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Mike Adams, Longtime Executive at Salomon and Atomic, to Step Down

objmigrationbot — Tue, 21 Sep 2021 01:53:16 +0000

After a quarter-century with Amer Sports—more than half of his storied 45-year career in the snowsports industry—Mike Adams will step down at the end of 2021, the company has announced.

Adams, who joined Amer in 1996, will retire from his position as vice president of winter sports equipment for Salomon and general manager for Atomic on December 31. He will serve as senior adviser through June 2022.

“The consummate professional, Mike leaves an undeniable legacy and reputation for Amer Sports, our brands, and himself within the winter sports and outdoor industry,” said Jordan Judd, Salomon North America president and general manager. “Although he will be truly missed, we are excited for Mike and for the next chapter of his life. As he plans for his transition, we are grateful for his leadership in establishing incredible momentum and market strength for both Salomon and Atomic.”

Adams’ career with Amer dates back to July 1996 when he joined Salomon in Georgetown, Massachusetts as senior VP of hardgoods. He went on to hold myriad leadership roles with both Salomon and Atomic. Adams has led the winter sports equipment portfolio for the last decade, boosting sales and market share for the brands in North America.

As senior adviser, Adams will support “both the Atomic and Salomon brands on day-to-day transitional topics as well as some key strategic projects.” Amer said the brands will announce their respective succession plans in the coming weeks.

“This past year I have reached some important milestones in my personal and professional life,” Adams said. “Among the most meaningful has been the celebration of 25 years working for Amer Sports and the Amer brands, Salomon and Atomic. In that time, I have had incredible opportunities and experiences both in North America and abroad. I have worked with iconic brands and most importantly worked with amazing people. In the last two years, we have put Salomon and Atomic on solid footing to continue as the worldwide leaders in winter sports equipment. Now I will be taking the next steps in my journey. I am looking forward to finishing off a strong 2021 performance as well as entering this next phase.”

Amer Sports, a subsidiary of the Chinese giant Anta Sports Ltd., is also the parent company of such outdoor brands as Arc’teryx, Armada, Suunto, and Peak Performance. Amer is based in Helsinki, Finland, with North American headquarters in Ogden, Utah.

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The Push to Make the Ski Industry More Sustainable

objmigrationbot — Sat, 06 Mar 2021 05:03:50 +0000

In 2017, Matt Sterbenz was heading up a company he’d founded, 4FRNT, a successful ski brand known for launching the freeskiing movement. 4FRNT’s skis are crisp, light, and torsionally stiff—and, like pretty much all skis, they’re also made of materials that are horrendous for the environment. The vast majority of the brands constructing the tools that move us across snow use some of the most polluting materials on the planet, such as petroleum-based resins, plastics, and carbon fiber. Sterbenz had to use these, too, because no alternative had yet been created. But a businessman named Charles Dimmler was about to hand him a solution.

Dimmler is the founder of Checkerspot, a company that uses algae to bio-manufacture oils that can be used in polyurethanes and textile coatings. Polyurethane makes up the plastic components in a typical ski, and it’s traditionally made of petroleum-based chemicals, so it has a large environmental footprint: According to one German lifecycle assessment, the production of a single ski emits about 60 pounds of carbon (in comparison, burning one gallon of gasoline emits 20 pounds). Ski manufacturing also typically has a very large water footprint, a long supply chain, and generates huge amounts of waste. The irony is striking: Building skis and other winter hardgoods contributes significantly to the climate change wreaking havoc on our ski seasons.

But Dimmler and Sterbenz were about to make a breakthrough. The company that emerged from their collaboration, WNDR Alpine, uses renewable energy to fashion boards with sustainably harvested aspen wood from Utah and polyurethane made from algae, not petroleum. The brand is also reducing waste in its manufacturing process (in 2020, WNDR diverted 1,200 pounds of trash from the landfill). Its efforts seem to be resonating with consumers: Last year, WNDR sold out of the most popular sizes of its Intention 110 backcountry ski. And in 2021, with backcountry skiing predicted to explode (see p. 33), the company expects the same.

