Brocka_Flocka
Active member
Fun Fact Tatum is now on TNF.
Whats going on with Orage?
- Thread starter vinnypaz
- Start date
SBCSkier
Member
VT_scratch
Active member
13603356:Pachankz said:
dude she effin rips. You could have watched any edit of hers from the last two years and found that out yourself. Probably the best female skier out right now?
13599367:Banane. said:
So what happened is the original owners bought back the company because they didn't like the direction Orage was going. Too much in every single direction of skiing (park, big mountain, life style, resort.) They're trying to focus in and get back to their roots I guess.
13603386:bmlong08 said:
Other piece of information: Orage was actually originally founded as a brand much more focused on BC riding and performance outerwear. It was a few years down the line they moved into the Newschool scene and sponsored Rex Thomas.
I heard about them first working at Mountain Equipment Co-Op in another life back in 2000.
heres my quick 10 cents worth.
Bdog and harlaut are two of the most dynamic, stylish and interesting skiers to watch in the world, their style is one of a kind.
I dont know much about orage as a company myself but just by looking at their new gear for this year you can see that it has taken a serious turn to the arc'teryx, patagonia, mountain hardware, just backcountry gear in general side of things rather than the whole park rat scene.
even though bdog is one of the most recognized people in the skiing world, when youd first ask someone who hes sponsored by the most well known and probably most prominent answer would be armada, his bdog skis are unreal. so looking at it from a perspective of a ceo that needs to keep his job and make money for his company, bdog may have not been worth it, he may have not been what they wanted him to be within the company.
secondly, they seem to have turned to the all mountain side of skiing as opposed to the park side of things. the all mountain side is un disputably an exponentially bigger market, exponentially bigger. thats not to say that park skiing isnt a big market, but its to say that when i go to my local hill with my fellow park skiing/snowboarding friends the ratio of saga to northface/helly hansen/saloman/head is not a very strong one. park skiing is the bread and butter to companies like saga and others like them but to north face, park skiing is not a very big income earner. i dont know if this is what orage is trying to do but its a possibility.
Bdog and harlaut are two of the most dynamic, stylish and interesting skiers to watch in the world, their style is one of a kind.
I dont know much about orage as a company myself but just by looking at their new gear for this year you can see that it has taken a serious turn to the arc'teryx, patagonia, mountain hardware, just backcountry gear in general side of things rather than the whole park rat scene.
even though bdog is one of the most recognized people in the skiing world, when youd first ask someone who hes sponsored by the most well known and probably most prominent answer would be armada, his bdog skis are unreal. so looking at it from a perspective of a ceo that needs to keep his job and make money for his company, bdog may have not been worth it, he may have not been what they wanted him to be within the company.
secondly, they seem to have turned to the all mountain side of skiing as opposed to the park side of things. the all mountain side is un disputably an exponentially bigger market, exponentially bigger. thats not to say that park skiing isnt a big market, but its to say that when i go to my local hill with my fellow park skiing/snowboarding friends the ratio of saga to northface/helly hansen/saloman/head is not a very strong one. park skiing is the bread and butter to companies like saga and others like them but to north face, park skiing is not a very big income earner. i dont know if this is what orage is trying to do but its a possibility.
LAME.
Active member
13601432:BenWhit said:
It's funny you ask this. For myself and I hope more and more people are actually becoming more mindful about where they get their goods.
As far as ski gear is concerned, I don't want to buy the Rubbermaid CEOs another vacation house, I would rather support brands the are going to put the money back into this community that is so dear to me.
Also to answer your question I have yet to support any major corporation with my business this year.
dropinoutofschol
Member
13603395:Mr.Bishop said:
I might be wrong but haven't they always been an east coast company? I've always had that vibe from them and with their base in Montreal that was what always fit for me.
I think it's pretty hard to make jackets for the west coast of it only originates with skiing out east.
deet
Member
Not sure how up to date Casabon's website is but there is no mention of Orage anymore and only a brand called CL-95 outerwear...
http://philcasabon.com/bio/
http://philcasabon.com/bio/
Brocka_Flocka
Active member
Well C-LO is gone...
