01Nov 2019 by DS News Team
Rollerski Market: Yearly Review

Rollerski Market: Yearly Review

Gear News, Newsfeed
November 1st seems to be a good day to look back at what we saw on many a rollerski track & competition in the season behind us & to share the impressions. A couple of points before we start: - We absolutely refuse to be dragged into a conversation about which rollerskis are better and in what way. As far as we are concerned, the skiing public is discerning enough to make all the right choices. Choices both rational - and those determined by emotions. - There will be nothing said about the so-called "speed rollerskis: those 530mm rockets have evolved into pretty much a separate sport with its own technique, races, stars etc. It hardly overlaps any longer with snow skiing ( only in boots and poles, to be…
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31Oct 2019 by DS News Team
Straight From Source: Salomon Nordic Director Nicolas Stamos Talks About Gear & Business

Straight From Source: Salomon Nordic Director Nicolas Stamos Talks About Gear & Business

Gear News, Leaders, Newsfeed
..."We would only have a few minutes to say hello and for a few basic questions", messages the man who runs Salomon Nordic when we agree to meet at Atomic/ Amer Sports factory in Altenmarkt in Pongau where the French company produces its cross country skis. ....After an hour of ( very intense) conversation that covers just about every aspect of Salomon business in & around skiing , the conversation that several other staffers, responsible for race skis eventially join in, Nicolas Stamos finally says that the meeting he was actually coming for can't be delayed no more... Which is a massive pity - what Stamos & his team have managed to achieve in the last decade is nothing short of fascinating. But now everything makes perfect sense: they are…
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30Oct 2019 by DS News Team
Guess Which Poles Won

Guess Which Poles Won

Gear News, Newsfeed
We are not sure why but a fact's a fact and we want to you to mull it over together with us: Every single one of Women's Top 10 in the FIS World Cup 2018/19 went to use Swix Triac poles. No exceptions! Here they are, Women's Top Ten 2018/19 [caption id="attachment_12508" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ingvild Flugstat Oestberg [/caption] [caption id="attachment_12905" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Natalia Nepryaeva [/caption] [caption id="attachment_10607" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Therese Johaug[/caption] [caption id="attachment_13260" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Krista Parmakoski [/caption] [caption id="attachment_11484" align="alignnone" width="4176"] Stina Nilsson [/caption] [caption id="attachment_9791" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jessie Diggins[/caption] [caption id="attachment_11182" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ebba Andersson [/caption] [caption id="attachment_10938" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Yulia Belorukova ( and Anastasia Sedova, another Swix poles user) [/caption] [caption id="attachment_13415" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Maja Dahlqvist[/caption] [caption id="attachment_13414" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Maiken Caspersen Falla[/caption] We could only congratulate…
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28Oct 2019 by DS News Team
Review: Best Poles Money Could Buy, Part 2

Review: Best Poles Money Could Buy, Part 2

Gear News, Newsfeed
This is continuation of Review: Best Poles part I We follow an alphabetic order and continue to present you the very best poles, used by the very best of skiers. Some poles manufacturers ( we are talking about you, Rex, Start, RCS, SixTen and USSPC ) do produce quality 100% UHM carbon fiber poles - but do not sponsor any World Cup athletes. Whether they are not good enough for the very best or their respective owners have other ideas as to how to advertize, we simply would not know. The matter is, we can't show them for the lack of self-taken photos at the top events, sorry. But even without aforementioned, the field of the World Cup club pole makers is rather crowded with at least 11 companies vying…
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25Oct 2019 by DS News Team
Review: Best Ski Poles Right Now, Part 1

Review: Best Ski Poles Right Now, Part 1

Gear News, Newsfeed
A few words before we start: All poles in our review are top-of-the-crop from their respective producers, all are made of 100 % Ultra High Modulus Carbon Fiber - and all are World Cup quality ( the fact that reflected in many a model's name) We don't differentiate among Classic and Skating poles - we simply see no reason as models only differ in size, not in construction. Some skiers in our photos have changed poles' sponsors since but all the sticks pictured are still produced & sold. Except for one model that we have doubts about - of which more later. As with the skis, there are two distinct categories: poles used by many a top skier - and those used by only a few or even one WC-class…
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