WNDR isn’t the first snowsports brand to innovate with the environment in mind. In Europe, Capita Snowboards’ factory runs on 100 percent green energy, and Grown Skis uses eco-friendlier basalt instead of carbon fiber, sustainably harvested wood, and glues made from pine tree resin. Among U.S. brands, Mervin and Niche lead the way. Niche, founded in 2010, builds its snowboards from sustainably harvested wood cut near its factory in Utah, uses basalt as well, and digitally prints its top sheets using water-based inks. It also partnered with a company called Entropy Resins to create its patented Snappy Sap Bioresin, made of renewable materials from the industrial waste streams of the paper pulp and biofuels industries.

Mervin (parent company of Lib Tech, Gnu, and Roxy) uses the eco-friendliest materials available, produces zero hazardous waste, and runs its operation primarily on wind and hydroelectric power. It also formed an extensive recycling program, as well as a sawdust-to-soil compost program. Together, such innovations have taken these brands to the next level in eco-friendly manufacturing. What will it take for everyone else to catch up?

Too Big—and Small—to Change

Some big ski brands are taking steps to make the hardgoods industry greener. Atomic’s North American Brand Manager Sean Kennedy said, “Atomic uses tons, literally tons, of recycled plastics in our ski boot assortment. We also power all of our ski presses with reclaimed wood [from factory scraps], and the excess heat from this process is then recaptured to heat our entire factory and adjacent facilities.”

Völkl has eliminated hazardous substances from many stages of production. Rossignol uses wood cores from certified sustainable sources in its Black Ops skis, 100 percent recycled steel in its edges, and 30-percent recycled plastic in the bases. And La Sportiva switched from carbon to wood in all of its skis, and is using FSC-certified woods for the 2021 line.

Yet the vast majority of brands use plastics and resins made from toxic petrochemicals. Experts estimate it can take 500 to 1,000 years for these materials to decompose in a landfill. So brands still aren’t addressing one of the industry’s key environmental hazards.

“As an industry with a future dependent on consistent winters, our industry is uniting around climate change and we’re working hard to give every brand opportunities to step up to meaningfully address it,” said Chris Steinkamp, director of advocacy for Snowsports Industries of America’s ClimateUnited initiative.

But “stepping up” isn’t that simple, said WNDR co-founder Xan Marshland: “Economically, our industry is a drop in the bucket compared to larger ones, like aerospace or automotive. There’s not much incentive to innovate beyond what’s already available.” According to NPD, the ski and snowboard industry generates $2.3 billion in annual revenue (compared to, say, the apparel industry’s $368 billion).

And even if suppliers did make changes, “larger brands will require more time to get adequate infrastructure set up to support a new [production] process,” said Marshland. For larger brands, which can produce more than a million pairs of skis every year, obtaining enough green materials also appears to be a challenge. Niche, for example, uses a resin-hardener called Recyclamine that allows skis and snowboards to be fully recycled. “I’m not sure the supply chain is large enough yet for everyone to be able to switch,” said founder Ana Van Pelte.

The Upside of Small

In some ways, greening a company is easier for new brands that are starting from the ground up. Mervin founder Pete Saari said, “Working towards sustainability and nontoxic, recyclable boards has been part of Mervin’s DNA since we began in the early ’80s. We knew we were going to be building every day, so we didn’t want to work with toxic resins or materials for personal safety and health reasons.”

The brand was broke when it started, Saari says. “[But while] scarcity and ‘no money’ sounds bad, when it comes to creating motivation to maximize material usage, it’s a strength.” From the beginning, Mervin was able to “scour the world of materials,” looking for ones that met both the company’s performance and sustainability standards. Today, it’s a profitable business.

And now WNDR has created a line of skis with its AlgalTech technology, using plastics derived from oils secreted by microalgae. These plastics replace conventional materials derived from fossil fuels (carbon fiber, plastic, polyurethane), and create a ski that has a short supply line, high performance, and a lower impact on the environment than traditional skis.

But all of these companies still impact the environment simply by manufacturing something. That’s why Cyrus Schenck, founder of Renoun Skis, believes there is no such thing as a truly green ski (or snowboard). In his view, the best thing skiers can do is ride the skis they already own longer. “The average lifespan of a pair of skis is 100 days, yet the average American skis 2.7 days a year,” he said. Most buy skis far more often than once every 37 years.

