Ski Racing Volume 41 Issue 3

The latest issue of SkiRacing magazine just showed up in our inbox. It was on display this week at the Beaver Creek and Aspen World Cup stops. While the majority of the issue focuses on the US nordic and snowboard teams there is some great inside coverage from Levi on Bode's first slalom podium since 2004.

We're a bit partial to page 7-

Casey Puckett- All Out

Casey Puckett joined KJUS as a team rider last season. He had a pretty good season with a number of podiums including a bronze at the X-Games. However, along the way he had a couple of injuries including an amazing crash in Grindelwald. Rehab is complete on his shoulder and Casey is ready for the season. He is also back on the US Ski Team as a member of the inaugural skier cross squad. Here is video that the ski team just released on Casey and the upcoming season.

New Management Team Structure at LK International AG (KJUS Skiwear)

Today LK International AG (KJUS Skiwear) announced the new management team structure.

Nico Serena, former head of sales, takes over the responsibilities of the design and product development department. Daniel Schaffo, who former lead the marketing department, is now also responsible for sales and will be leading both sales & marketing.

Didi Serena- President & CEO
Reto Holzmann- COO & CFO
Nico Serena- Head of design & product development
Daniel Schaffo- Head of sales & marketing
Roman Stepek- Head of production & supply chain management

Tech Tuesday- Ultrasonic Welding

Our ski jackets and pants are waterproof thanks in part to Dermizax. Another ingredient to the waterproof recipe is seam sealing. Where ever stitches are made they need to be seam sealed to ensure that the jacket does not leak.

Instead of stitching, on some of our jackets we use a method called ultrasonic welding. Essentially, a high velocity wheel bonds the pieces of the jackets together with out any stitches. It creates a very strong, clean, and waterproof seam. We also use it in the collar of a number of our jackets for design detail. Below is an example of an ultrasonic welder in action.

For our men's and ladies PRIME jacket- a 4-way stretch, 800 fill down waterproof jacket- we used ultrasonic welding to form the baffles of the jacket. On the jacket these baffles are curved, which is technically very difficult to keep the seams flat.

Vote for Lasse!

Lasse Kjus has been nominated for the Name of the Century for Follo, Norway- the translation may not be perfect. Lasse is one of 10 candidates who have brought the most recognition to the Follo area of Norway.

Lasse grew up in Siggerud, Norway, about a half hour south of Oslo. He learned to ski at Troll Valley ski area and from there went on to be one of the World's all time great skiers and the name sake of KJUS skiwear. You can read more about Lasse, his new found love for flying and his candidacy here- http://tinyurl.com/5taqg7

Polls are open. Vote early and often. You have until November 7th to cast your ballot for Lasse- http://tinyurl.com/552mha

Happy Halloween!

Tech Tuesday (a day late): PrimaLoft

It's the time of season when all our sales reps are out visiting each of our KJUS dealers and conducting clinics to better educate the sales staffs on our brand, products, and partners. Last season, Dermizax, waterproof breathable technology used in KJUS jackets and pants was the hot topic and one of our most viewed posts is on the topic. This season it seems to be PrimaLoft. Yesterday, we conducted a clinic in Wellesley, MA at St. Moritz ski shop and before the clinic even began, one of the associates there began asking me about PrimaLoft.

PrimaLoft was developed by Albany International in the 80's for the US Army. The Army needed an insulation that was effective in cold wet environments for outerwear and sleeping bags. Since then PrimaLoft has become the insulation of choice for numerous outdoor and ski companies for gloves, sleeping bags, jackets, boots, vests, etc. Additionally, PrimaLoft has a burgeoning business in the bedding market, due to its soft feel and hypoallergenic properties.



KJUS uses PrimaLoft in many of its pieces. PrimaLoft is a great insulation because it has a nice loft like down, is as warm as down, but retains its insulation properties when wet and dries quickly unlike down. PrimaLoft also is very compressible and is windproof. The combination of these properties allows us to develop garments with exceptional warmth, but with little bulk.

One of the highlights of our clinics is the "PrimaLoft Challenge". In this demonstration we ask a sales associate to come up front and hold out both hands and close their eyes. We then place a swatch of PrimaLoft in their hand. Without fail, the only way the associate can differentiate which hand the swatch has been placed in is by a warming sensation in that hand. The test demonstrates how lightweight the insulation is and how warm it is. You can take the test yourself or try it on friends by requesting a Challenge Kit from PrimaLoft.

