Mike Madlener, Da Kine US Marketing Manager.

Tech Heads bring you every week or so the head of one of the hidden masters of snowboarding, wether it’s a designer, creative director, developers, product boss or R&D geek. This time we go to see our friends at Da Kine to have a little chat with Bruce Barbour and Mike Madlener, respectively outerwear project leader and US marketing manager. Those two are behind the birth of Da Kine outerwear last year, and carry already a pretty strong team of riders: to just name those on the outerwear program: Elias Elhardt, Shayne Pospisil, Jason Robinson, Forrest Burki, Kelly Underwood, Kasia Rusin and Sami Luhtanen. It was then time to present a first picture after about twelve months of activity in the outerwear world.

Can you present the whole Da Kine outerwear department and how does it work between the US and Europe?

The Da Kine Technical Outerwear program is based in Irvine California. We have a strong team of designers and developers working on this project. We collaborate closely with our offices in Hossegor and Hood River for input and ideas. We really value the feedback and the constant communication keeps the project Global and not just relevant in one region.

Bruce Barbour, Da Kine outerwear Project Leader.

What would be a timeline of your regular day?

We arrive at the office at 4:00 am and work like crazy until midnight and never have breaks and don’t eat…just kidding! We get to the office and work on our projects and review and communicate like any other Da Kine division. We make sure we’re in touch with our two head offices and spend time speaking with the sales departments, team managers and athletes. The athletes have been very helpful developing the technical features of the garments as well as the aesthetics…they are all business when it comes to function!

How would you define Da Kine in term of image and products?

We’re a technical company dedicated to our sports and our athletes. We are all about innovation, function and performance. That’s the thread that runs through every product we make. We’re all dedicated to it because we’re all users of our own products and we all love our sports. We eat, sleep, and dream how to make better product and it’s very satisfying when we’re able to bring something new and improved to the market…but only for a minute because then we begin thinking of the next improvement we could make!

The first outerwear line was technical and functional, and at the same time very simple design wise, which was obviously a statement in approaching the outerwear business. Can you explain this choice?

We listen to our athletes and we know that simple styling can very often be the most practical and functional when combined with technical features and hi-performance fabrics. A simple concept but one that really works and is often overlooked.

Is it the same approach working on bags and gloves, rather than outerwear?

I would say so. As a Company we’re dedicated to function over trend and product that works takes on a fashion statement of it’s own, so I guess that would be our style.

What kind of feedback did you have both from team riders and customers?

The line is being very well received and that has been exciting for us and inspires us to work even harder to maintain our own high standard of Technical Outerwear.

Elhart, Luhtanen and Rusin rocking the Da Kine outerwear goodness.

Can you tell us a few hints about what’s cooking for the next line of products?

The next line you see from us will continue to build on rider feedback adding in some layering pieces designed to integrate with the outerwear shells. We’re also launching a new “Contour” fit for both jackets and pants that is a more streamlined version of our “Standard” fit.

Check the latest edit of Sami Luhtanen rocking the Da Kine outerwear:

And check the previous Tech Heads right here.

The flyer above pretty much says it all, so what’s left for us to say is get chewing and dig out the freak in you! After you trained that for a while, head over to their Facebook page to enter the comp and look for more goodness on ripcurl.eu

Now watch the teaser. It’s real good.

So, drum rolls, here comes the REAL gear for 2012.

Roust Jacket (left)
10/10 waterproofness/breathability, part insulation, fully taped seams – price: 199,90 €

Driggs Jacket (middle)
10/10 waterproofness/breathability, full insulation, fully taped seams – price: 219,90 €

Drifter Jacket (right)
8/8 waterproofness/breathability, shell, critically taped seams – price: 149,90 €

Stance Pant
15/10 waterproofness/breathability, part insulation, fully taped seams – price: 199,90 €

Roust Pant
10/10 waterproofness/breathability, shell, fully taped seams – price: 189,90 €

We’re very sorry for the confusion and be sure that we’ll offer the imp for public disgrace once we found it!! For more goodness to marvel at before the first snow flakes fall, go to romesnowboards.com

While the winter got us in full grip, our buddies at Horsefeathers were feeling very generous and decided to wrap two of our users in some brand new outerwear to enjoy the mountains with.

One lucky guy will have the pleasure of not only staying super comfy and warm in the technical Regor pant and Dorado jacket with 10/15k waterproofness/breathability and fully sealed seams, but also look super stylish, just like Bavarian gigolo Michi Zirngibl.

And the ladies can be happy as well, because for them we got a Proxima jacket and Avior pants combo up for grabs, which is from the Horsefeathers Diamonds line as well.

