• Products dominate at ispo winter 08, which made outdoor sport safer

At this year's ispo Outdoor Award of ispo winter 08, a top-rate jury of experts again gathered
under the chairmanship of Christof Schellhammer and Wolfgang Pohl; the jury members
included Peter Fresia (Sporthaus Schuster), Frank Wacker (Outdoor Magazine), Andi Kern
(DSV Aktiv), Peter Plattner (Berg & Steigen Magazine), Christoph Ebert (TU Munich), Thomas
Bucher (Bergsteiger/CLIMB! Magazine), Markus Hefter and Petra Griesel (outdoor_
ispo). It was a question of selecting the most outstanding product innovations of the
outdoor industry from the great number of submitted, mainly high-quality products. In the
end, above all those products won, which put the safety aspect in sports in the forefront.
Here is an overview of the winners in the individual product categories:

Winner in the Others Category
Power’n play: CU
The "CU" are prism glasses, which are worn during securing on principle, regardless of
whether in a hall or outside. The person to be secured can be observed during climbing
without the necessity of stretching out your head the whole time. As a result, brief "glances
down" to relax the overtaxed cervical vertebrae are eliminated, and continual observation of
your partner increases safety for climbing partners. In addition, the person securing can
stay closer to the rock wall with the same head position as without CU, which provides substantial
advantages for climber and securing person to the same degree in case the first
climber falls. When the glasses are worn, there is a sufficiently large field of vision to still
carry out all other activities dealing with securing.
The jury considered it above all important that the young manufacturer Power’n play put
special emphasis on safety and health with its innovative goggles concept. In fact, the simple
but ingenious product provides climbers in halls with completely new perspectives,
which they will be loathe to do without after a short period of getting used to.

Winner in the Hardware Category2
Leki: Twister Interchangeable Basket System
The new basket system "Twister” from Leki guarantees perfect adjustment to very different
types of snow and backcountry conditions. The basket can be freely rotated 360° and is
ideal for use on terrain with up to 45° inclines without the otherwise usual levering effects. In
addition, it provides security against back-rotation. This minimizes the unwanted slipping
together of the bottom part. The basket size can be adapted perfectly to every type of snow
thanks to three different insertion rings using a sliding mechanism without tools. In the winter
touring sector, two pole models Air Ergo 2 and 3 have been equipped with the new Twister
baskets.
The jury was impressed that Leki has revolutionized ski pole baskets with a simple but function
development for practical use and enabled adaptation to very different conditions in
seconds. Snow sports enthusiasts have waited a long time for this customer-friendly development.

Winner in the Textiles Category
Rossignol: Harness Pants
The "Harness" pants with integrated climbing harness make it possible for free-riders to be
saved using ropes from unexpected emergencies in difficult to access terrain without the
necessity of having to put on an extra harness. The new system patented by Rossignol is
the result of close cooperation between the freeride team and the Cilao Company, specialist
in developing climbing harnesses. The integrated harness cannot be removed from the
pants and is so light that you hardly notice it (94 g with pants size M). If conforms to European,
US American and Canadian standards. The pants are made of stretch material, are
waterproof and breathable and consequently protect against cold, wind, snow and rain.
The jury gave as reason for its choice that the fact that an extremely functional and userfriendly
safety feature has been created for free-riders thanks to the integration of a rope
harness in free-rider pants. The technical details are perfect with consideration of all relevant
safety standards and without any disadvantages with respect to handling and comfort.

Winner in the Footwear Category
Hanwag: Ivalo GTX
The "Ivalo GTX" from the Winter Trail line from Hanwag has a completely new technology
for a winter sole. The "Ice Grip Sole“ has a special rubber mixture in the relevant step
zones, which even give you a hold on slippery ice. This is achieved by very small glass particles,
which grip the ice surface and consequently act like sandpaper. The rough tread of
the IceGrip sole rubber is just as durable as traditional shoe soles, because the glass technology
is not only used on the outermost layer, but instead the complete rubber tread of the
IceGrip zones is composed of the maximum-grip mixture. The shoe is available for men and
women with different trim. It has a long wearing life, can be resoled without problems, has a
warm and waterproof lining made of GORE-TEX® Partelana and also provides all functional
properties, which you expect from the top-rate winter shoes from Hanwag.
According to the jury, the traditional manufacturer Hanwag has revolutionized sole design
with the embedding of glass particles with this classic winter/trekking shoe. Users are
opened many options for using these shoes in winter sports with a considerable increase in
safety and comfort thanks to this successful technical feature.

Winner in the Electronics Category
Petzl: Ultra Belt
The Petzl "Ultra Belt" is an extremely high-performance headlamp with three adjustable
illumination levels and rechargeable ACCU 4 ULTRA battery with a long cable. The "forehead
spotlight" was developed specifically for moving fast and high-endurance sports, because
athletes have an extremely powerful, adjustable light (350 lumens) and a wide light
beam with a considerable forward lighting during the complete time of their sports activity.
The lamp, which has outstanding hold on a head, only weights 230 grams and is extremely
robust for use in all weather and all imaginable activities.
Petzl documents its premium position among headlamp companies with its latest development,
the Ultra Belt, according to the jury. Convincing solutions for technical details with the
customary high-quality finish and outstanding light quality in this category make the Ultra
Belt a product to be recommended for numerous ambitious people who love outdoor sports.

Winner in the Backcountry Category
Snowpulse: The "Life Bag"
The "Life Bag“ is an avalanche airbag with mechanical trigger, which can be accessed easily
via an ergonomic hand movement. If it is pulled in the event of an avalanche, the 150 liter
airbag is inflated in only three seconds. A winter sports enthusiast hit by an avalanche remains
on his back and with head above the snow – similar to use of a life jacket – thanks to
the special design. The Life Bag is the lightest and most compact airbag system on the
market (weight of 1.4 kilograms) and takes only three liters of space in a backpack. As a
result, there is still sufficient pack space for free-ride equipment. The Life Bag can be reused,
and the gas cylinder can be refilled by any Snowpulse dealer. Consequently, you can
practice using the Life Bag without problems. A gauge in the backpack tells you how full the
cylinder is at any time.
The jury considered Snowpulse the clear winner, because an innovative and cleverly designed
safety concept was presented for all backcountry skiers with the Life Bag. Thanks to
the consistent implementation of all known parameters, survival chances can be increased
substantially when the Life Bag is used. Convincing solutions for details provide the Snowpulse
Life Bag with an absolutely unique character and increase safety for users considerably
without any sacrifices of comfort.


All winner products will be exhibited in the East Entrance of the New Munich Trade Fair
Centre during ispo winter 08 from January 27 to 30, 2008.

13/MK