Tumbili
New member
The latest from the horse's mouth:http://orage.com/blog/for-immediate-release/
McLS
Active member
well shit didnt know about that 
i agree orage was never super new school oriented but they did make some awesome tall hoodies and jackets thanks to skiers like Phil and Will, my fav jacket is the 14 bdog still rock it and you dont get much comfier and taller hoodies than "the box" meh sucks imo cant wait to see where phil goes, probs armada right? well maybe itll be good for armada outerwear which absolutely sucks this year
i agree orage was never super new school oriented but they did make some awesome tall hoodies and jackets thanks to skiers like Phil and Will, my fav jacket is the 14 bdog still rock it and you dont get much comfier and taller hoodies than "the box" meh sucks imo cant wait to see where phil goes, probs armada right? well maybe itll be good for armada outerwear which absolutely sucks this year
saskskier
Active member
13604115:SkiLefley said:
Okay. Armada. I wasn't really trying to make a comprehensive list, but rather trying to make the point that the companies that people commonly quote as being 'core' have interests outside of skiing.
Really, I just don't like the idea of thinking 'core' companies are better or more committed to skiing than big companies. We need both in order for the sport to grow.
StokeFactor
Member
That's just pure marketing and business right here, we'll have to wait a bit to see if it was a good move or not.
Still the idea that they're gonna sell the Bdog pro model and make tons of money with it while Phil isn't even on the team anymore just sounds weak to me. And considering half of the BE Inspired movie is already filmed, Orage will still have their products seen in a lot of the shots, but that's just details.
Still the idea that they're gonna sell the Bdog pro model and make tons of money with it while Phil isn't even on the team anymore just sounds weak to me. And considering half of the BE Inspired movie is already filmed, Orage will still have their products seen in a lot of the shots, but that's just details.
13604204:eheath said:
Well, you are talking to a group of people that will suck the dick of a new brand by virtue of how cool their team is, before their is any proof of a good product.
How many shit ski manufacturers has NS jerked off that are no longer around?
LethalDescent
Member
I remember when HH did a similar rebrand 5 or so years ago. They literally dropped their ENTIRE team and decided to market only to "mountain professionals" (read: vail resorts, interwest, aspen mtn etc...). Seems crazy, but they are doing just fine...
When it comes down to it, supporting skiing (where support = money, as in this case) is a function of business. In the end, a company does what it does to make money. That's how companies work.
However, it's the PEOPLE within those companies that support skiing and skiing culture. Mike Nick was obviously the heart of Orage freeskiing. Why do you think Armada has such a stacked team? They have a super "core" group of employees.
The mid price point freeskiing market they were in is a super tough market. It's saturated with ten thousand companies and the bulk of their customers likely have never even hear of Will Wesson. They market to the core (the only ones who consume ski marketing) but their customer base isn't core -- they are casual skiers with high incomes.
It's a shame to see money getting pulled from guys like Casabon, true innovators. But I have a hard time being upset about this. It's just the ebb and flow.
When it comes down to it, supporting skiing (where support = money, as in this case) is a function of business. In the end, a company does what it does to make money. That's how companies work.
However, it's the PEOPLE within those companies that support skiing and skiing culture. Mike Nick was obviously the heart of Orage freeskiing. Why do you think Armada has such a stacked team? They have a super "core" group of employees.
The mid price point freeskiing market they were in is a super tough market. It's saturated with ten thousand companies and the bulk of their customers likely have never even hear of Will Wesson. They market to the core (the only ones who consume ski marketing) but their customer base isn't core -- they are casual skiers with high incomes.
It's a shame to see money getting pulled from guys like Casabon, true innovators. But I have a hard time being upset about this. It's just the ebb and flow.
hemlockjibber8
Active member
13604204:eheath said:
Maybe they truly believe the riders influence the product. It's not that orage has a nice jacket but their team sucks so they decide not to support them. It's that orage drops bdog, whose style they adore, and they don't think the company will produce any dope looking stuff anymore.a lot of the complaints do seem to be that their new stuff looks like arcteryx.
