environment, rental products and rent- ers are reaping the benefits of modern ski development.” IN SNOWBOARD GEAR, Burton added Step On rental boot-binding systems to the catalog in 2023 and revamped its fleet rental board last season, said senior area manager Royal White. Nitro and Nidecker are updating graphics to keep in step with their retail models, while retaining the usual dura- bility adaptations for rental products. “Everything we’re doing is first a retail model, and we then change out some materials to survive in rental,” said Nitro’s Stromwall. “The base is all black rather than a printed graphic, the edges are twice as thick, and the anchors are twice as deep. The top sheet is the same graphic as the inline product, except it’s a more durable material.” Nitro’s rental binding is also retail- based, with straps from the Team binding, high back and forward lean adjustment from the Team Pro, and the toe strap from the One binding. “So it’s a combo of our retail bindings put onto a quick release system,” said Stromwall. In alpine gear, several companies are updating their products. A few examples: Head redesigned its Ambition mod- els, its biggest sellers, “to be more resil- ient to tunes and to look better,” said Rucker. The company has softened the flex of its shorter kids skis and changed the sidecut “significantly,” so they don’t hook up so fast and offer a little more glide. “We think that will help them have more fun,” he said. Rossignol has two new Experience rental models, with 78 mm and 80 mm waists, respectively. The new models have cap construction and 13-meter radius sidecut to make them easy to turn. “Our aim is to have better skiabil- ity in the 80 mm model and even easier turning for the beginner level in 78 mm,” said Rossi alpine category manager Jake Stevens. At Atomic, U.S. market director Jake Strassburger noted the brand has “some fresh all-mountain skis and Boa closure systems on some of our more premium rental boots. We’ve seen great success in the next level up from fleet rental.” Nordica North American product manager Ethan Korpi noted that the
Top to bottom: Rossignol’s Experience 78 and 80; the Nordica AllDrive X; Elan’s Element 76 RS; the Head Ambition R Track and Ambition Pro R.
brand’s Drive series is based on a design developed with ski teaching star Mike Rogan; it has a narrower tail that allows an easy transition from wedge to paral- lel turns—a concept that has also been incorporated into some retail models. Its latest rental incarnation is the All Drive X, a slightly wider design (available in 80 mm and 86 mm waist widths compared to the All Drive 76 and 84) that “borrows a bit of its unique shape from the Enforc- er and Santa Ana collection,” Korpi said. Did we mention that waist widths have expanded generally? It seems 78 is the new 74. In alpine boots, there’s a trend toward easy entry, as well as Boa closures. Rossi introduced its Vizion series of step-in boots at retail last year, and is
bringing that to the rental market. The rear spoiler of the Vizion models opens wide, but when closed, it acts like a typi- cal alpine boot. In a similar vein, Salomon is offering its Sense series, which Anderson called a “modern leisure/sport rental boot with a new attachment mechanism that is more convenient and improves fit while being approachable and easy to enter.” Head is one of several companies bringing Boa closure to its rental boots. “The system works well, we’ll see how it’s embraced in fleet situations,” said Rucker. Other companies adding Boa to more rental models include Fischer and Nordi- ca. The latter will offer Boa in both the 100 mm Speedmachine and 102 mm
Left to right: Burton Step On boot and binding; Head Edge Boa boot; Nordica Speedmachine Boa 100R.
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