EXPLORING ELEMENTS

travel through an adventure sports lens

EVENT: Winter OR 2013- All Mountain Demo

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On Snow Demo Day 1/22/2013 at Solitude Mtn. Resort

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This was my first yr attending the Winter Outdoor Retailer trade show. I have been to 7 of the last 9 Summer OR shows though, and in just about every capacity you can attend: distributor, rep, athlete, athlete manager, job candidate, retail buyer & media. The winter show is quite a bit smaller in size and attendance than summer, but has a very similar vibe with many of the same companies and industry people in attendance. Like the summer show, the day before the convention center opens in SLC there is an outdoor demo day. Even though snow conditions were not optimal, it was great to be on the slopes on a sunny day hanging out with a ton of gear heads and playing with the latest on snow toys. It was also a reprieve from the HORRIBLE inversion smog in the SLC valley. Breathing clean mountain air that doesn’t taste like garbage was a treat!

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Tons of outdoor goodies to check out: energy bars, base layers, outerwear, stoves, trekking poles, snowshoes, beacons, packs, insoles, snowboards, skis, boots and so much more.

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Icy firm conditions on the slopes made for interesting gear testing grounds.

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Lots of Tele action going down with some hot new gear at OR this year.
Lots of Tele action going down with some hot new gear at OR this year.
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Hot new skis from Moment, the Death Wish. I rode the 184 long 112 under foot version and found them to be very stiff, twitchy, have a centered stance for big mtn freestyle and have a long fast carve arc. You won’t mistake these skis for anything else with their distinctive nose and tail shape and killer graphics, pun intended;)
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I got to ride two sets of DPS Skis at the demo. The 184 Wailer 112RP was a fun ski, but has a lot of nose and tail chatter on the grooms. The 184 Wailer 99 was snappy, fast and controlled at speed. I’d love to try these skis again in better conditions, as I think they are tons of fun. The company also has a new facility in Ogden, UT and has an all new construction that adds dampness to the skis. I highly recommend also checking out the DPS Nori Pole. It has an awesome grip, is super light & adjusts easily.
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Scott brought out a sweet full line of Demo skis and boots. I got a chance to ride the 183 Powd’Air 100 with its wood/air channel core and carbon topsheet. The ski has a distinctive hi-tech look and loves to carve hard and go fast.
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The Scott Powd’Air skis in action.
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Dean Cummings is a big Mountain skiing god and runs a heli ski operation that I’ve been itching to ride with for many years. He now offers a full line of backcountry skiing products through H2O Outdoor Gear. I got to ride the updated 178 AK Master that was 133 under foot. This is a sick weapon for steep pow, but I have to admit I had a hard time driving them on the icy slopes at Solitude.
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Dean’s adventure van.
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Goode makes really nice american made skis. I got to ride the 186 Sorcerer 106. The ski loves to go fast, be on rail, has lots of dampening and skis a bit longer than you’d expect. High quality carbon goodness with some sweet backcountry ultralight options in their lineup.
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Black Diamond came out swinging at the show this year with tons of new goods. They have an all new factory and use a full sidewall construction on their new skis, instead of the cap construction they use to use. They brought out the sick new backcountry/all around boot above which I think will be really well received by the market. I rode the 188 Carbon Mega Watts and the 180 Verdict. The Mega Watts are light, but I found them to be a bit squirrely. The Verdict was a really great all around ski that handled the groom well.
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Soooo wish I was able to ride this setup! Jeremy Jones shows off the full carbon Jones Snowboards splitboard with new Karakoram binding setup. It doesn’t get much easier and higher performance in the backcountry for a snowboarder than this!
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Easton Technical Products is once again pushing the boundaries with materials and design. The Vo2 racing snowshoe is SUPER light, has a flexible carbon deck and bolts through your favorite trail runner for the ultimate on snow speed setup.
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The PowerPot is an electricity generating pot system that you can use on any camp stove to cook your food and simultaneously charge your gadgets.
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Film yourself automatically with the SoloShot, a tripod based system that allows you to attach your favorite video camera and shoot yourself doing the sports you love. It uses a tracking device that you wear on your arm to follow your motion in front of the camera. Works great for sports like surfing, surf kayaking, kiteboarding or setting up your own panning passing shots for sports like biking or downhill skateboarding. Very well-engineered and sorted camera accessory that allows you to remove that shakey handed significant other from your video production;)
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