Park_Ranger
Active member
I can't believe that they dropped Phil Casabon... PHIL FUCKING CASABON... yet Brooke Potter is still listed on their team page. Sad to know that looking good in lifestyle shots is more important to this brand than supporting true talent.
13604261:SDrvper said:
Well in the case of a brand like Orage, like I stated. they are looking for a demographic with actual money to spend on their product line. Not a few kids looking for a hideous puffy, and a hoodie.
For a newer brand, i think it's best to dial your product and brand before you try and build a team that would make kids with no income salivate.Atthe end of the day your product speaks louder than some dude on a permanent vacation with a sponsorship.
Caucasian_Asian
Active member
13603395:Mr.Bishop said:
Back around that time Jeff Thomas(Theory3/Poor Boyz/Salomon) made up a bunch of "mixtape" CDs for marketing swag. I had the green one, but IIRC the blue was better. Oh and their BC rep(Sue?) was smoking hot.
I still have my 2000 Orage fleece. I only wear it on the coldest of days.
BobbyColosseum
Member
turning orange bro
closeyetfar11
Member
Gee, another company riding whatever wave is currently trendy & profitable in skiing.
Don't get me wrong; I understand the underlying concept of a company is to make money. That being said I will not support this new move, for reasons I think everyone has touched on above.
Vote with your pocketbook.
Don't get me wrong; I understand the underlying concept of a company is to make money. That being said I will not support this new move, for reasons I think everyone has touched on above.
Vote with your pocketbook.
StokeFactor
Member
13604204:eheath said:
You're a filmmaker working with pros most of the time and you're an adult. Now put yourself at the place of a kid or teenager who recently started freeskiing and that is trying to identify himself in this newly found passion. Of course you're gonna choose your outerwear to ressemble the best athletes in the sport. Style and design that you like will also be defined mostly by what these pros are wearing.
Tbh the only thing that stopped me from buying a bdog jacket when I was 15 was the price lol.
Kevski
Active member
Why target the kids that have to ask their parents for gear when you could target the parents themselves? More people can relate to and dream about pow and mountains, even if they're not shredding big lines themselves.
Other than teenagers and early 20s (without a whole lot of their own money to spend), how many people are really going to get excited about seeing baggy gear on a park rat unless they actually already follow the sport?
Not hard to understand the marketing logic, just kind of sucks for those involved in the switch.
Other than teenagers and early 20s (without a whole lot of their own money to spend), how many people are really going to get excited about seeing baggy gear on a park rat unless they actually already follow the sport?
Not hard to understand the marketing logic, just kind of sucks for those involved in the switch.
shishkababy
Member
Other people have already touched on this point but it's understandable coming from a business point of view. This is a stereotype that definitely doesn't apply to everyone, but most park skiers are gonna be younger guys who don't have as high an income as older BC skiers/aren't as willing to drop cash on the expensive ass stuff Orage makes.
Another thing to point out is that Orage has almost always been more backcountry oriented. Back in like '06-'07 when I first bought Orage gear, their team was way more BC than park focused.
That being said though, the shitty thing is that even if you're trying to run a profitable business, you should still keep it personal and treat your whole team with respect. It sounds like Orage kind of blindsided the people they dropped. I don't know the whole story though so I don't want to pass too much judgement but it doesn't seem cool from a personal point of view.
Another thing to point out is that Orage has almost always been more backcountry oriented. Back in like '06-'07 when I first bought Orage gear, their team was way more BC than park focused.
That being said though, the shitty thing is that even if you're trying to run a profitable business, you should still keep it personal and treat your whole team with respect. It sounds like Orage kind of blindsided the people they dropped. I don't know the whole story though so I don't want to pass too much judgement but it doesn't seem cool from a personal point of view.
AlexMartini
Active member
"Elyse, Rory and Callum will be joining Orage veterans Banks Gilberti and Andrew Whiteford to form one of our most diverse and exciting teams ever."
oozing with diversity
oozing with diversity