Cool innovations at the SIA Snow Show in Denver: rockers, suspension skis, art skis

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Now in its 39th year, the Ski Industries of America (SIA) Snow Show, January 27-30, at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, is the largest, most concentrated trade event in the snow sports industry, attracting more than 20,000 industry professionals and unveiling new products and gear.

Snow sport experts Rocky Mountain Gear Guide reported that one of the biggest trends to spot this year are rocker skis, which are inverted camber skis, with almost every brand unrolling more models in twin-tip, off-piste, and freeride genres. For example: K2 offers Traditional Camber, Speed Rocker, Catch-Free Rocker, Jib Rocker, All Terrain Rocker, and Powder Rocker skis.

Ski Logik is also displaying a line of arty skis: standard twin tips that instead of traditional printed top sheets feature wood inlays of Japanese- or Western-style art themes "worthy of a custom guitar," reports Rocky Mountain Gear Guide.

Dalbello will also unveil its new four-buckle boot, the Viper, with a 100mm shell with relaxed Contour 4 fit system. Last season the company scored a win with the launch of its classic four-buckle overlap Scorpion Series of high-performance race and freestyle boots, and the company aims to follow that success with its new model.

World champion freestyle ski legend Wayne Wong is promoting what he claims to be the hottest innovation in skis: the Anton Suspension Skis, also known as mechanical skis. The model features a suspension mechanism very similar to that of an automotive leaf spring with a ski binding attached on top. Anton's new skis are earning high marks from media and bloggers for being gentle on the knees and a good match for hard-packed snow conditions.

A sample of other new products that will be on display include Arbor's Blacklist high-tech snowboard, Salomon's EXO Tech Tee undershirt, SnowFab's ultra-carving Noise Ski, and Screamer Inc.'s Phantom Bandana. More than 1,000 brands will be on hand, representing an industry that is $3 billion (€2.2 billion) strong.

After the show, the industry will head up to the mountains for the an On-Snow Demo/Free Ride Fest at Winter Park Resort and Devil's Thumb Ranch, where snow sport pros will demo the gear they've just seen at the show.

Also on the horizon is ISPO, one of the biggest events in the world for sports goods manufacturers and suppliers, February 6-9. Over 2,000 exhibitors are participating in ISPO 2011, and the event is expected to draw more than 64,000 visitors from over 100 countries. An interdisciplinary segment called Freeriding will be organized for products in the snow sports arena.

http://siasnowshow.snowsports.org
http://www.ispo.com

http://www.dalbello.it
http://www.antonskis.com
http://www.skilogik.com

Watch a video on the Anton suspension skis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQbX7TcOgu0&feature