It is very easy to tell if a jacket is made with PrimaLoft. Just grab the fabric of jacket and you'll notice that in a garment with PrimaLoft the fibers have a silky and almost oily feel as they easily slide between your fingers. It's sometimes faster than checking for a hang tag.

Recently, PrimaLoft introduced a new product, PrimaLoft Yarn, to be used in sweaters, socks, scarves, and blankets. PrimaLoft Yarn fibers are half the size of Cashmere and 40% smaller than Merino for a super soft yarns with performance properties.

This season, we introduced the Ladies Arolid sweater using the Merino wool blend PrimaLoft Yarn. It's a 50/50 blend of PrimaLoft and Merino that dries faster and wicks better than pure Merino. Today, PrimaLoft announced the launch of a website dedicated to PrimaLoft Yarn. One of the coolest aspects of the site is the video demonstrations of the manufacturing of the yarn.

Besides the Arolid sweater (pictured) some of the popular pieces in this season's KJUS Collection with PrimaLoft include the Ladies ELVES, VIPER, and FORMULA jackets, BARROW and FORCE insulators, and SEQUENCE pants. The STAR, EXCEL, and PIKES jackets and BARROW and FORCE insulators are the more popular KJUS men's pieces with PrimaLoft insulation.

You can view all the KJUS pieces with PrimaLoft and all the colors they are available in at www.kjus.com.

2008 KJUS World Magazine released

We just released the 2008 issue of our annual magazine KJUS World. The issue is filled with spectacular images from our photoshoot in St. Moritz last season as well insightful stories on speedriding and our athletes Bode Miller and Casey Puckett. As was the case with last year's issue, there is also an overview of the complete line, including our new SPIRIT Collection.

Last season's issue was in a very large format, larger than tabloid. The size brought the images to life. This year the dimensions are much more manageable and the quality of paper is superb, which enhances the amazing images.

Click the cover image to download a preview of the current issue including a story on a trip to Hublot watches by Lasse Kjus and Bode Miller immediately following World Cup finals last season.

Copies of KJUS World are available at our dealers worldwide. If you don't have a dealer near you email us your address and we'll gladly mail you a copy.

MEN'S FORMULA featured in Outside Buyer's Guide

Today we picked up the annual Outside Buyer's Guide. Held by many as the holy grail of gear reviews, the Buyer's Guide is filled with latest and best outdoor tools and toys for the coming season. Doug Schnitzspahn reviewed all the men's outerwear for the magazine including the KJUS FORMULA Jacket (page 36).

If any of you ever wonder if these jackets are actually tested, wonder no longer. Doug visited over a dozen resorts and numerous days in the backcountry for the review and actually posted some videos from some review days on YouTube. As you can see in the video Doug was out on a few warm days. He told us afterwards that he was a little nervouse wearing the Formula on one warm day, but was really surprised and impressed at how well the FORMULA breathed. This is thanks to its Dermizax EV waterproof breathable membrane- learn more here.

Here is what Doug had to say in the Buyer's Guide:

The Formula is the Porsche of this test- damned pricey, just as flashy, but worth every cent. KJUS's designers tossed in everything from an integrated balaclava to a dedicated cell-phone pocket with a keeper leash. So plentiful are the hidden accessories that the goggle wipe features a graphic to help you find them all. Most important, though, the jacket performed along with the best in class. Stretchy Thinsulate insulation (enough for cold lift rides) and soft, four-way stretch fabric allowed free movement, while the waterproof-breathable membrane rivaled that of any hard shell we tested. Just maybe find a job that pays in euros to save some cheese.

KJUS World USA Blog- One Year Old

Today we celebrated our one year anniversary of the KJUS World USA blog. We look forward to another great year for KJUS and the blog. It's been a pretty quiet summer, but fall is upon us and we'll have lots of news and information in the coming weeks and months ahead.

Thanks for reading and don't hesitate to drop a comment. We'd love to hear from you.

Men's CIO Colorways

Yesterday our friend Rocky at The Goat wrote a post on our new Men's CIO jacket. As he mentioned it is available in colors other than white, however we haven't published images those colors... until now. Below is the full range of colors for the men's CIO.

