Awards Season

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SHOT Show, OR, ISPO, SIA….tradeshow season is finally in the rearview mirror and we’re all happy to be back home (especially because it’s dumping snow again). Looking back on the past month, our clients have a lot to be proud of. It’s not quite the Emmy’s or the Grammy’s, but the industry and media accolades that are awarded during the annual tradeshows are terrific recognition for the hard work and dedication that goes into new product development.

Here is a  run down of all the awards our family of clients recently received in the past few weeks:

Black Diamond

black-diamond-jet-forceBD’s new Jetforce Technology was the certainly most talked about product of all, racking up an impressive array of awards including Gear Junkie “Best in Show”, an ISPO Award Gold Winner in Ski Advanced Avalanche Gear, a “Best New Gear” award from the Gear Institute, a Skiing Magazine “Hot New Gear” award and an Outside Gear of the Show nod.

gos-sia14-metallogo_phThe team at BD also laid claim to several other awards including:

ISPO Award in Ski Off Piste/All Mountain—Black Diamond Equipment Carbon Megawatt

ISPO Award in Ski Touring Equipment + Outside Gear of the Show at SIA + Skiing Magazine “Hot New Gear“—Fritschi Diamir Vipec 12

ISPO Award Gold Winner in Accessories—Cohaesive Embedded Components (Apparel)

 

Big Agnes

Backpacker Editor’s Choice Award—Double Z Sleeping Pad

ISPO Award in Adventure Equipment—Helinox Ground Chair

 

Boa

bestNewGearWinter2014_3d8e299b74542ab556656467451dc882Gear Institute “Best New Gear”— Scarpa F1 Evo

Gear Institute “Best New Gear”—K2 Route Helmet

Gear Junkie “Best in Show”—Scarpa F1 Evo and K2 Route Helmet

ISPO Award—Topo Athletic Sante shoes

ISPO Award—Tubbs VRT snowshoes

ISPO Gold Award—Descente Mizusawa Down Jacket and Platinum ski jacket

ISPO Gold Award—Thusane Malleo Dynastab Boa Ankle Brace

 

Chaco

UntitledOutdoor USA awarded Chaco “Best In-Store Display” at OR.

 

ICEdot

ISPO Award for Action Segment – Accessories

Skiing Magazine’s Hot Gear Award

ISPO Award in Accessories—POC ICEdot Crash Sensor

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UntitledPOC

ISPO Award in Helmets + Outside’s Gear of the Show—POC Skull Orbic Comp H.I. MIPS

ISPO Award in Accessories—POC ICEdot Crash Sensor

 

Polartec

Skiing Magazine “Hot Gear” Award—Strafe Cham Jacket and Pant

 

Kastle

SKI Magazine “Show Stopper Gear”—Kastle MX70

 

SmartWool

PhD SmartLoft Hoody Sport – ISPO innovation award.

 

La Sportiva

Gear Junkie “Best in Show”—Vapor Nano 15791

 

 

 

 

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2 of the 40 under 40

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Here at Backbone we’re excited that not one, but two of our clients were honored with the annual SGB 40 Under 40 Award this year. The annual award was was created to “…honor the best and brightest future leaders of the sporting goods industry.”

Though I don’t think Joel Heath, the senior global marketing director at Teva and Steve Cuthbert, the VP of sales at Polartec, have met before, it looks like they spent some quality time together at the SGB awards gala in Chicago this past weekend. It’s a little odd to see these two wearing suits, and we can only guess what kind of trouble they got into after this photo was taken.

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Are you gonna party, OR are you gonna party?

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Since we are in countdown mode until this year’s Outdoor Retailer Summer Market, and quite a few of our clients will be attending, and throwing bashes, we thought we would do a roundup of all the beer-drinkin’, beat-droppin’, boat racin’ events that we have going on. If you have additional events to include in this list, please add them in the comment section and we’ll update the post. See you in SLC!

TUESDAY, AUG. 3
9-10am — Free breakfast smoothies made fresh by the guys at Honey Stinger, booth 37153
1-2pm — Haagen Dazs ice cream at Polartec, booth 36059
4-6pm — Happy Hour hosted by Teva and Waterkeeper Alliance to benefit Save Our Gulf. Teva booth #7001
4-6pm – Keg at Polartec, booth 36059
4:30-5:30pm — Keg at SmartWool, booth #34111
4:30-???? – OR launch party and keg at Bamboo Bottle Company, booth #BR347

WEDNESDAY
9-10am — Free breakfast smoothies at Honey Stinger, booth 37153
1-2pm — Haagen Dazs ice cream at Polartec, booth 36059
4-6pm — Happy Hour to celebrate Teva Mountain Games and Teva’s new Gnarkosi, SUP giveaway, Teva booth #7001
4-6pm – Keg at Polartec, booth 36059
4-5pm — Jordan Romero, the youngest person to summit Mt Everest, hosts a slideshow and book signing at SOLE, booth 36037
4:30-5:30pm — Keg at SmartWool, booth #34111
7-9pm — Honey Stinger is sponsoring a showing of Race Across the Sky, the acclaimed film chronicling the 2009 Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike Race, featuring Lance Armstrong, at Brewvies Cinema Pub.

9pm Teva’s Pair for a Foot launch party at Club Elevate, featuring Dilated Peoples


Here’s a teaser, they’re kind of a big deal.

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THURSDAY
9-10am — Free breakfast smoothies at Honey Stinger, booth 37153
1-2pm — Haagen Dazs ice cream at Polartec, booth 36059
4-6pm – Keg at Polartec, booth 36059
4-6pm — Teva Happy Hour, with head-to-head Boat Races (harness your inner college student) from 4-6pm at the booth, #7001
4:30-5:30pm — Keg at SmartWool, booth #3411

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Share the warmth with Polartec, help give blankets to the homeless

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SharetheWarmth

With your help, Polartec® is donating 1,000 fleece blankets to the homeless this holiday season.

For every 10 new fans added to our Facebook Fan Page, Polartec® will donate one fleece blanket to a homeless shelter. We will donate 100 blankets to shelters in the top ten US cities where our fans live, so encourage your friends to become a fan of Polartec® and help someone less fortunate in your hometown.

Blanket, greenThe blankets we are donating are made from Polartec® Thermal Pro® fabric so they are incredibly warm, soft and durable.

The promotion will start on December 22, 2009 and end at midnight EST on January 4, 2010. Become a fan here. Please pass this along!

Thanks, and Happy Holidays from your friends at Polartec!

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Shell Game

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I learned to ski as a kid at a little hill in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia called Wintergreen. It’s a classic East Coast ski resort where the lodge is on the top of the mountain and they hand out trash bags at the base of the lifts so you don’t get soaked by the snow makers on the way up.

In 1985, the height of ski fashion at Wintergreen was a CB Sports jacket, jeans and gaiters. And you better believe it, that’s the outfit I was rockin’ along with my prized chicken-heart Dynastars.

At about the same time, GORE-TEX hit the scene and and was quickly adopted by the ski industry with its unique claim of “waterproof” AND “breathable.” I especially remember coveting one of those sweet yellow and black TNF Steep Tech getups that Scott Schmidtt always wore. Of course, who could afford it?

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