by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
Six 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 is...
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
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,...
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
When K2 waltzed into the boot market six 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 31, 2018
One twist in Alpine product development that I did not see coming – notice how I subtly suggest an otherwise spotless record – is the direct impact backcountry boots might have on Alpine boot design. Over the last 20 years, the paradigm of high-performance...
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
Full Tilt has a habit of re-purposing existing components to create new models. It applied this method to cock up the Drop Kick out of a Classic shell and spiral liner, and went to the same playbook last year with the B&E Pro, mixing a Descendant 6 shell and...
by Jackson Hogen | Aug 31, 2018
Fischer had a long and illustrious history as a ski maker before they decided to jump into the boot pool, despite said pool already being awash with brands. The focus of their debut models was an abducted (toes-out) stance, a clever idea it slightly overcooked,...
