30Oct 2018 by DS News Team
Kästle Ski Is Getting Into XCSki Game

Kästle Ski Is Getting Into XCSki Game

Gear News, Newsfeed
Here's another proof that the august sport of cross country skiing is experiencing a massive revival: Yet another ski manufacturer is about to come on the market: Austrian Kästle Ski is getting into the game. Kästle is a huge name in downhill skiing , associated with such greats as Pirmin Zurbriggen and Kjetil Andre Aamodt. It used to produce cross country skis too, models RX and CX were quite popular especially with Nordic combined and biathlon folk back in 1970s - but the production of narrow skis has long ceased. And here they are back. "We will be launching three model lines for winter 2019/20. The best line will be World Cup level" says Kästle message to the Daily Skier - without revealing further details as yet. Looks like a…
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29Oct 2018 by DS News Team
Magic Plastic Carpet Instead Of Snow. Take Two

Magic Plastic Carpet Instead Of Snow. Take Two

Gear News, Newsfeed
"There is nothing new except what has been forgotten" as they say. In this case, it would be unfair to call products of Neveplast "forgotten" - on the contrary, the market seems to be booming. The Italian company just supplied over 9000 square meters of its NP30 line to a huge project in Copenhagen. It just has not much to do with cross-country skiing any longer. We are talking plastic skimatting developed to imitate gliding on snow as close as possible. About 10 years ago the craftsmen from the town with romantic name Albano Sant'Alessandro seemed to have found a perfect weapon against unpredictable winters. https://vimeo.com/70098517 NP50 looked convincingly slippery, easy to install, fireproof and ecologically developed... ... and yet nobody bought it. Sadly, after a valiant effort of convincing…
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26Oct 2018 by DS News Team
Fischer. Birth Of Speedmax

Fischer. Birth Of Speedmax

Gear News, Leaders, Newsfeed
Let's start with an obvious: Fischer Sports is company that plays in the league of its own when it comes to cross country skiing. It is clearly the largest ( even if the company refuses to divulge production figures and revenue size) ski manufacturer in the world. In ski racing the Fischer mettle has been proven time and again. At the Olympics -2018 in PyeongChang 14 golden medals were won on Fischer skis - while the rest of the producers' accounted for 6 golds – put together. Fair to say that all – or nearly all – of those medals were won on Speedmax skis, the Fischer's crown effort in the racing department. [caption id="attachment_9215" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] The size of Fischer Sports facilities in Ried is impressive - it's easily…
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22Oct 2018 by DS News Team
Norway Bans Fluoro Wax In Youth Sport. Well, Kind Of

Norway Bans Fluoro Wax In Youth Sport. Well, Kind Of

Gear News, Newsfeed
"This is a choice for everyone who loves the Norwegian cross country skiing. We hope cross-country Norway will respect the fluoride ban, as the ban is based on trust " Those were the words of Torbjørn Skogstad, chairman of the cross-country committee of the Norwegisan Ski Federation. The decision was announced this week. The gist of it: total fluoride ban for competitors up to and including 16 years of age. The battle against the fluoro was protracted - we talked about it on our pages a year ago. Repeat: no mechanism of verification is introduced - it's an honor-based ban. Random checks are possible, but, even if violations are established, no punishment shall be meted out. It is not entirely clear how the checks will be performed, whether random or…
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26Sep 2018 by DS News Team
Retail Giant Decathlon Steps Into Rollerski Business

Retail Giant Decathlon Steps Into Rollerski Business

Gear News, Newsfeed
It finally happened. The rumours were galore in the skiing world for the last year that the French retail giant Decathlon has discovered the great sport of cross country skiing - and wants its slice of the ( growing) pie. Decathlon, with its 1400 stores in 45 countries, is, quite simply, the largest sporting goods retailer in the world in 2018. As many would attest, it sells no-brand products at knock-down prices. Quality? Design? Ain't gonna win coveted ISPO awards, but decent for most time. Welcome first-ever Decathlon rollerskis! The main feature of the new skis is, of course, its price: with 115 euros for classic model and almost unreal 99 euros for skating one, the new brand is surely going to bring new people into skiing. No word as…
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