I don't know if any of you saw this but its quite interesting...
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/travel/escapes/22ski.html?8dpc
O.K., raise your hand if you have used your skis to fly off a jump backward this winter.
Or, have you taken a jump and landed backward on your skis? (Accidentally doesn’t count.)
Some of you, with pristine knee cartilage and bodies that bounce
instead of thud on impact, raised your hands. Most of you did not.
Now, there is an active, expanding group of new school/free skiing
youngsters who are charging into the parks and pipes and flying off
hits in all directions. It is probably the fastest-growing segment of
the snow-sliding population. But over all, those soaring through the
air backward still make up a minority of skiers.
How then, do we explain the most significant equipment trend in the
snow-sports industry this season — the exploding sales of twin-tip
skis? Twin-tips are skis rounded and curved up at the tail the same as
the front of a traditional ski. They were introduced more than 10 years
ago to make it easier to go off jumps backward and to land backward.
The answer to their sudden popularity is as old-fashioned as it is
modern: Twin-tips are new, cool and make people feel young. So
middle-age men and women are buying them, and not just for their sons
and daughters.
First, the facts from specialty ski and snowboard stores and
Internet sales throughout the country: In what the ski industry calls
adult flat-ski sales, which means skis sold without bindings, twin-tips
have vaulted into the best-selling category this season. Nationally,
46,429 twin-tip skis were sold from last August to December, according
to SnowSports Industries America, compared with 27,924 in the same
period the year before.
Twin-tips are outpacing mid-fat skis — wider planks and more suited
to powder — and carving skis, which are more popular in the Northeast,
where many ski on groomed or harder surfaces.
Among skis that have integrated bindings, mid-fat skis still reign,
but the twin-tip phenomenon has gotten everybody’s attention.
“It’s been building for years, but twin-tip sales are almost even
with non-twin-tip sales in our place,” said Tom Rossi, who manages the
Ski Barn in Paramus, N.J. “Ten years ago, I was offering maybe two
twin-tip ski models. I now offer 15, including four for women.”
Kelly Davis, research director for SnowSports Industries, a
nonprofit trade group, said twin-tip sales nationally have increased by
32 percent in specialty stores and by 167 percent in online sales over
last season.
The only kind of ski that has been more popular is the junior ski.
People like to say that snowboarding is capturing the youth market, and
Madison Avenue has certainly bought into that notion. The fact is that
ski sales have outnumbered snowboard sales by nearly 70,000 units this
season, according to SnowSports Industries, and there have been nearly
89,000 junior skis sold. Almost 21 percent of all skiers are under 17
years old.
Many of those youngsters will no doubt migrate to twin-tip skis as they get older. The key question is, why?
“I get requests for twin-tips from 15-year-olds to 50-year-olds,”
said Matt Carroll, general manager at the venerable Double Diamond ski
shop in Vail,
Colo. “We know what the 15-year-old wants them for, and for the people
in their 50s or 60s, I think it’s a ski that looks a little more
youthful and it is a little more forgiving. If you’re not quite as good
a skier, you can sit back a bit because it won’t shoot you into the
next turn.
“A lot of people really like the feel.”
Mr. Carroll added that because the twin-tip ski has less edge in
contact with the snow it also skis like a shorter ski, something most
people should be moving toward anyway since modern, more maneuverable
skis have made older long boards obsolete.
But most agree that what is probably driving the trend is the appeal of a stylish and dynamic-looking ski.
“The graphics on the ski are more fun and aggressive,” Mr. Rossi said. “It looks more like a snowboard, really.”
Ms. Davis called twin-tips, “the ski to have right now.”
“Why would someone who is never going to ski or jump backward buy a
twin-tip ski?” she asked. “Why do people buy dual-suspension mountain bikes to ride around the neighborhood? It’s the thing to have.”
ALMOST everyone interviewed said the twin-tips were versatile skis
for varied terrain and with the many models now available — virtually
every major manufacturer offers them, as do boutique ski makers — there
are twin-tip skis for every ability level. Mr. Rossi said his twin-tip
flat skis sell for $250 to $670, with bindings about $200 additional.
Separate from the popularity of twin-tip skis, though maybe not
totally separate, is another revealing trend in the country’s ski
shops. For only the second time, according to SnowSports Industries,
more money has been spent this season on snow-sports apparel than on
equipment.
Guess what’s driving that phenomenon? Slope chic is in, even if you never get to the mountains.
“What that indicates is that these sports really are a lifestyle as
much as a sport,” Ms. Davis said. “A lot of people are dressing up like
skiers or snowboarders even if they aren’t actually going to the
slopes.”
Apparel is defined as parkas, jackets, fleeces, sweaters, base
layers and winter boots. Personally, I think this fashion development
might be related to the sales of the omnipresent Ugg and Moon boots,
but that’s a nonscientific observation. Whatever the cause, snow-sports
apparel sales have totaled $791 million so far this winter, while $541
million has been spent on equipment.
In general, so far, it hasn’t been a bad year for ski-shop retailers. That certainly hasn’t been true of every recent winter.
There is, of course, a simple explanation for any increase in sales
this season. There have been heavy snowfalls in the West and Rocky
Mountains, as well as in northern New England and parts of New York.
When it snows, people will buy what they need to have fun in the
mountains, even if it’s a ski that nearly looks the same regardless of
the direction you’re headed.
