At the end of January every year, manufacturers of winter sports products from all around the world descend upon the Colorado Convention Center in Denver to show off their new ski and snowboard equipment that will be released next season.
So whether you love to hunt for deep powder stashes in the resort, or prefer perfectly groomed snow, or you like to earn your turns by touring in the Backcountry, the Outdoor Retailer trade show is a chance to pull the curtain back and see the future.
The Outdoor Retailer show has hundreds of brands displaying their wares, ranging from the largest ski manufacturers in the world, to the tiniest new outerwear companies you’ll find. It’s an overwhelming amount of new gear, so our team of reviewers from BLISTER have boiled things down to the top 10 most intriguing new products that every person who likes to ski or ride ought to know about.
One important thing to note about these products is that many of them represent emerging trends in the outdoor industry. So while many of these products and trends are new, we’ve included some links to currently available products that you can find on the market right now.
K2 Mindbender 108Ti
The fastest-growing segment of the ski and snowboard industry is backcountry-touring equipment—i.e., gear designed to allow you to walk (or “skin”) up mountains under your own power (rather than riding chairlifts), then ski down ungroomed, unpatrolled slopes.
And given the interest in lightweight, backcountry equipment, we’ve seen a lot of manufacturers start to also lighten up their inbounds skis, boots, bindings, and snowboards—even though this gear won’t be used for hiking or “skinning” uphill in the backcountry.
But while lightweight gear is potentially less fatiguing and easier to carry from your car or the bus stop to the chairlift, the fact is that heavier skis, boots, and bindings can offer superior downhill performance in terms of smoothing out rough, firm snow, and providing better durability and sometimes more safety features.
Thankfully, we are starting to see some companies make their skis and boards heavier than they could make them, out of a recognition that “lightweight” is not always better. We understand the rationale for high-performance, lightweight touring equipment, but we feel strongly that skis, boots, bindings, and boards that will be used in ski areas (by people riding chairlifts) should not be designed to shave off as much weight as possible. In too many cases, it’s an unnecessary and detrimental compromise.
The K2 Mindbender 108Ti is a great example of this counter trend. K2 could have made this ski lighter, but they didn’t. And this particular ski works very well in 1-2 feet of fresh powder, while not feeling like some light, floppy, noodle when all that fresh pow at the resort gets tracked out and becomes more challenging to ski.
Black Diamond Jetforce Avalanche Airbag Line
Whether you are skiing or snowboarding in backcountry areas or you are on inbounds slopes that have been controlled by professional ski patrollers, whenever we are in snowy mountains, avalanches are always a risk.
In recent years, “airbag” packs have been introduced that, in the event that you are caught in an avalanche, you pull a ripcord-style handle on the pack, and an airbag inflates that is designed to help keep you on top of the avalanche slide instead of being buried beneath it, which can significantly increase your chances of survival.
Black Diamond is launching one of the most diverse avalanche airbag lineups next year. Their Jetforce Pro pack inflates via a battery-operated fan, and automatically deflates after 3 minutes to potentially create an air pocket in the event of a burial. Plus, the new Jetforce Pro is even lighter than previous versions.
To complement the Jetforce Pro, Black Diamond has just released the new Jetforce Tour, which uses a supercapacitor instead of a fan. The supercapacitor (made by Alpride) is much lighter than traditional battery-operated fans, and can be charged with standard AA batteries.
Finally, Black Diamond is offering the extremely light JetForce UL, which uses a traditional compressed-air canister system and comes in at an astonishingly low weight of around one kilogram.
The North Face Futurelight Fabric
For many people, the word “Gore-Tex” is still the only name they trust when it comes to weather protection. But there are a growing number of waterproof/breathable fabrics that not only compete with Gore-Tex, but even surpass it in certain categories (like breathability), while still offering comparable protection.
And The North Face has just introduced a new one.
With their new “Futurelight Fabric,” The North Face is aiming to one-up Gore-Tex, eVent, and basically every other waterproof fabric out there. The North Face claims that Futurelight is just as waterproof as Gore-Tex, but with far superior breathability. Because while waterproof fabrics can be great, they can also be awful if they don’t breathe well and you end up drenched in sweat on the inside of the jacket, causing you to freeze.
So if this Futurelight Fabric lives up to the claims that The North Face is making about it, then it will be one of (if not the most) high-performing waterproof/breathable fabrics on the market.