Schenck scoffs at the idea of stopping ski production entirely, “but a company can offset skis and shipping by buying carbon credits,” he said. Renoun does what it can to green up its manufacturing, but ultimately, Schenck believes the best way brands can minimize impact is by encouraging skiers to ride their boards longer and participate in takeback programs (which WNDR offers) when they’re done.

Getting It Done

Of course, creating products with dramatically lower environmental impacts and encouraging customers to use them longer aren’t mutually exclusive. And Mervin, Niche, and WNDR believe that it’s possible for other companies—including long-established ones—to make changes to shrink their environmental footprints.

The main excuses from bigger brands? Cost, accessibility, and scalability. Four decades after starting Mervin, Saari said, “Even today we find there is some resistance from the business community on sustainable efforts, with [some] studies by business experts saying that consumer purchasing decisions aren’t significantly impacted by environmental efforts or practices.”

Niche’s Van Pelte added, “I don’t want to name any names, but bigger companies than ours have the money and resources to do more and better than we do, and their failure to act on pushing the technology further is really unfortunate. They should be putting their money where their mouths are and stepping up to the plate, if they truly care about the environment as much as they claim to.”

WNDR, for one, is willing to share its technologies for the greater good. “Six or seven brands throughout the snowboard and ski space” have reached out about partnerships to incorporate AlgalTech into their product lines, said marketing director Pep Fujas. This bodes well for giving greener skis a bigger share of the market.

And though it may take time, Van Pelte believes the environmental methods Niche and others use “are absolutely stuff that anyone could adopt and put into practice. It might be more expensive, but the more people who adopt it, the easier and more affordable it will become.”

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The Voice 50, Part One

objmigrationbot — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 20:00:00 +0000

Full disclosure: gear is a wicked subjective thing. Always has been, always will be. To curate this list, our team of hardcore—and highly opinionated—gearheads pored over hundreds of new product launches, reading the specs and sifting through the marketing promises. We zoomed in on photos and watched embargoed video clips. And we debated. We culled the massive list down once, then made another pass until we had our 50 most coveted products. Then we voted to determine the rankings (we are a democracy, after all). In order of how badly we want to try it, here is Part One of our list of the 50 most exciting product launches for Fall 2019.

1. The North Face FutureLight

THE PROMISE It seeks to solve the waterproof/breathable problem and dethrone Gore-Tex as the gold standard.

THE DEETS An industrial process known as nanospinning sprays polymers through up to 220,000 tiny nozzles to create a waterproof yet highly porous mesh-like membrane. Nanoholes allow air to pass through and moisture vapor to escape, keeping users dry and comfortable, not clammy and cold.

THE STOKE Next-level breathability, waterproofness, and sustainability in the shell category. Bring it on.

2. PrimaLoft Biodegradable Fabric

THE PROMISE It will degrade quicker than any other fabric if you bury it in your backyard.

THE DEETS A shell and now a fabric are infused with a food source that attracts microbes at a faster rate when in a landfill. What’s left after the bacteria breaks down the fibers is simply water, carbon dioxide, methane, and natural organic matter—like compost. But the biodegradable polyester doesn’t compromise durability.

THE STOKE A fuzzy fabric that vanishes instead of clogging up landfills and polluting oceans? Be still our hearts.

3. Ombraz Armless Sunglasses [$160]

THE PROMISE Cordage, baby: that’s the future of sunglasses.

THE DEETS The adjustable polyester cord running between the temples and around the back of your head keeps the glasses snug to your face and ditches the possibility of broken glasses arms and head-squeezing pressure. Plus, acting like built-in eyewear retainers, they’re harder to lose and either hang around your neck when you take them off or function like a headband.

THE STOKE These things look crazy (like a fox), but after an early test, we fell in love. “No pinching, no pressure, and steazy AF: Yes, please,” said one tester.

4. Black Diamond Vision Down Parka [$399]

THE PROMISE A puffy tough enough for tree skiing.

THE DEETS According to BD, this burly fabric initially stumped designers because it was so difficult to cut. A polymer weave crisscrossing the 20-denier face fabric adds a lot of durability without penalizing weight. This 800-fill hydrophobic down toaster comes in at an airy one pound, four ounces.

THE STOKE Say goodbye to duct-tape patch jobs on your warmest layer: This one looks rugged enough to dance on in crampons. It could be a revolution in lightweight durability.

