Blessed with three days of blue skies and good riding, Shops 1st Try cemented its position in Europe’s January test calendar. Industry and retailers turned up in force to create a great positive vibe with a test village significantly larger then last year. The doubling up of the exhibition dinners in the evening, now held in a much bigger hall in the Congress Centre in Alpbach, were a great success with all brands taking time to make their booths as attractive as possible. Images by Clive Ripley & Anna Langer.
1 Nestled into the very end of the Alpbach Valley in Tyrol, Austria, Shops 1st Try is growing every year2 Offering lots of great slopes & off-piste terrain to test3 Number of visitors is growing every year as well4 The test is only open for registered shops5 While the whole test area was super busy on all days, Ride Snowboards scored the most testers on the first day according to the digital data 6 Ride Snowboards Marketing Manager Joerg Schramm presenting the new OMG asymetric park board for girls6.1 Ride's Joerg Schramm and Wolfgang Buchwieser 7 K2 Volume Shift range with wider noses and tapered tails for more powder & carving fun8 Next to the classic K2 board range9 New Oakley Prizm cylindrical range10 Oakley Field Marketing Specialist Daniel Januschkowetz presenting this year's innovation, the heated Inferno lens11 Never Summer pow surfer Maverix and carving machines Nicholas Wendelken and the Instagator11.1 Never Summer's Shapers Series, Merle Kittan with 2 girls models and Nicolas wendelken with 2 mens models12 Flo Rhiemeier from Rhiemeier MSA with the new IO7 with ChromaPop cylindrical lense and the brand new code helmet13 Smith Code helmet with 360 Boa, MIPS rotational impact protection and Koroyd for the lightest helmet on the market14 Capita sales rep for North of Germany Andreas 'Spange' Spangenberger with his two favourite models from the Spring Break series15 Dakine waffle team ensuring no testers surffer from low blood sugar - Simona Einsle, Local Marketing Innsbruck (right) and Rainer Minth, Sales Rep South West Germany.16 Dakine new signature series combo by Leanne Pelosi16.1 Dakine's Mission Pro, same functionality as before but with cleaner design16.2 686 Glacier Gortex jacket 16.3 686 Squad collab jacket with Smith comes will goggles 686 Stephane Grenet - always warm and always dryVolcom's Olivier, Valerien and Vernon with YlvaYunika's Jean-marie Thil, brand was founded 5 years ago in Canada, first year in EuropeMaybe not so great in numbers but still imporant for the range - POW glove for the smalles shredders!New German Marketing Manager for Nitro Snowboards, Alex Konz with the new team board, the Beast that is available in a range of lengths to accommodate all riders.One team, one board - the Nitro BeastFlow Snowboards new carving weapon Blackout with Austria Sales Rep Tobi DufnerNew Amplid Sales Rep Kolja Keetman with the new Millisurf Splitboard Pow Surfer with Swallow TailPryde Group's Stephan Decker with the new Nidecker pow surfer The Donuts that is also great for carvingMervin MFG European Marketing Manager Julia Mantler with her favourite new Gnu girls machine for next winter - the Free Spirit with the first Bent Metal women's bindingsForest Bailey designed his own Signature Series Bent Metal bindings for next yearNew Lib Tech C2 Entry Level board Cold Brew with new topsheet technology on top of a super dope graphicVans Sales Rep South Germany Lester JonesNew Vans All Mountain boot Infuse with the new BOA closure for the heel to vary stiffness according to presonal preferenceSpearheading Thermos venturing into action sports - Eric BrendleDC Snowboards RangeDC Sales Rep CH with The Supernatant board that won 3rd place in the Source Design Award & the new women's Telegraph camber board with tips Up ConstructionRome SDS Sales & Marketing Manager Phil Kämmerer with the new women's model Kashmir & the men's Mountain DivisionAnon's new super clear lense in cooperation with ZeissAnon Merchandiser & Sales Support Sabine Telgen with the new Anon goggle with Zeiss lensSalomon's Product Trainer Karl Feldbaumer with the Hillside Sickstick freeride stick, Sales AT Matti Puster and Team Rider Flo Corzelius with his very own Huck KnifeElectric's Sales EMEA Coordinator Davorin Maric with his favourite EGX goggle in the Bones colourway and Sales Rep AT Rene Obojers with the new Charger XL in Dark TouristSP Gadgets new series of mounts for phones and cameras for action sportsSerge Dupraz taking the best care of his boardsThe brand new Dupraz DI 6'++ - THE orginial pow surf & carving machine!Christoph Bammer from Austrian Motion Sports Distrubtion with the new Jones Snowboards Mind ExpandaTom Binder from Element Sports with the new Now Bindings model Drive that takes the skate tech to the next levelAgain Tom with his favourite YES. board, the BasicJules Wiese from Wiese Distrubtion in the East of Germany presenting the new Bern Mazon EPS helmetNew super light & super practical Karakoram Splitboard bindingsBurton's Sales Manager Austria Thomas Recheis with Danny Davis' pro model the Deep Thinker that is great for pow and the big brother of his Free Thinker freestyle boardArbor Sales Rep South West Germany Andy Reif from Okey Dokey distribution with the Terrapin Pow Surfer and Cypress bindings.Amplifi CEO Jens Hartmann backing up the new backcountry backpack with integreated back protectorAmplifi Coretex Polymer vest now has protection on both front and backDeeluxe Marketing Manager Matthieu Perez was very proud to present the very first dedicated pow surf : no board boot, the Footloose.Union's new splitboard bindings, the Expedition FC with Forged CarbonAdidas' MIcheal Fox and Bateleon's Dennis