Treetop, Nightshade, Black, White, Java

See the KJUS Spirit Collection 08/09

We have mentioned the KJUS Spirit collection a number of times on the KJUS World USA blog and have posted a few images here and there. Now you can see the collection on our Facebook Fan page. We are preparing to relaunch KJUS.com in the coming month. We'll be sure to let you know when it is "live" and you will be able to see the complete 08/09 Collections- Ski and Spirit.

Until the launch of the new web site we'll be posting sneak peaks of the collection on the Fan page. And while you are there become a KJUS fan and if you have an image of yourself in KJUS, please share it with the other KJUS fans.

Bode's Turtle Ridge Foundation

This weekend in Franconia, NH, Bode is hosting the BodeBash- a weekend filled with tennis, golf, live music and a "growers dinner" organic feast. In past years Bode has hosted the BodeFest and other events that give anyone the chance to meet Bode. These aren't just meet and greet events however, they are also key fund raising vehicles for his Turtle Ridge Foundation (TRF).

KJUS is a proud supporter of TRF and its mission to enrich the lives of others and building a strong community through supporting health, diversity, and sustainable living. Over the years TRF has supported the Boys & Girls Club of America, Adaptive Ski Programs (organizations that provide skis and equipment to kids & adults with disabilities), Inner City Youth Sports programs, Cancer Treatment Centers, provided ski racing scholarships to deserving children and dispensed thousands of dollars worth of warm jackets to kids in need.

Bode recently created a 30 second spot about TRF that will be airing on the Resort Sports Network starting this fall.



If you would like to support the Turtle Ridge Foundation you can do so online.

1 Day to Beijing, 554 Days to Vancouver

Tomorrow evening, the Beijing Olympic Games open. While all eyes are on the world's best summer athletes, the Vancouver Organizing Committee announced the schedule of events for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

KJUS could be represented by two athletes at the Winter Games; Bode Miller and Casey Puckett. Bode will have a packed schedule with events almost every other day, while Casey's skier cross qualifying and finals are all one day, February 21st.

Casey and Bode are busy training for the upcoming season. Bode is currently in Treble Cone, New Zealand. Casey is at home in Aspen completing rehab on his shoulder.

When will it be in stores?

It's been some time since our last post. It's summer time and we're a winter sports brand, so we enjoy the warm weather the best we can before our busy fall season. This is not to say that we've been sitting on our hands. We've been busy preparing for the season- creating marketing materials,developing ads, and readying the warehouse.

You know the season is not far away when the phone calls, emails, and wall posts start inquiring about when the new collection will be available. The first shipments of jackets and pants recently arrived in our warehouse and we anticipate to have all our goods in by the end of the month. This means that our dealers should have KJUS in stock by mid September or early October.

The first pieces to come in were some that we ordered early because we knew there would be great demand for them. For the men this is the Pikes jacket and for the ladies it's the Viper.

These are the top two jackets in our Authentic line for 08/09 and both feature stretch fabrics, waterproof zippers, Dermizax EV waterproof breathable technology, Schoeller PCM climate control, and PrimaLoft insulation.

The Pikes also happens to be the jacket of choice for Bode Miller and Team America for the 08/09 World Cup Season. This season you will be able to purchase the team uniform from our retail partners like Gorsuch Ltd.

Speaking of Bode, he was recently the focus of a cover story in New Hampshire Magazine: Being Bode: Young Man of the Mountain. In the story they mention his upcoming BodeBash that will take place at his homestead in Franconia, NH, August 23-24. The weekend event consists of an afternoon of tennis, an evening "growers dinner", and a day of golf. Register here

If you happen to be closest to the pin you might win a KJUS Pikes jacket.

Uncompromising Design- Water Bottles

Water bottles and the materials they are made of have been making headlines for the last several months. Nalgene had been the Kleenex of water bottles until the BPA news. SIGG, another Swiss based company, has probably profited the most from water drinkers looking for BPA-free drinking bottles.SIGG bottles have a very clean design and shape. It's bottles have even been inducted into the Museum of Modern Art.