5. Outdoor Research Tundra Aerogel Booties [$69-$89]

THE PROMISE With NASA-designed Aerogel underfoot in these synthetic camp booties, cold doesn’t stand a chance.

THE DEETS Solid Aerogel won’t compress like typical insulation, so it’ll keep your feet warm even while you’re standing on it. Plus, a grippy outsole steadies you on the icy trail to the outhouse. Also available in a low-cut slip-on version.

THE STOKE Aerogel has been popping up more and more in outdoor gear, but its lack of breathability has held it back. The bottom of a camp bootie seems like the ideal application.

6. Marmot West Rib Parka [$600]

THE PROMISE The West Rib features unique gridded down baffles to boost warmth in the extreme cold.

THE DEETS Marmot packed 800-fill down into cube-shaped baffles around the chest of this deep-winter puffy to trap warmth around your body. Synthetic insulation layered between the down and the Pertex Quantum shell material adds weather protection and durability.

THE STOKE We’re curious about the cubist baffles and layered use of synthetic fill. This thing sounds like a serious volcano.

7. Dahu E’corce 01 Boot [$TBD]

THE PROMISE It looks and operates like no other ski boot on the market.

THE DEETS The Grilamid shell has cutouts to eliminate pressure points and the liner is beefy enough to walk around in. The unique entry system has hinges at the front and back of the boot, creating a giant opening.

THE STOKE Comfort. Ease of use. Versatility. Boom.

8. Sweet Protection Interstellar Goggle [$220]

THE PROMISE The lens won’t fog. Period.

DEETS The Gore membrane increases moisture and air transfer, equalizing air pressure and preventing condensation. Retina Illumination Grading increases contrast and enhances vision in low-light conditions, and the carbon-reinforced frame creates a rigid structure for the lens.

THE STOKE Gore-Tex in a goggle? Just plain fascinating.

9. Six Moon Haven DCF Tent [$400]

THE PROMISE This is the ultimate featherweight shelter for fastpacking duos.

THE DEETS The Haven DCF is a shaped, supported tarp made of Dyneema Composite Fabric, which offers extreme durability at a paltry 12-ounce weight. With two doors, a peak height of 45 inches, and 51 square feet of interior space, it can also be paired with the Haven Net Tent to create a fully enclosed double-wall shelter at just one pound, four ounces.

THE STOKE Dyneema tents are the new standard in ultra-ultralight, and this one sets the bar high… er, low.

10. Patagonia Black Hole Collection [starting at $29]

THE PROMISE Every Black Hole pack, duffel, tote, and waist pack gives plastic bottles and factory scraps another life.

THE DEETS It’s still burly, thanks to 90-denier poly ripstop with a TPU laminate and a DWR finish, but it now uses 100 percent recycled fabric, lining, and webbing.

THE STOKE Tally this up as yet another reason to love our favorite duffel.

11. Black Diamond Equipment JetForce Pro [$1,399]

THE PROMISE It’s the most advanced avalanche air bag pack out there.

THE DEETS This new version of BD’s award-winning JetForce series is still rechargeable and travel friendly. But the Pro is modular, letting you zip on and off a 10-, 25-, 35-, or 25-liter splitboard booster pack, making it super-versatile.

THE STOKE The modular design sets rippers up to stay safe on any day.

12. Tecnica Forge Winter [$300]

THE PROMISE Get a customized fit in a ready-for-winter hiker.

THE DEETS Like its three-season counterpart, the Forge Winter features in-store custom shaping for a perfect fit. It also adds Vibram’s Arctic Grip outsole and a Gore-Tex insulated comfort lining for waterproof/breathable insulation.

THE STOKE We fell in love with the original Forge, so a warm, winterized version is a no-brainer.

13. Rab Verglas Jacket [$375]

THE PROMISE It combines the best features of a parka and a shell—without turning you into a hot mess.

THE DEETS The Verglas is packed with 750-fill hydrophobic down for warmth, and Gore-Tex Shakedry over the 20-denier Pertex Quantum makes it waterproof while keeping it lightweight and mega-breathable.

THE STOKE For cold days with precip, this puffy looks like a winner if Shakedry can hold up to abuse.

