be a nice compliment to the S2 camber in the traditional Premium.  We picked the very best of what we saw on our visit to the factory in Grenoble, France. Having the opportunity to pick there is a big help to us.

The new S/Lab skate skis have just arrived to us from the trip to the factory in Altenmarkt, Austria.  The new skis are the first plated S/Lab ski that we have seen and will fit the Prolink Shift Race binding.  The S/Lab plates allow the binding to shift just shy of a 4cm span and adjust the snow feel of the ski, especially in classic models.   It was my first trip to Altenmarkt in June and the time that I spent with Jean Marc Drayer and the factory tour from Freytag Burkhard was worth the trip.  Our new S/Lab’s were just unpacked and found their way onto our ski wall today. 

 One innovation that will be exciting to follow in the next few seasons is the new core from Atomic.  Last winter I had the chance to test skis with the new core when the guys from Atomic in Austria were here in MSP for a visit.  The skis we tested had a very energetic feel to them.  The core will be made in-house in Altenmarkt and will be a replacement for the traditional Atomic nomex core. 

The trips we take in the off-season are an invaluable part of our mission to bring the best skis to our customers.  Not only do we find the best stock, we get to keep up with the latest innovations and fitting information from direct sources.  It translates to better service for our customers.  We are looking forward to a great winter!