Dusseldorp50.2 Adidas' Philip with the updated Tactical Boost with increased heelhold Adidas' Ralf Sigrist, Hannes Mayr and Daniel TroescherAdidas' Slope Trotter pant leading the way in skate inspired outerwearAsmo's Steve Grube and Wolle NyveltBataleon's Evil Twin updated with a new triple base design thats gives improved uplift Bataleon's Surfer 3D to the max for superior hang ten50.6 Bateleon's Carver keeps you on the edgeBoa's Anna Seidl and Tobias TrojokBuddyBuddy's Rainer Solch with the Woodruff with long floating nose for surf style riding.BuddyBuddy's Rainer Solch with their twin tip Emcee all mountain freestyleFlux R11 with new bunny graphic.Flux's DSW with new wrap around on top of binding to hold you in even firmer. Giro Zone hyprid helmet with mips updated with new colours for this season Giro's distributor Grofa, Soren Borcherding and Robert FisherGoodboards Josef Holub with his good buddiesGoodboards ladies Prima with stifness and performance for advanced women boarders. Horsefeather's Tomas Koudela and Hanus Salz with Amplid's Peter Bauer and shred buddy Philip KrogolHorsefeather's Washburn waterproof reworked in Czech camo patternHorsefeather's womens Perrie in gold, long quilted parka with sherpa lineingLobster Floater twin tip powder board, fun from top to bottom.Lobster Sender Award winning all mountain freestyle, most aggresive board in the line.Melon's best selling Parker comes in new colorways next season, this is the Tiger frame.Melon's founder James Pointer with POS unit that offers their new component based goggle systemMelon's Jackson goggle with new Zeiss Sonar lense, works whatever the light conditionsMicheal Lenk with the Sim's Juice, almost flat rocker which has recieved great feedback rand the Toms Sims pro model for more aggresive ridingMr Muck on the mic50.6 Northwave Domain CR boot takes crampons for the more adventorous boarderNorthwave Hover with Spin closure system and ultraquick release systemNorthwave's Jochen Ihrit and Uwe SchlagerPally'Hi's Johannes Ritter leaves his superman outfit at home.Plum's Feyan new lighter weight binding with carbon spoiler.Michi Mohr new General Manager for POW in Europe with the only leather kids glove on the market and the new Warner Mitt that now comes with a Merino Liner that is gonna make big numbers next yearPlum's new Prems women splitboard, this one mounted with the newly launched rental binding interface system and the traditional interface.Plum's Tal and Jeremy DeyaPogo's Ben Dietermann with the powder surfer with pads and leashRossignol's Diva Split softer split board for women Rossignol's Jibsaw, best selling board in their quiverRossignol's Tom Loeffeler and Tobias Bear Shred Bumper No Shock helmet with reformable eEPP that takes multipul shock Shred Simplify goggle designed to maximise periperhal field of view and CBL lense thats takes out unuseful spectrum. Shred's Giovanni SguottiSwitchback Session now features the Aeron base that enables the one model to fit boot sizes from 39-47 Vimana's Clone directional camber carving machine Vimana's Dutch distributor Jan Willem Van DijkenVimana's Vufo high end freestyle twin Shops 1st Try head honcho Muck Müller with Geli Lederer, first lady of the Congresszentrum in Alpach where industry and retailers come to gether for the Highlighs Exhibition DinnerNikita showcased their outerwear in the exhibition dinner at night - the photoprint Hawthorne Jacket & Mondrana Onepiece.Nikita's Marketing Manager Alexandra Zwingel and Sales Assistant Katharina BaumannThe Bonfire super stretchy Aspect 3L Jacket and the Master BIB PantSessions teamed up with Metallica for FW1718 to bring you this amazing jacket that is printed with all of their album covers inside.The back side of the Sessions Metallica collab looks just as great as the inside.Absolutely True To This, Volcom brought their whole crew down to the Congresszentrum to join the party & screen print t-shirtsVolcom Men's TD2 Jacket with the Bryan Iguchi multipul pocket flat vest over the top and TD2 pant with lightweight softer Goretex C-knit fabric.Volcom Team Rider Mary Luggen in the new women's Jaspar insulated jacket in Cheetah pattern and best selling tailored fit Iron pant.Picture Organic Clothing team Manon Perret, Mathieu Joubert & Sebastian DumarestPicture Organic Clothing women's Signe jacket that has a seamless bodymapping for more durability on the shoulders and extra insulation in the lower backPicture Organic Clothing men's freeride Naikoon jacket and pants that are extra light, super breathable and waterproofRip Curl Team Conny Bleicher, Eduardo Cousty and Marie JoratRip Curl Search Pro 3 Layer Jacket that is extra durable and 100% recycled polyesterRip Curl Search Pro women’s jacket with additional lining and primaloft padding for increased warmthHalldor Helgason's new clothing brand atrip's 2nd seasonPeter Bauer's thermal label Pally'Hi with super soft merino fabricSwedish girl's thermal & active wear brand Eivy venturing into Europe through the Nitro distribution channelsTSG Technical Safety GearThe TSG Goggle 2 with super easy magnetic lense change systemNew super light TSG Tweak helmet with ventilation systemTSG team with Sven Horenig, Andreas Schmidt and CEO Rudi HergerQuiksilverAll over the Exhibition Dinner were built up stations of the TyrolympicsAnyone who went through all 8 stations was eligible to win these amazing prizes!Yet a lot of the visitors also opted to listen to and attend the various speeches and workshops held on both nights, like new snowboard shapes and customer connections for brick & mortar shopsÄsmoFlow SnowboardingGood BoardsNorthwaveSlytechGoPro's Jeep provided the outside entertainment for passer-bys
