@crgildart Olin came up in conversation a lot. We kept circling back to the word "influential."
Really" You wouldn't consider the first major marketed TWIN TIP freestyle ski "influential"??
@crgildart Olin came up in conversation a lot. We kept circling back to the word "influential."
Really" You wouldn't consider the first major marketed TWIN TIP freestyle ski "influential"??
I have to go with @SkiEssentials with the Salomon 1080 being the first "influential" twin. While the Mark/Comp IV and the Kastle Freestyle Pro had turned up tails, they did not have skiing switch in mind when they designed them.Oh, it most certainly was. Heck, there's a pair of Olin Extreme Comps sitting next to my desk and a Mark IV just around the corner. The Mark IV, however, didn't kick-start mass-produced twin tip skis like the 1080 did. There were some borderline angry employees over not including Olin!
Are you sure?? How about the Ballet?? It's not like Salomon just came up with the concept on their own. The argument for the Mark IV setting the stage for the 1080 is the same as the argument for the ROC or ST or others setting the stage for the SK and more modern race skis.I have to go with @SkiEssentials with the Salomon 1080 being the first "influential" twin. While the Mark/Comp IV and the Kastle Freestyle Pro had turned up tails, they did not have skiing switch in mind when they designed them.
The Ballet? Maybe a dozen people bought ballet's as regular skis. Twin tios changed the skiing landscape along the lines of the way SUV's changed the automotive market. The Mark IV was important but not significantly more than a Yahoo 2 or Rossignol Freestyle or Dynastar Pulsar, it was just Olin's offering in that segment. It didn't change everything.Are you sure?? How about the Ballet?? It's not like Salomon just came up with the concept on their own. The argument for the Mark IV setting the stage for the 1080 is the same as the argument for the ROC or ST or others setting the stage for the SK and more modern race skis.
The Ballet? Maybe a dozen people bought ballet's as regular skis. Twin tios changed the skiing landscape along the lines of the way SUV's changed the automotive market. The Mark IV was important but not significantly more than a Yahoo 2 or Rossignol Freestyle or Dynastar Pulsar, it was just Olin's offering in that segment. It didn't change everything.
The XScream was not the first in the in the segment either, example, the PowerKarve beat it but it is a situation where the early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese. Salomon has has a history of being a very successful second mouse...along with being very innovative. Hard work creates a lot of luck.There were a plethora of other twins available same era as 1080 as well. It was Salomon's offering. In fact, wasn't the Scream also a turned up tail before the 1080? I own all three of the skis in this conversation.. I'd say they are chicken and egg going back to the Mark IV being the first mainstream twin. Just because it wasn't a shaped twin means nothing.. especially since there were other shaped twins before the 1080. Kastle, Blizzard, Rossi, and others seemed to come out after the Olin early twins, RIGHT after but tons of other twins, shaped and not prior to the 1080.
The XScream was not the first in the in the segment either, example, the PowerKarve beat it but it is a situation where the early bird gets the worm but the second mouse gets the cheese. Salomon has has a history of being a very successful second mouse...along with being very innovative. Hard work creates a lot of luck.
Agree there... and probably close to half of the USSA and FIS Freestyle competitors were on Olins from 78-82. It was the 4SK of freestyle.Agreed, although I don't think the 1080 falls into the "second mouse" category. They were much more innovative than any other twin tip at the time and the influence they had on the sport (partly because they were on the feet of the New Canadian Air Force guys) was huge.
I'd agree your list is spot on for post Y2K advancements but misses the mark almost entirely for the first 50 years of skiing..
Granted it is tough to come up with a 10 best ever list, but this one sure isn't it.
To quote the article:
"Take a gander, get those feathers ruffled, and when you’re ready, tell us how you really feel in the comment section below!"
We're psyched people are taking that sentence seriously
Agree there... and probably close to half of the USSA and FIS Freestyle competitors were on Olins from 78-82. It was the 4SK of freestyle.
I know I'm nit picking but again, it's really not complete to only have 2-3 pre Y2K skis in your top 11 all time influences when so much more skiing and innovation was happening all through the ages starting with metal edges, better laminates, twin tips, wider powder skis (Chubbs cough cough cough). etc.
I'd agree your list is spot on for post Y2K advancements but misses the mark almost entirely for the first 50 years of skiing..
That is because in Europe they are VERY supportive of their local industry unlike us Americans.And there you have it... to be influential it has to be in common usage outside the USA as well. In Europe Olins were pretty much a small player...