Ski Industry News Updates
Norrøna møre octa Zip Hood and møre flex1 Bib-A softshell bib
Blown-In — A semi-regular look at the latest ski industry news bits — is a collection of press releases, new products, and interesting stuff circulating on the interweb that catches our attention.
This week’s edition of Blown-In features fresh outerwear news from Norrøna, PHANTOM Glide for Nordic skis, new backcountry gear from HEAD/Tyrolia, a new AT ski boot from Dynafit and Hoji, a chance to win a $7.5K film project grant plus news of a proposed ski resort in British Columbia
New Outerwear from Norrøna
Norrøna, the family-owned Norwegian outdoor apparel brand known for high-quality outerwear, announced a new line of outerwear for 2024-25 designed with ski touring in mind. The møre collection offers purpose-built apparel for high-output activities like backcountry skiing and freeriding.
Read the full Norrøna møre press release.
HEAD / Tyrolia Crux Tech Binding and Touring Gear
Tyrolia Crux Backcountry Collection
HEAD/Tyrolia, the world’s largest independently-owned ski, boot, and binding manufacturer, introduces the CRUX Collection, a complete ski touring solution that combines lightweight agility with downhill performance. Available in the fall of 2024, CRUX includes four models of skis, two binding options, plus boots, skins, poles and a backcountry pack.
The binding, called the Almonte, looks to mirror classic tech binding design, but it’s hard to garner too much info from the limited images available. According to Tyrolia, the Almonte tech binding is named after the brand’s original touring binding from 1928. It’s available in a DIN 5-12 or 4-10 and weighs in at a lightweight 325 grams.
Read the full press release from HEAD/Tyrolia
Dynafit Announces New Ridge AT Boot
Leading AT boot and binding brand Dynafit has a new ski boot collab with Hoji — The Ridge Pro. To quote Dynafit, it’s a “Speed mountaineer with powder DNA. The lightweight Ridge Pro ski touring boot is the ultimate partner for ambitious ski tours on alpine terrain. If never compromising on the mountain is everything to you, then the Ridge Pro is your boot. It delivers the perfect fusion of speed mountaineering and free touring while offering impressive performance both uphill and downhill – all with maximum performance new premium boot in the ski touring segment.” Lots of jargon in there, but it looks pretty interesting.
There’s a short video about it, and you can get all the details from Dynafit.
Phantom Glide Announces Nordic Formula
Launched by DPS Skis in 2017, PHANTOM Glide is a permanent, one-time base treatment that offers permanent glide for skis and boards. We tested it back in 2020 and did a full review of PHANTOM Glide. This year, PHANTOM has a new variation for Nordic skis. PHANTOM Glide Nordic is specifically formulated to deliver permanent glide for the human-powered needs of Nordic skiers. In the words of DPS, it “optimizes the coefficient of gliding at lower speeds than our standard formula.” It’s also environmentally friendly, but don’t use it on your backcountry skis. Apparently, skins won’t stick to bases treated with the new Norcic formula. Intrigued?
Get the beta at PHANTOM Glide Nordic.
New Ski Resort Plans for BC
The Spuzzum First Nation in BC’s Fraser Canyon has released plans for an all-season destination resort near the Coquihalla summit — about 130 miles / 215 km east of Vancouver in southwestern BC. The ambitious plan includes a ski resort, golf course, and extensive real estate development on the scale of Sun Peaks, Big White, or Silver Star. Read the full story
Backcountry Film Grant
Always dreamed of creating a backcountry ski movie or documenting a human-powered winter adventure? Winter Wildlands Alliance and Sierra Nevada Brewing present the Backcountry Film Festival Human-Powered Film Grant, which provides $7,500 in financial support for films related to human-powered winter adventure!
Grant-winning films premiere at the Backcountry Film Festival every October and nationally tour to 100+ locations across the country and world.
Submissions are due by April 1, 2024.
