SIA 2010 in Denver

Submitted by biglines on Fri, 2010-01-29 13:15

Skiing and snowboarding has once again been mushed together in a massive convention centre, this time in Denver, to showcase next year's wares. Practically every company small or large is present at the show and we've had a great time checking out next year's gear and socializing with other snow people.

The snowroom is huge and it's really easy to get lost, but everywhere you turn there is a friendly company representative waiting to tell you about their new products. This includes companies like McDavid who sell very low-profile body armour, and VitaminWater, because skiers and snowboarders need to stay hydrated. There is even a company whose booth features earmuffs and only earmuffs.

We ran into Julian Carr at Discrete Headwear and he showed us his collection, including this sweet array of "hoser hats," their second-best selling style after the traditional long beanie. We like. And he even hooked us up with some free hats, check out his site at http://www.discreteheadwear.com/

Today we had the chance to get a run through of next years The North Face lineup and the collection was great, here's just a small tidbit of their offerings for next winter:

The women's Interlude Print Jacket:

The Men's Bizzo Jacket:

Amy at The North Face was kind enough to show us all of the Cryptic outerwear line, which is TNF's freeride selection, as well as some of the Summit Series aimed at the Mountaineering crowd. One of the highlights was a TNF guide vest, available only through their guide program, that Ian McIntosh wears when he's skiing around at Whistler Blackcomb. Check back soon for a seperate article dedicated to more of The North Face gear.

Scarpa has some new downhill/touring skis that come with stiffer flex, including the Mobe boot, with 125 flex, a touring sole, that is compatible with Marker Duke, Fritschi, and Dynafit bindings. They retail for around $700USD but can't be used with alpine bindings.

The Skookum is a 120 flex touring boot retailing for approx. $630USD. It features a 35〬 back flex, and comes in a women's version with a 110 flex rating called the Shocka. Stay posted for more information on Scarpa coming up in our Gear section.

Josh at Bern helmets was excited to show us the new carbon fibre Watts helmet used by Jeremy Jones:

Lindsay at Dakine showed us everything from Dakine's soft goods to their luggage line, but we were especially interested in their packs designed for Leanne Pelosi, Mark Abma, Tanner Hall, JP walker, Wolle Nyvelt, and Austin Smith , seen here:

At Oakley we got to check out some of Sean White's new signature frames, as well as these JP Auclair pro model Crowbar goggles with 180 degrees of peripheral vision:

The new Atomic graphics are pretty sweet, including the Bent, Chris Bentchetler's pro model (far left in photo) with graphics he designed himself. The Atomic Blog, and Access (which is their most affordable ski on the right) are also pictured:

We also stopped by the Giro booth where Bob showed us their newest model, the Chapter helmet, which has a very discreet ventilation system that also prevents goggle fog issues and comes in a variety of sweet colors, like this one:

We didn't think it was possible for something as small as a glove to come in so many varieties, but the Kombi booth proved us wrong. Note the black patent-leather Jessica Cummings pro model glove 5 from the left on the top row:

One of our most entertaining stops was at the BCA (Backcountry Access) booth where they gave us a demo of their newly-developed airbag pack, the BCA Float 30. If you get caught in an avalanche, you can deploy the pack and it will hopefully guide you to the top of the avalanche like a brazil nut in a shaken bowl of nuts at a christmas party in Golden. Movie to come in our Gear Section.

Their new Tracker 2 transceiver is also blazing fast and we got to test it out:

They've also got some shovels that come with an avalanche probe inside the handle, or a snow saw inside the handle. They're surprisingly lightweight. Clever: