Why isn't Salomon cool anymore?

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Crazy Fool

That was a prototype. If you are basing your opinion of a company on there protos then every company will have issues. If you look at the range of production boots there are very few brands that can even come close to the fit selection and features offered from salomon. The full custom shell in its self is one of the best innovations of recent years.

Jun 12 2013 9:56AM

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Crazy Fool

Well for starters their skis are total shit.

They also screwed the pooch SUPER hard with their industry-flabbergasting Quest boot tech fitting failure and haven't come back to the AT boot market with ANYTHING since. I think they probably still have a shitload of yolk on their face fwiw since they never even released an official statement regarding what happened and what was being done to remedy it nor have they even mentioned the low tech market at all- its as if they just hope to stay out of the game long enough for people to just forget what happened.

Their AT binding they spent YEARS making is only marginally better than older competing models, which are both more proven, offer more options and are available used for cheap. Also there have been some glaring issues with them and enough no-reason failures reported so far for me to have my doubts about their long term durability.

Also they totally lost their edge as far as outerwear goes. If it wasn't for their shoe line they'd probably be sucking wind HARD right now.

If it weren't for Cody Townsend I shudder to think of what would become of Sally.

Jun 12 2013 9:57AM

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No Life

I have not come to expect much from the NS community grammar-wise, but holy fuck this thread is dragging the English language through the mud. I can't even respond to the actual post because I just lit on fire.

Jun 12 2013 10:19AM

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SFBv420.0

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no it wasn't a proto type

Soli even sent one of their spancered prohoes or he took it upon himself to join tgr and spam us with bullshit about how great this product was and how they were dyna compatiple and bomber huck 40' bomber

The sad reality is they cut corners and put in their own tech inserts which were not tested as lou dawsons wildsnow viddy clearly shows.

were not talking about some shitty suspects delamning.

we are talking about releasing a dangerous inadiquetly tested peice of shit product that damn near cost our bro his leg

Jun 12 2013 10:25AM

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No Life

Props for being one of the few who did this right.

Jun 12 2013 10:28AM

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Crazy Fool

This.

The Quest boot was a full production model available at any Salomon retailer- and was also tested after the big accident with off-the-shelf parts purchased from an international retailer and shown to be dangerously underbuilt. There is no way in hell that was a prototype boot- the channels by which it was carried, sold etc was as full production as it gets! The sad part is that the SAME EXACT DESIGN failed in the EXACT SAME WAY in testing, yet they changed nothing and sent it off, not willing to miss out on another season of potential profits for safety concerns. It SHOULD have been a proto only boot, but they never changed it before sending it off to full production and telling everyone it was the burliest boot ever made.

How someone could say that was a prototype boot I have no idea, unless they suck their "facts" directly from Solly's dick and completely ignore all the factual information readily available to them.

Jun 12 2013 10:35AM

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Crazy Fool

I had to laugh.

Jun 12 2013 10:59AM

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Crazy Fool

Take what you want from that incident but all that really matters now is the tech inserts are fully available now. There will always be incidents when testing new products. This season alone I broke both thumbs when testing a new product which failed in spectacular fashion. Accidents happen with new kit. But the quest is now the biggest selling AT boot on the market so although you guys may not like it there are plenty that do. I'm sure you guys will argue further but the issue was resolved, yes the incident was bad, but like me getting injured this season, unfortunately sometimes it takes issues like that for products to evolve. An before you say it no it was not a solly product I got injured on

Jun 12 2013 11:01AM

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Turkelton

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Wrong Wrong Wrong. You think they dropped them? Are you a moron? Other companies offered more money and some are owned by Salomon, so you're very wrong

Jun 12 2013 11:03AM

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No Life

I had a pair of the second-gen 1080s and those things fucking slayed. I loved them. I always wanted pocket rockets.

Jun 12 2013 11:11AM

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Balto

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@th1337

Sammy left because he broke something like 25 pairs of suspects in a season if I remember right

Jun 12 2013 11:12AM

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Crazy Fool

What do you mean "all that really matters is they're available now?" Salomon does not offer a low tech toe in the quest boots to this day. Also yes, things break in testing but the non-retarded thing to do is fix the fucking problem, not do absolutely nothing and sell it as-is to the general public--- so by that measure your logic is fucked. Yes things break in proto stages- then they're modified and sent on when they're safe IF YOU'RE A NORMAL COMPANY AND NOT GETTING HIGH ON YOUR OWN FARTS.

Jun 12 2013 11:28AM

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~~~~~~~~

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I thought the park ski scene kinda turned on them after the whole edge armor debacle of yesteryear. When they tried to promise extra durable edges and then refused to warranty them when they ripped out immediately.

Jun 12 2013 11:36AM

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will-blackwell

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Loner

i work in a ski store, i get to try lots of skis every year, honestly i think they could do better with their park skis, suspects are just way too stiff for my liking,

the rocker2 - 92's are a fun ski and remind me a little of armada halos, but that's all they really have..

THEIR BIG MOUNTAIN SKIS HOWEVER..

holy shit they're good, the fatter rocker 2's are fucking epic and so fun to ski

and i'm sure i'll get some hate on this, and that probably not too many people have tried them, but the BBR's are actually awesome to ski, the BBR 10.0's are hands down, by far the best ski for pow that i've ever tried, they're just not twins

salomon has definately been putting a lot of work into the big mountain/all mountain side of skiing lately, which might explain their apparent disappearance in the park scene or at least the NS scene.

but seriously, their big mountain shit is the tops

Jun 12 2013 11:51AM

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Crazy Fool

Yep they do mate. The quests are available to all you guys next season with tech inserts. They were available on a limited release last season just like the first quests we were discussing before.

Jun 12 2013 11:55AM

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Crazy Fool

Lolol... Ok so I guess I'm going to have to use my ski industry douche decoder ring to decipher your posts from now on since you can't just stop and use your words like a big boy. ---- Ok so they WILL be offered, but they are not now except for proto pairs being tested now? Got it.

Also, you are STILL BEING AN IDIOT about the initial offering of the Quest boot with tech soles. How you're still not getting this I have no fucking idea- you really that dumb or are you just trying to be a dick about it? It's not a limited release if every major retailer has them. It's not a prototype boot if it's being sold to the general public. Otherwise please tell me how my buddy bought a pair direct from a major retailer with no indication that they were a prototype-stage boot? That simply does not happen- otherwise please tell me how you think you know so much and are allowed to ignore even the most simple and glaringly obvious facts regarding this matter, seriously.

You seriously must be either a total Solly fanboy, employee, some random park crew idiot that gets free skis from a rep or you're just flat out a fucking complete retard. There can be no mistaking the initial FULL PRODUCTION RELEASE of the dangerously underbuilt Quest boot for a limited release of a prototype boot unless you're about 5 beers short of a 6 pack, just finished doing some bath salts or you're just passing the bullshit and misinformation down the line to make the company that hooks you up look better than they deserve to.

Jun 12 2013 12:05PM

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RubberSoul

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Crazy Fool

of course all metal 916s are sick but that's about it...

brakes..yeah you win that one haha def easier

but better mount pattern? in what way?

no comment on "salomons are better than FKSs in every way" because no one would say that about either top level product cause they all have pros and cons but the high level all metal products for both sides are great...low to mid level salomon bindings are a joke

Jun 12 2013 12:06PM

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DirkaDirka

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Loner

This is coming from a bunch of park rats that listen to rap, wear tall tees, and ride on Ninthwards probably.

Salomon is a quality company that makes awesome skis and outerwear. I have had a pair of Suspects, Shoguns, and Rocker 2's for the past 4 years here in Squaw and they absolutely slay. For those who say that the Suspects fall apart, maybe stay off pavement or learn how to ski.

The Rocker 2's are the most fun thing in pow, ever.

Jun 12 2013 12:11PM

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Crazy Fool

Huck let me examine myself better. The tech insert soles were available in certain retailers last season. This year there are released work wide. This is the same situation as the original quest boots. In the first year only 1000 pairs were made and released to certain shops, like the tech insert soles were last year. Sorry if this did not come across in my previous post. It's pretty standard, a small run of a product is released to certain markets and is used to test the market and also to ascertain any issues with the product. I'm not sure why you want to argue over this so much, we get you are not a fan of salomon.

Jun 12 2013 12:19PM

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Crazy Fool

Explain sorry not examine lol

Jun 12 2013 12:21PM

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50_Shades

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Lame

I'm sorry but the suspects are extremely stiff, have awful delam issues. Not to mention one notch in a rail will shred the core and ream out your edges. Suspects do fall apart.