Moment Wildcat Tour
Trend Alert: More Playful Backcountry Touring Skis
As backcountry skiing continues to gain popularity, it’s not only serious mountaineers and those looking to charge down steep, technical peaks who are heading out of bounds. Instead, we’re seeing more people head into the backcountry to ski mellower lines, find some fresh snow, and maybe play around a bit on the way down. Whether they are catering to an already-existing market or whether they are pushing the expansion of this market, more companies are now offering lightweight touring skis that have a much more playful disposition.
The French brand Black Crows (which happens to be one of the hottest brands in skiing) is releasing their Ferox Freebird; Reno-Nevada-based Moment Skis is offering their Wildcat Tour 108 and Wildcat Tour; and LINE Skis is introducing their new Vision 98 and Vision 108. All of these skis aim to let you venture deep into the backcountry with ease, and then help you have the most fun on the way down, even if you’re more interested in playing around in the mountains rather than charging down them.
Dalbello Lupo Air
Whether or not the explosion of interest in backcountry touring is a good thing or a bad thing is open to debate. But the indisputable fact is that companies have been scrambling to introduce more new backcountry products that are lighter than ever before, while attempting to offer better downhill performance than ever before, too.
One example of this is the new Dalbello Lupo Air, a ~1300 gram ski-touring boot (that’s crazy light) with a stated flex of “130” (that’s quite stiff). New and lighter ski-touring bindings were introduced by Fritschi (the more minimalist Xenic 10) and Marker (the carboned-up V-Werks Kingpin that comes with titanium screws). And traditional backcountry brands like Dynafit are making burlier, more downhill-oriented products like the Hoji Free boot that are still light but let you ski hard.
Blizzard Brahma 82
The Blizzard Brahma is an exceptional ski, and in my opinion, is one of the best skis being made today in any category. But the 88-mm-wide Brahma is currently the narrowest ski in Blizzard’s “All Mountain Freeride” lineup, and next year, they’re adding a narrower, 82mm-underfoot version of the ski that ought to grip a bit better on very firm groomers, and (potentially) ought to feel even quicker in moguls. And just to be clear, there are a lot of ~80mm-wide skis that are NOT good mogul skis, often because they have very wide tips and tails that are advantageous when carving hard on groomers, but are liabilities in moguls. The 88mm-wide Brahma and new 82mm-wide Brahma both have shapes that work very well in moguls, but this new narrower Brahma holds out the possibility for improved carving performance, too.
Line Outline
A few years ago, DPS introduced the “Spoon” —an extremely wide pow ski that had bevelled edges at the tips and tails to make the ski feel loose, maneuverable, and “surfy” in deep snow. Then Atomic came out with their own take on the bevelled tips and tails, and so did Armada. But next year, Line is releasing two skis with truly convex tips and tails—not just bevelled edges, but a fully rounded tip and tail. Designed by pro-skier, Eric Pollard, the new Line Outline and Sir Francis Bacon are designed to let you effortlessly play around in powder, and not get bogged down when the snow gets deep.
Nordica Promachine 115 W
We know a lot of women who are very good skiers, and for far too long, women who ski hard have had very few options when it comes to ski boots that are as strong as they are. So we are extremely excited to see more boot manufacturers coming out with stiffer, more supportive women’s boots, such as the Nordica Pro Machine 115 W, Salomon S/Max W 120, and Atomic Hawx Ultra 115 W. Women’s boots that come in smaller sizes and that have flex patterns that are stiffer than “110” have been in demand for some time, and it is great to see brand’s recognizing this.
Patagonia Snowdrifter Kit (Men’s & Women’s)
Typically, waterproof shells have been crinkly, noisy, and generally, just not that comfortable. But Patagonia’s new Snowdrifter kit is changing that. The Snowdrifter’s proprietary fabric is fully waterproof while still being extremely soft, supple, and quite. Combine that with the Snowdrifter’s generous but still-sharp-looking fit, and the Snowdrifter looks a really appealing option for skiers and snowboarders looking to stay dry in comfort.
Smith I/O Mag Goggle Lineup
Just a few years ago, the brand Anon (owned by Burton) introduced goggles with lenses that attached to the frame via magnets. And if you wagered that this was just some passing fad or gimmick, well, you would have lost money. Because goggles with integrated magnets are now being made by most goggle manufacturers. Now Smith, Giro, Sweet Protection, and even some budget brands like Glade and Zipline are offering goggles with magnetic lens-swap systems that make changing lenses easier than ever. Smith is even launching the 4D Mag, a magnetic goggle with a lens that extends below the frame to increase your field of view.
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