by Jackson Hogen | Aug 16, 2019
When K2 waltzed into the boot market seven years ago, part of the story heralding its arrival was that its team required only 18 months to create a better boot line. There was a whiff of hubris to the claim, as if the marketing juggernaut was predestined to seize a...
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 16, 2019
It’s unlikely that Atomic management foresaw just how much its boot brand would come to depend on a modest line of recreational boots it launched twelve years ago. Called Hawx, its unique feature was vent-like creases on both sides of the forefoot, perceived as a fit...
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 16, 2019
Seven years ago, Tecnica was at a point in its evolution where it had to change. The brand still had market mojo, but the line was due for an upgrade. Once a brand decides it needs new molds, all ideas are on the table until eliminated in the R&D cage match that...
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 16, 2019
Lange has traveled a long way as a brand without ever leaving home. The motherland for Lange lies between the boundaries indicated by the start and finish of a World Cup race. The plastic boot that truly revolutionized modern Alpine design, Lange long ago established...
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 16, 2019
No other leather boot maker profited more from the transition to injected plastic shells than Nordica. During most of the 1970’s and 80’s, Nordica’s unit share of the world market was so dominant the only competition was for second place. It responded to the surge in...
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 16, 2019
I was one of the many midwives who attended at the birth of the Salomon boot in 1979. I translated Salomon’s encyclopedic Boot Bible into English and later condensed parts of it into one of the first boot fitting manuals. I trained the North American field force,...