Jun 12 2013 12:22PM

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ankhou

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Ridiculous

This is true. I have a set of the new tech soles on my Quests which I bought at retail in Revelstoke.

Jun 12 2013 12:28PM

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The_Polock

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They target old fucks riding groomers. They spend more MONEY because they have more MONEY.

Jun 12 2013 12:30PM

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Crazy Fool

*sigh*

See, most companies use limited releases of products to create exclusivity hype, not have unwitting skiers test their product's safety for them. Most reputable companies would take care of that for their customers. Also if the product has not been proven fully safe it has no business being offered to the general public- which is exactly what Salomon did- AFTER they already had identical failures in actual prototype testing that went unaddressed.

Trust me dude, I crawled inside every single iota of information regarding this matter when it happened. Salomon not only knew the boot was shit, they sold it anyways and marketed it as the most burly boot ever simply to hurry up and attempt to gain market share in an expanding segment. I literally cannot think of a shittier thing to do as a legit ski company and for that simple and glaringly obvious reason, fuck Salomon in their asses. Twice.

Jun 12 2013 12:32PM

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Crazy Fool

Alright mate well it was interesting discussing this with you. Enjoy your skiing

Jun 12 2013 12:37PM

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Karma_Police

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I'm not disagreeing they royally shit the bed with the tech insert fuck up.

Their ski designs and sizes are pretty prime though. The 115 is a AWESOME ski.

To all the kids hating on sally here it's because they realized they could make a boat load more money selling skis that men ride on. They used to have a HUGE line of park skis. They probably came to the conclusion that most people do.....a park ski is a park ski most of the time. Big mountain skis depend a lot more on flex, rocker, size, length etc... and that's where they've put their focus. I think there are videos of their team manager

Without Cody Townsend? Don't get me wrong Townsend is one of my favorite skiers and a stellar dude but PLEASE.

Ummmmm.

Abma
Zacharson
Windstedt
Hennituck
FUCKING MIKE DOUGLAS the godfather of freeskiing
Josh Diak, whom most of you haven't heard of but he's from kirkwood so I had to include him.

Not to mention their park team of
Bobby Brown
Godbout
Noah Boman
Woodsy

Point is they quit fucking around with you(not you huck) kids who spend 350 bucks on a pair of park skis and that's the majority of newschoolers.

Also, you're right, they wasted a lot of time coming out with a duke that has option of clamping back down without removing your ski.

http://www.salomonfreeski.com/us/team.html

Jun 12 2013 1:19PM

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FreezerKid

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Ridiculous

the magic suit is still the best outerwear ever made, so sick

Jun 12 2013 1:35PM

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ThaLorax

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@th1337

Foam cores are the best. Said nobody ever.

Jun 12 2013 1:44PM

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MLB

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Mostly because Sally is the best example of a large corporate style ski company ( besides K2, but K2 does a way better job). All they care for is the bottom line, and not the sport. Basicly they follow a trend marketing model, and made their choices based on that (i.e. spending money on touring, slackcountry skis).

They just can't compete in the park market. You can get so many better skis, and better quality gear from other places. They owned the market, but just couldn't keep up. As an example how many people wear SPK boots as compared to Full Tilts? Cap skis compared to sidewall construction? This has been a long time comming. Salomon has been making shit for a while now. By the time they set out their first sidewall ski, they were already one of the last to market. They were slowly winning back their market with wood core skis, going back to metal/driver bindings, and the ghost boot. The problem is that they are just so huge that the cost to build that type of quality product is just too huge to be sustainable. They make more money selling shitty cap carving skis with Z10 bindings at sports chek to punters.

Park skis is a niche is the industry..... a growing one, but not one that everybody is going to sell to. Salomon cut their loses.

PS..... the only reason snowboarders buy Salomon snowboards is one word.... Jed Anderson. The Salomon snowboard brand is run by completely different people, and it shows. It's all about marketing brah.

Jun 12 2013 1:46PM

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No Life

I'm going to throw out there that Salomon basically invented the twin-tip. That alone should earn them respect. Regardless of mistakes in the past.

Jun 12 2013 1:47PM

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joriza.ski

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SPKs anyone? I have hat there boots for a while and i think they're great.

Jun 12 2013 1:56PM

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*ninja*

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They had there time to shine and that was years ago. One company can't dominate the industry forever.

Jun 12 2013 1:58PM

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McLeod

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lol what?! what kind of snowboarders, park, urban, and bc?

Jun 12 2013 2:03PM

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Kazabazua

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Salomon was never cool.

Jun 12 2013 2:03PM

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Crazy Fool

Hahaha definitely fair points as far as the sponsored athletes go. I'm honestly not one for pro ho'ing and I was really talking about how during the Quest fiasco, Cody was literally the ONE pro who was out there online right in the thick of it calming people down about Solly. He's the type of well spoken and well thought out athlete whose words carry particular weight that any company would love to have on their side, which I honestly find more appealing overall than the average pro bro shredhead. That's what I really meant. Not dogging their other athletes, but I didn't see them out smoothing feathers when people were freaking out like he did. I don't really follow who is with who though to be completely honest about it though so sorry for looking past some doozies. Kaj is probably in my top 3 people I want to ski with so there's no excuse for that hahaha...

As for their skis, their big mountain line is the only thing worth even mentioning, and even so only until you bring indie companies into the conversation IMO. The shoguns still hold the record for fastest delam of all time, and I know people who get them for free who still won't ski them fwiw.

The Guardian is a nice enough binding, I am just not stoked on frame bindings in any capacity since they totally kill the feel of the ski and the "big deal" of not having to get out of the ski to swap walk modes is really a non issue in a sidecountry binding. To me, there's only so good a frame binding can even be, and the fact that this is their ONE entry into the AT market vs let's say the F10s/12s/duke/baron tour de force from Marker kind of sucks. Solly by all measures should be fkn killing Marker in AT binding technology but somehow they're not. Can't say I feel bad for them after the Quest debacle though, the way they handled that- or more accurately didn't handle it- fkn disgusted me like I've never been disgusted by a company before and I personally wouldn't buy anything from them ever again even if they didn't suck.

Jun 12 2013 2:06PM

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CrotchKiller

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Crazy Fool

They have been blowing up in the park/urban scene recently. They have quite the team now

Jun 12 2013 2:06PM

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MLB

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No.... just because you make one good choice in the past isn't an excuse to become stagnant. I would also like to say that the new canadian Air Force created the way we ski, not Salomon. That's where the respect goes.

ps.... K2 invented the twin tip.

Jun 12 2013 2:12PM

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razors-chaz

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.

Jun 12 2013 2:13PM

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LiquorLanch

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Oh snowboarders know all right, it's just that Jed and Grendy's and many of the other team riders fucking kill it. Watch their riders lay it down and you'll understand. The salomander is a pretty good board for park same with the villain hence why so many people ride them.

I wouldn't call them the hottest, I think Capita still has that award.

Jun 12 2013 2:15PM

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404404

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Crazy Fool

Paying a team that is around 500K+ a year, plus events, and marketing means they would need to sell a good amount of park skis just to cover that. If they are losing money, and then it needs to be covered by other departments (running shoes) why would they keep a dying limb? They started becoming less relevant spite having a stacked team of really high level skiers, and a sick comp like Salomon Jib Academy.

Why this happened? Might have to do with not keeping up with ski technology, or keeping old marketing tactics that didn't keep up.

Jun 12 2013 2:23PM

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onLINE

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Insane

I bet you were a kid who spent 350$ on skis once. Go back to TGR old man and enjoy your sallys. Kids grow up quick, thats the worse buisness model ive ever heard.

Salomon did drop most of thier athletes, many did not choose to leave. You think dumont really wanted to join head?

I used to work for salomon as a tech rep back in the day. I remember the day when the suspect came out, nobody knew how they ski'd but that didnt really matter as they were colourful and sold like crazy. Their g suits where everywhere. Kids were lined up to join the jib akademy i was there, salomon was cool. To answer op's question Salomon has taken a different aproach to the ski market. Just like they did when the suspect came out, they dropped all their racing products and team. Companies change and rearange. They are focusing on carving skis, and a little bit on big mountain and freeskiing. Their bread and butter will always be $350 carving skis sold to the average recreational skier and to resorts for their rental fleets. Karma_Police seems to think there is no money to be made on 350$ skis he couldnt be more wrong.

Jun 12 2013 2:24PM

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McLeod

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sickterrrr

Jun 12 2013 2:36PM

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