There’s nothing backward about that thinking.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2008/02/22/travel/escapes/22ski.html?8dpc
O.K., raise your hand if you have used your skis to fly off a jump backward this winter.
Or, have you taken a jump and landed backward on your skis? (Accidentally doesn’t count.)
Some of you, with pristine knee cartilage and bodies that bounce
instead of thud on impact, raised your hands. Most of you did not.
Now, there is an active, expanding group of new school/free skiing
youngsters who are charging into the parks and pipes and flying off
hits in all directions. It is probably the fastest-growing segment of
the snow-sliding population. But over all, those soaring through the
air backward still make up a minority of skiers.
How then, do we explain the most significant equipment trend in the
snow-sports industry this season — the exploding sales of twin-tip
skis? Twin-tips are skis rounded and curved up at the tail the same as
the front of a traditional ski. They were introduced more than 10 years
ago to make it easier to go off jumps backward and to land backward.
The answer to their sudden popularity is as old-fashioned as it is
modern: Twin-tips are new, cool and make people feel young. So
middle-age men and women are buying them, and not just for their sons
and daughters.
First, the facts from specialty ski and snowboard stores and
Internet sales throughout the country: In what the ski industry calls
adult flat-ski sales, which means skis sold without bindings, twin-tips
have vaulted into the best-selling category this season. Nationally,
46,429 twin-tip skis were sold from last August to December, according
to SnowSports Industries America, compared with 27,924 in the same
period the year before.
Twin-tips are outpacing mid-fat skis — wider planks and more suited
to powder — and carving skis, which are more popular in the Northeast,
where many ski on groomed or harder surfaces.
Among skis that have integrated bindings, mid-fat skis still reign,
but the twin-tip phenomenon has gotten everybody’s attention.
“It’s been building for years, but twin-tip sales are almost even
with non-twin-tip sales in our place,” said Tom Rossi, who manages the
Ski Barn in Paramus, N.J. “Ten years ago, I was offering maybe two
twin-tip ski models. I now offer 15, including four for women.”
Kelly Davis, research director for SnowSports Industries, a
nonprofit trade group, said twin-tip sales nationally have increased by
32 percent in specialty stores and by 167 percent in online sales over
last season.
The only kind of ski that has been more popular is the junior ski.
People like to say that snowboarding is capturing the youth market, and
Madison Avenue has certainly bought into that notion. The fact is that
ski sales have outnumbered snowboard sales by nearly 70,000 units this
season, according to SnowSports Industries, and there have been nearly
89,000 junior skis sold. Almost 21 percent of all skiers are under 17
years old.
Many of those youngsters will no doubt migrate to twin-tip skis as they get older. The key question is, why?
“I get requests for twin-tips from 15-year-olds to 50-year-olds,”
said Matt Carroll, general manager at the venerable Double Diamond ski
shop in Vail,
Colo. “We know what the 15-year-old wants them for, and for the people
in their 50s or 60s, I think it’s a ski that looks a little more
youthful and it is a little more forgiving. If you’re not quite as good
a skier, you can sit back a bit because it won’t shoot you into the
next turn.
“A lot of people really like the feel.”
Mr. Carroll added that because the twin-tip ski has less edge in
contact with the snow it also skis like a shorter ski, something most
people should be moving toward anyway since modern, more maneuverable
skis have made older long boards obsolete.
But most agree that what is probably driving the trend is the appeal of a stylish and dynamic-looking ski.
“The graphics on the ski are more fun and aggressive,” Mr. Rossi said. “It looks more like a snowboard, really.”
Ms. Davis called twin-tips, “the ski to have right now.”
“Why would someone who is never going to ski or jump backward buy a
twin-tip ski?” she asked. “Why do people buy dual-suspension mountain bikes to ride around the neighborhood? It’s the thing to have.”
ALMOST everyone interviewed said the twin-tips were versatile skis
for varied terrain and with the many models now available — virtually
every major manufacturer offers them, as do boutique ski makers — there
are twin-tip skis for every ability level. Mr. Rossi said his twin-tip
flat skis sell for $250 to $670, with bindings about $200 additional.
Separate from the popularity of twin-tip skis, though maybe not
totally separate, is another revealing trend in the country’s ski
shops. For only the second time, according to SnowSports Industries,
more money has been spent this season on snow-sports apparel than on
equipment.
Guess what’s driving that phenomenon? Slope chic is in, even if you never get to the mountains.
“What that indicates is that these sports really are a lifestyle as
much as a sport,” Ms. Davis said. “A lot of people are dressing up like
skiers or snowboarders even if they aren’t actually going to the
slopes.”
Apparel is defined as parkas, jackets, fleeces, sweaters, base
layers and winter boots. Personally, I think this fashion development
might be related to the sales of the omnipresent Ugg and Moon boots,
but that’s a nonscientific observation. Whatever the cause, snow-sports
apparel sales have totaled $791 million so far this winter, while $541
million has been spent on equipment.
In general, so far, it hasn’t been a bad year for ski-shop retailers. That certainly hasn’t been true of every recent winter.
There is, of course, a simple explanation for any increase in sales
this season. There have been heavy snowfalls in the West and Rocky
Mountains, as well as in northern New England and parts of New York.
When it snows, people will buy what they need to have fun in the
mountains, even if it’s a ski that nearly looks the same regardless of
the direction you’re headed.
There’s nothing backward about that thinking.
