Equipment Update: What We Saw At First International Race Of Season

Equipment Update: What We Saw At First International Race Of Season

Gear News, Newsfeed
For years now Olos/Muonio has had a reputation of being the first true international meet-up of the new competition season. The results may or may not reflect the actual strength of a particular athlete,depending on her/ his strategy. But what is constant, is the fact that we all get to see athletes who changed their gear supplier in the summer to podium walk their new wares for the first time. [caption id="attachment_13666" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Biggest news, of course, is Iivo Niskanen switching from Rossignol to Fischer. It is becoming exceedingly rare in our days to see a skier of his caliber & titles to do the swap. Yet a double Olympic and a world champion has taken that plunge...[/caption] [caption id="attachment_13661" align="alignnone" width="1920"] It would appear that the Austrian skis…
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Review: Best Ski Boots For Skating Right Now, Part I

Review: Best Ski Boots For Skating Right Now, Part I

Gear News, Newsfeed
On definitions: "best" means racing boots, those used by the world's elite skiers to compete & win. In 2019 those are invariably carbon-fiber soled - and, naturally, with carbon cuffs for ankle support. For all SNS fans: sorry, folks - the only athlete we know of still using once-dominant system is Jessie Diggins. Atomic, once a firm " SNS camper", stopped supporting it altogether - Salomon is still holding out but, likely, not for long. Most if not all producers follow a simple maxim: test with top athletes & win the first year of production - sell the next one. In other words, there is often a considerable gap between what you see on TV and what you could actually buy at your friendly local store. We have an issue…
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Natalia Nepryaeva, Part 2: I Live Effing Fantastic Life!

Natalia Nepryaeva, Part 2: I Live Effing Fantastic Life!

Leaders, Newsfeed
...Here's Part 2 of out conversation with Natalia Nepryaeva. "Conversation" is an instrumental word here - it was part interview, part open talk about the skiing world and those who live & compete in it. As most open conversations, it kinda lacked that structural rigidity expected of formal interview, was going back and forth on several subjects. Anyhow, it was fun and here's a gist of it :   [caption id="attachment_11975" align="alignnone" width="1920"] I live effing fantastic life! ( for the Russian language experts among you -  Natalia is using the word "охренненная" in her native tongue - effing is the best translation we could come up with ))) .  I do like the popularity that comes with victories, I do like that growing attention to myself. And it's not…
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Customer Could Have Any Color That He Wants So Long As It Is Black….

Customer Could Have Any Color That He Wants So Long As It Is Black….

Gear News, Newsfeed
OK, perhaps not ONLY black but on the whole Henry Ford's famous adage is applicable: that true work of art and engineering, top ski boots could only be ordered in 1 (one) color palette. Only Fischer goes further and offers a grand total of 2 . Why in this day and age, when top sport shoes companies go out of their way offering ever more design variations, top ski boots with a sticker rapidly approaching all-important 1000 euros mark, continue to be offered without a choice to make ? Something to ponder... Oh, and when it comes to ski making - customization is totally possible this days, most manufacturers offer that - even if it's not very typical to order an individual pair ( but do inquire) https://www.instagram.com/p/BxnC0e2oEIx/
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What Skis Did They Really Use In Seefeld

What Skis Did They Really Use In Seefeld

Gear News, Newsfeed
By now everybody sure knows that the skis they run & won ( or not) on are not the same they are standing at the podium with. Hence the name: "podium skis". [caption id="attachment_10474" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Podium skis - nice & clean & shiny[/caption] The latter ones are always the latest models - the former ones could literally be anything. We haven't seen anybody winning on 10 year old skis but sure saw some Top-30 athletes using those in their races to varied effect. Anyways, we thought it would be fun to take a look at what did they REALLY use in Seefeld - in this case primarily in sprint [caption id="attachment_10463" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Fischer once again won the manufacturers's competition - thanks to such mavericks as Johannes Klaebo, pictured…
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