Thu, 02/11/2010 - 3:53pmWhat to expect next winter

We’ve just returned from yet another trade show, illuminating all the new gear that’s ‘gonna be hitting the shelves in Blghty from September.

ISPO is Europe’s biggest winter sports trade show, massive and seemingly endless halls on the outskirts of Munich in Germany are rammed floor to ceiling, end to end with ridiculous amounts of product, beer stands and PR projects (best of which was clearly Miss Reef signing Calendars for an adoring public! –just beating O’Neil’s fat suits wrestling contest!).

It’s not just about snowboarding though, if you venture through the halls it’s easy to get lost in a concoction of darts, table tennis, and trophy manufacturers, interesting stuff, but venture further and the wholesalers are on hand with massive swathes of fabric and rolls of Ptex.

We stuck to what we know best, which is basically trying to blag free beer and cobble together a bunch of notes and pictures on what we think are ‘gonna be the big-sellers and interesting lines next year.

We always search out a bit of science, it’s good after all to pretend that we have brains but in all honesty so much comes down to getting the right tool for the job, how something looks and how much it is ‘gonna cost.

After last year’s industry wide price hike, due to the strong Euro, this year is seeing some wildly varying price points with one brand’s £220 deck up against another’s £400 equivalent.

We’ve got literally reams of stuff from Germany and Manchester so rather than present you with an unweildely lump of unusable content we’ll be dropping a page or so each day over the next couple of weeks.

We’ll try and link it altogether so you can weave a seamless path through the whole shebang when it’s up but don’t stress too much, after all, season 2009-10 has barely got off the ground!