Gear News Special: The ISPO Winners

By LFTO Gear Team

Gear news

11 February 2008 09:00

Well, it’s the time of year when people’s finances might be recovering from the madness of Christmas (the odd worldwide slowdown notwithstanding), so we thought we’d give you a sneak peek at some gear biggies for 2008.

The following are all winners of the ISPO Outdoors Awards, part of the massive trade fair ISPO which was held in Munich last week. Some of the winning products might be a little specialised for your needs (especially the avalanche protector!), but you can bet that the technology you see here will be migrating into everyday trail gear by the time the year is out.

So we got the lowdown on the judges’ favourites, with the reasons why they went down so well...

Footwear


Winner: Hanwag Ivalo GTX

The Ivalo GTX, from the Winter Trail line, has a completely new technology for a winter sole. The IceGrip Sole has a special rubber mixture in the relevant step
zones, which even give you a hold on slippery ice.

This is achieved by very small glass particles, which grip the ice surface and consequently act like sandpaper.

The rough tread of the IceGrip sole rubber is just as durable as traditional shoe soles, because the glass technology is not only used on the outermost layer, but instead the complete rubber tread of the IceGrip zones is composed of the maximum-grip mixture.

The shoe is available for men and women with different trim. It has a long wearing life, can be resoled without problems, has a warm and waterproof lining made of Gore-Tex Partelana and also provides all the functional properties you expect from the top-rated winter shoes from Hanwag.

According to the jury, Hawag has revolutionized sole design with the embedding of glass particles with this classic winter/trekking shoe, offering safety and comfort in equal measure.

Electronics

Winner: Petzl Ultra Belt

The Ultra Belt is an extremely high-performance headlamp with three adjustable
illumination levels and rechargeable Accu 4 Ultra battery with a long cable.

The forehead spotlight was developed specifically for fast-moving, high-endurance sports. It gives the wearer an extremely powerful, adjustable light (350 lumens) and a wide light beam with a considerable forward lighting.

The lamp, which has outstanding hold on a head, only weights 230 grams and is extremely robust for use in all weather and all imaginable activities.

Backcountry


Winner: The Life Bag, from Snowpulse

The Life Bag is an avalanche airbag with mechanical trigger, which can be accessed easily via an ergonomic hand movement. If it is pulled in the event of an avalanche, the 150l airbag is inflated in just three seconds.

A climber or trekker hit by an avalanche remains on his back and with his head above the snow – similar to use of a life jacket.

The Life Bag is the lightest and most compact airbag system on the market (weight of 1.4 kg) and takes only three litres of space in a backpack. It can be reused, and the gas cylinder can be refilled by any Snowpulse dealer. Consequently, you can practice using the Life Bag without problems. A gauge in the backpack tells you how full the cylinder is at any time.

Hardware


Winner: Leki Twister Interchangeable Basket System (for ski and walking poles)

Mainly for ski-ing, but you can bet this technology will switch into walking poles soon. The new basket system guarantees perfect adjustment to very different types of snow and backcountry conditions. The basket can be freely rotated 360° and is
ideal for use on terrain with up to 45° inclines without the usual levering effects.

In addition, it provides security against back-rotation. This minimizes the unwanted slipping-together of the bottom part.

The basket size can be adapted perfectly to every type of snow thanks to three different insertion rings using a sliding mechanism without tools. In the winter
touring sector, two pole models Air Ergo 2 and 3 have been equipped with the new Twister baskets.

The jury was impressed that Leki has revolutionized pole baskets with a simple but functional development for practical use and enabled adaptation to very different conditions in seconds. Snow sports enthusiasts have waited a long time for this customer-friendly development.

Other Items


Winner: Power ’n’ Play CU

The CU are prism glasses for climbers, basically allowing a lower climber to keep tabs on their mate above without looking up – sort of a periscope for the rockface.

As a result, brief “glances down” to relax the overtaxed cervical vertebrae are eliminated, and continual observation of your partner increases safety for climbing partners.

In addition, the person securing can stay closer to the rock wall with the same head position as without CU, which provides substantial advantages for climber and securing person to the same degree in case the first  climber falls.

When the glasses are worn, there is a sufficiently large field of vision to still carry out all other activities dealing with securing.

The simple but ingenious product provides climbers with completely new perspectives, which they will be loathe to do without after a short period of getting used to.

And another winner...

There’s also a big up for outdoor apparel specialists Patagonia, who were named “Eco Brand of the Year” at the Volvo Eco Design Forum at ISPO.

The prestigious award represents the recognition of the outdoor industry for Patagonia’s efforts and initiatives to lower its impact on the environment. 
  
Since 1996, Patagonia has used only organically grown cotton in its clothing line, has used recycled materials in many of its polyester fleece garments beginning in 1993, and in 2005 launched the Common Threads Recycling Program, one of the world’s first garment recycling programs.
 
By autumn this year, 74 per cent of Patagonia’s products will contain an e-fibre (organic cotton, hemp, chlorine-free wool and recycled polyester) and 53 per cent are recyclable, among which is the first recyclable waterproof nylon hard shell.
 
The firm was also praised for Footprint Chronicles, an interactive minisite at www.patagonia.com which tracks and reveals the social and environmental impact of its individual products from design to delivery.

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