14. Fischer Urban Cross-Country Ski Boot [$189]

THE PROMISE This is the first Nordic ski boot designed to take you from home to trail to aprés.

THE DEETS With a sneaker-like sole and chukka-style upper, you’d never know this was a cross-country ski boot. Designed for skiers less focused on racing and performance and more on casual exercise, it’s compatible with Fischer Turnamics and any NNN compatible binding.

THE STOKE Nordic boots have never looked so good.

15. Julbo Reactiv Performance Lenses [Starting at $210]

THE PROMISE Ski from dawn to dusk on bright bluebirds or during storm sessions.

THE DEETS The lenses—available in both shades and goggles—magically transition from clear (87 percent visible light transmission) to dark (12 percent VLT) in record time: roughly 20 seconds.

THE STOKE These just might be the one-quiver shades and goggles we’ve been looking for.

16. Holden Outerwear Corkshell Summit Bib [$600]

THE PROMISE Cork is the insulation of the future.

THE DEETS These bibs (and their matching jacket) incorporate Schoeller’s recycled cork content to add heat retention without the bulk of traditional lofted insulation.

THE STOKE We’re always intrigued when brands find new ways to recycle materials, and companies have been chasing warmth without bulk for ages. Could this be the one that actually delivers?

17. G3 FindR Skis [$869-$919]

THE PROMISE Leave the ski straps at home. Magnets hold these skis together.

THE DEETS Updated for 2019, the powder-cruising FINDr series now features magnetic contact points, making bootpack transitions quick and easy, and eliminating the need for straps when shouldering your skis.

THE STOKE Pick ‘em up, stick ‘em together, walk away. Sounds pretty slick.

18. Blizzard Zero G 95 [$840]

THE PROMISE It’s typically either/or: lightweight or stiffness. These are your new no-compromise skis.

THE DEETS The Zero G 95 touring ski strikes the ideal balance between uphill comfort and downhill charging, thanks to a carbon fiber frame that’s integrated over the wood core to reduce weight for speed on the skin track while still delivering a high level of stiffness for downhill performance.

THE STOKE Light feet on the uphill and stiff shred-ability on the down? ‘Nuf said.

19. Smartwool Intraknit 200 Base Layers [starting at $120]

THE PROMISE It’s the ultimate in body mapping.

THE DEETS Intraknit technology is a first-in-industry 3D knitting technique that can marry different weights of fabric into a single garment, without the use of seams. (The company already uses the technology in its socks.)

THE STOKE This sounds very much like the FuseForm tech that (sister company) The North Face introduced in shells a few years back. The concept makes even more sense in baselayers, where multiple seams can make body-mapped baselayers chafe in all the wrong places.

20. GoLite ReFill Eco 100 Jacket [$250]

THE PROMISE Keep warm and divert green plastic bottles from the landfill.

THE DEETS At a Taiwanese recycling plant, volunteers collect and sort bottles, and GoLite snags the ones nobody else wants—the green ones—and turns them into dye-free clothing, like this PrimaLoft Silver Eco-filled puffy.

THE STOKE Recycled products are nothing new, but we dig how GoLite found a way to use the bottles that stump other apparel makers.

21. Mammut Meron IN [$449]

THE PROMISE It’s as warm as you can get, without the bulk.

THE DEETS Premium 900-fill down is shelled with a lightweight, water-repellent Toray ripstop nylon and lined with an equally light, semi-transparent lining that traps the down.

THE STOKE It’s hard to make a puffy this warm not look like a Michelin man. This one does it through the magic of smart patterning.

22. Salomon S/Pro Boot Collection [$800]

THE PROMISE Get a custom-like fit, without all the hassle and expense.

THE DEETS Salomon digitally scanned more than 4,000 feet to identify a shell that’s compatible with 70 percent of the European/North American market without needing any significant modification.

THE STOKE Any respectable skier knows that custom-molding your boots is mandatory. Our apologies to all the boot-fitters out there, but this could be good.

23. Atomic Savor [$1,545]

THE PROMISE It’s the ultimate starter kit.

THE DEETS In an effort to combat exhaustion, soreness, and complicated equipment, Savor includes painless-entry boots, easy-to-handle skis, and a comfortable helmet designed specifically for rookies.

THE STOKE Want to get your SO on the slopes with you? This package might be your ticket to paradise.

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