EVENT: '13 SIA Snow Show Wrap Up & Trends

I’ve shown you the hot products from the SIA Snow Show Floor and the hot skis for 2014 from the on snow demo. It’s now time to wrap things up with all the other cool happenings from the show and a few trends that I spotted along the way.

Clinics/Seminars/Panel Discussions:

There where so many great talks and presentations at SIA, many of which went unnoticed as most attendees were busy doing the buying/selling and schmoozing around the show floor. The wealth of information under the SIA Snow Show roof is quite amazing. If you attend be sure to chisel out a little spare time and check out some of these learning opportunities.

Bamboo is an amazing material and is used in a ton of outdoor recreation products these days. Its strong, renuable and looks amazing. After this seminar I have an all new appreciation for what goes into making a product using bamboo. A huge thanks to Daniel Smith from plyboo for the presentation.

The Scream Agency put on a fun interactive presentation on what gorilla marketing really is, how to come up with great ideas and best practices to implement those ideas. They for sure “went bananas” at the show:) Check out their little video HERE.

The top-notch panel (Ski Magazine, On The Snow & Gear Junkie) for the “Working With Bloggers” discussion. Thanks to Turner PR for putting it together.

Interactive Booths:

Booths that allow you to try their products are always the most fun. The Sky Tech Sport ski/snowboard simulator is a quite advanced training tool, as well as an amazing entertainment piece. I had a go and quickly wore myself out. Great workout!

Art:

This has got to be the year of the artist in the snow industry! Graphics and image have always been a big part of outdoor sports, and especially board sports, but this year a lot of companies really stepped up with some pretty stunning designs.

Its hard to mount bindings on one of these Jeff Soto boards from DC when you know its going to cover up the graphics!

Sculpture turned into art through photography and digital processing and then integrated into skis. Icelantic‘s full ski line for 2014 are fine works of art.

Burton knows how to bring old school style to the masses. “Push It Real Good!”

The Arbor Relapse board is a sexy thing. From F$%k me eyes to the O face all in amazing cropped beautiful images. I’d hang that on my wall!

The POV Camera Invasion:

The video camera is being integrated into all we do in sports. The consumer has LOTS of options now as to which POV camera to buy or which piece of gear to have the camera integrated into. From goggles to helmets to accessories for back packs the video camera is being built into everything these days. Grab a camera, shred the gnar gnar, get the shot and share it with the world online!

VU Vantage allows you to get that great over the shoulder shot with ease.

The JVC Adixxion POV camera is packed with features. I really like the fully waterproof design, no need for a bulky housing, the in camera LCD and the standard tripod mount on the bottom making the mounting options extremely versatile.

ION offers a full POV camera lineup. If you can’t find something that will fit your needs here you probably need to start your own camera company.

Sony has always been a leader in consumer electronics and video production equipment. The new Handycam case for their Action Cam is a very cool little assec. that allows you to turn your POV camera into a small handheld video camera.

Liquid Image makes a great tiny POV camera as well as snow, moto & dive goggles with integrated cameras. The tiny ego camera pictured is full HD and WiFi enabled with a cool app to go along with it.

Epic offers an action cam designed to take a beating. The new remote version is pretty slick.

Heads Up Display Goggles:

Zeal started it a few years back and now the Recon Instruments heads up display can be found in Oakley, Smith and a few other goggles as well. The system is pretty awesome and has evolved into a very sophisticated data tracking and display system. The new Mod Live GPS System even allows you to track your friends on the hill that also have the goggles. Check one of these out when you get the chance. I’m itching to get a pair on the slopes!

Visored Helmets:

There where a large number of companies offering visored helmets at the show. Some where quite cheap and others where crazy high-end utilizing carbon fiber or bamboo. In the end a really good idea, just not sure it’s going to catch on in the states.

Bogner makes SUPER high-end fashion clothing and gear for the resort lifestyle. The Bamboo and carbon helmets are high quality and super comfortable.

OSBE offers a full range that include this top of the line full carbon model. the accent pieces can be changed for different colors or materials. Serious helmet!

SIA Show: 10 Hot New Products

SIA Demo: Hot 2014 Skis

I hope you enjoyed the 2013 SIA Snow Show coverage on EE. Please check out the other awesome articles on the site and let me know your feedback on all of the above. I’m always looking to improve the content.

(Sorry for the poor image quality in this article. All shots are from my iPhone 4 as the SD card in my D600 failed on this shoot.)