To get yourself a new functional look on the mountain, simply answer the question below!

[competition_37]

horsefeathers.eu

Proxima jacket & Avior pants

Aussie clobber could well be yours.

Strewth, Aussie outerwear mob 3CS have dressed up the Nitro ‘Swindle’ with their ‘Vader’ jacket! We’ve got the board and jacket up for grabs. 3CS have even thrown a ‘Squirrel Sac’ in for good measure.

Nitro’s mightier than the sword Railkiller edge gives the rider confidence to take on any banister while the Scratch & Rip base technology on the Swindle allows all you rail warriors to show off your battle scars. To top it all off the Swindle’s been wrapped up super snug with 3CS’s Vader jacket graphic. A limited edition combo that was actually only launched in the Southern Hemisphere, the home of 3CS, and only made it to Europe three times – so you’re guaranteed to be the only one rocking this baby on the mountains…

If you’d fancy that, just answer the following question for your chance to win.

[competition_27]

If you’re struggling check out the 3CS website.

Guide Yourself to the Goods with ‘The Great Outfitter’ – Now Live on Burton.com

This week, Burton Snowboards launched The Great Outfitter, a new online tool on www.burton.com where riders can virtually create, view and remix their ultimate outerwear setup for the season. One of the stand-out features of The Great Outfitter is ‘The Gallery’, where riders can choose to show their original creations and/or share them on Facebook.

Who would have thought? Shaun and Jeremy are into cross-dressing!

The Great Outfitter allows riders to put together and view an endless number of pant and jacket combinations by selecting different colors, fits and weather conditions like All Season, Mid-Winter and Sub Zero. And for a little creative inspiration, riders can head to the Great Outfitter’s Gallery, which features the outerwear worn by the Burton pros like Terje Haakonsen, Shaun White and Hannah Teter, as well as featuring kits chosen by Burton staff.

And it doesn’t stop there. Other cool features of The Great Outfitter are found under the section called ‘Field Observations’, which illustrates a variety of ‘essential’ tips about the finer points of snowboarding – from ‘Boot Pack Etiquette’ and ‘How to Claim It’ to ‘Tips for Encounters with Mountain Bullies’ and ‘Five Things to Never Wear’. In this section, riders can also share their own field observations and words of snowboarding wisdom by posting messages on Twitter using the hashtag #BurtonOps.

Lastly, The Great Outfitter helps the rider connect the dots on where to find Burton Outerwear, with a local shop locator featured on every page.

The Great Outfitter is live and ready for outerwear customization. Guide yourself to the goods now at www.burton.com/outfitter.

If you’ve been to the freestyle.ch and the Nike 6.0 signing session on the Sunday, you probably already noticed that Finnish shred machine Peetu Piiroinen is now not only rocking Nike footwear but is also dressed in neon outerwear that sports the swoosh.

Peetu isn’t only the first rider ever to win two consecutive TTR titles and current Olympic silver medalist but also stomps the most technical tricks so effortlessly and smooth, that it leaves you speechless – which he proofed again at the freestyle.ch on the weekend.

You might know that he’s not exactly a man of many words, so his statement about the new extended partnership was a short and sweet: “It’s great to be part of the 6.0 family, the new outerwear line is looking great and I’m excited about the coming season. I had an amazing last winter and everything feels good in early season sessions. I’m super motivated to ride.” If you ride like Peetu, you don’t really have to say much more.

Holden is the next brand to update their website with the brand new gear for 2010/11 and added a special twist. Instead of just showing some simple pictures, the gear is actually worn by their team so you get a proper idea of what cut and fit really look like. Plus some of these little video clips are hilariously funny…

Go check it out yourself on holdenouterwear.com

Bonfire Snowboarding launched its new video and photo driven website this morning.

Bonfiresnowboarding.com features extensive video, team driven content, a reformatted blog and easy to navigate product photos and information.

The site offers the best product care info in the industry for extending the life of a rider’s outerwear.

Filters make it easy to shop online by color, fit, fabric, price, performance and insulation. Once browsers have narrowed down their search its easy to click and find a dealer.

You can also watch videos from Bonfire team riders Bode Merrill, Louif Paradis, Desiree Melancon, Takaharu Nakai and David Benedek

Nemo Design in Portland, Oregon executed the design of the site with programming by Instrument, also located in Portland.

Check more of next season’s gear now.

The madness of ISPO has come to an end for 2010 and while the fingering of all the new kit and broing down with the riders and industry types is a fun way to pass several days cooped up in a cavernous hall or 10, our livers and vocal chords could certainly do with a vacation.

So, let the images do the talking as we run through yet more shots of next season’s kit…