Product Improvements for the Coming Season
We're entering our third season of selling skishoes. Along the way, our customers have suggested improvements they'd like to see in our products. In response, we've added a handful of them for this season, and a couple are in the pipeline.
For starters, a few people that purchased skishoes with snowshoe bindings, our most popular model, requested a binding that's easier and quicker to get in and out of. We came up with the ratchet binding made by GV Snowshoes. It has a toe box so you can locate your foot quickly and precisely, and the ratchet straps crank down quickly and tightly. Along with this, we added heel stabilization screws (4 on each side) to hold your heels in place on the ski in the presence of snow and ice. Actually, we made these changes last season.
We heard from several people that the bindings on our skishoes were mounted slightly too far forward. This was especially noticeable on downhills, as the front of the skishoe would sink in the snow. We moved the bindings back slightly for better balance and weight distribution.
As they stroked along in their skishoes, some users noticed that the rear inside corners would cross over each other, gouging the skishoes. We're tapering the corners to improve this.
And last, we've had requests for a longer skishoe for larger users. From the beginning, the current 33" model has been our baseline offering, as it works for most users in most conditions. With that as the shortest version we'll offer, we're coming out with a 41" version. This will not only work for larger folks; it also improves flotation in deep powder.
The first three of these changes are available on this year's models, while the latter two are coming in the future. These are all incremental changes, but they add up to a better product. We appreciate our customers and demo users offering their suggestions.
Tom Gibson
For starters, a few people that purchased skishoes with snowshoe bindings, our most popular model, requested a binding that's easier and quicker to get in and out of. We came up with the ratchet binding made by GV Snowshoes. It has a toe box so you can locate your foot quickly and precisely, and the ratchet straps crank down quickly and tightly. Along with this, we added heel stabilization screws (4 on each side) to hold your heels in place on the ski in the presence of snow and ice. Actually, we made these changes last season.
We heard from several people that the bindings on our skishoes were mounted slightly too far forward. This was especially noticeable on downhills, as the front of the skishoe would sink in the snow. We moved the bindings back slightly for better balance and weight distribution.
As they stroked along in their skishoes, some users noticed that the rear inside corners would cross over each other, gouging the skishoes. We're tapering the corners to improve this.
And last, we've had requests for a longer skishoe for larger users. From the beginning, the current 33" model has been our baseline offering, as it works for most users in most conditions. With that as the shortest version we'll offer, we're coming out with a 41" version. This will not only work for larger folks; it also improves flotation in deep powder.
The first three of these changes are available on this year's models, while the latter two are coming in the future. These are all incremental changes, but they add up to a better product. We appreciate our customers and demo users offering their suggestions.
Tom Gibson
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