There is a new BPA-free bottle coming out later this summer that has a very interesting design called the KOR ONE from KOR Water. As you can see it has a very sleek design that is almost "imac-esque".
The company describes the KOR ONE as:

A healthy and sustainable lifestyle should be celebrated. Water was meant to be seen. Why then do almost all reusable bottles make hydration such a humbling experience? The KOR ONE suffers no compromises. Made from health-safe materials and designed with intuitive, surprising features, the KOR ONE takes sustainable hydration to another level.

Another company with a clean uncompromising design.

via- The Goat

Greatest Athlete of All-Time?

Yesterday, Tiger Woods added another major championship to his mantel. Over the weekend there was much talk of his position in history as the greatest golfer ever. The volume was turned way up after he defeated Rocco Mediate.

This morning two sports writers from the UK Mirror didn't debate Tiger's position in golf, but whether he's the best athlete in all of sport today. While one reporter debated that Tiger was the best in all of sport, rivaled only by tennis's Roger Federer, the other had a list 5-

Call me a purist but the guys that I’m championing as being greater than Mr Woods are competitors in sports that are in no way flash and (with one exception) all considered minority sports.

They’re done for the love of the sport and the endeavour to achieve perfection rather than the money, fame and plaudits that attract people to more mainstream sports.

So in no particular order, the five sportsmen I think are greater than Tiger Woods at their given sports are: Phil Taylor (darts), Shaun White (snowboarding), Ronnie O’Sullivan (snooker), Bode Miller (Alpine skiing) and Ben Ainslie (sailing).

These are definitely 5 athletes who are dominant in their respective sports, but the flying tomato and Bode standout as all round athletes. Maybe Tiger, Federer, White, O'Sullivan, Ainslie and Bode should go head to head in the Superstars competition, to settle the score.

Our money of course would be on Bode. Bode won the competition in 2002 against some of the NFL's and baseball's top athletes.

KJUS and the City- Day 2 and 3

Our second day in the city began with a quick morning meeting where we met up with Casey Puckett one last time before he headed back to Aspen. We did some more fine tuning and measurements for his uniform.

After breakfast we met with our friends at PrimaLoft. They were in town for a fashion show that their PR agency was putting on for the media. PrimaLoft is a great partner and we use their insulation in the majority of our outerwear. We work very closely with our partners to make the best skiwear possible. This coming season many of the fabrics used in our collection feature fabrics that we developed in tandem with our fabric supplier Toray. With PrimaLoft this year, we introduced the first ski sweater on the market that uses PrimaLoft yarn. We used a 50/50 merino and PrimaLoft blend for the Arolid sweater-

After lunch with the PrimaLoft team they headed to the fashion show and we headed to Paragon Sports. They are now the last ski shop left in the city. They have been growing their KJUS offering. The store is a"maze"ing the way it winds in and around the building. The skiwear section of the shop is the swimwear section in the summer- down and to the right from the main entrance. The majority of the store is separated by brand with many shop in shop set ups. We were there exploring the possibility of putting a KJUS one in next fall.

Day three was media day. Silvia Wespi, head of Communications and Sponsorships for KJUS and I had a day of appointments with media. We met with Men's Journal, BestLife, Self, Vogue, and National Geographic Adventure. Media tours like these are generally pretty informal. Generall you meet at editors' desks, in the waiting room, or if you are lucky in a conference room. Making appointments can be tricky because the magazines are scattered through out the city. There are some big publishing house where a number of magazines are in the same building, like Vogue and Self, which is great if you can hit a number of them in a row. However, sometimes you end up returning to the same building in the same day. Here's a map that shows you were many of the New York media are located:

View Larger Map

We had some very possitive appointments, and hopefully you'll see KJUS in some of their pages later this year.

All in all it was a very busy and productive trip. We'll be back in New York in July for the SIA media event.

KJUS and the City- Day 1

Two weeks ago we ventured into New York City for a number of meetings, including some time with Bode, Casey Puckett, one of our suppliers, a retailer, and some media. We had said we'd be posting updates via Twitter, but had some technical difficulties. What follows is the first of two posts on the trip.

On the first day we met with Bode in his agent Lowell Taub at the offices of CAA Sports. We discussed the season, his feedback on the product he'd worn all season, and went over preliminary designs for his 09/10 uniform. After lunch we interviewed Bode for a story to run in next year's KJUS World Magazine.

After Bode, we met with Casey. His shoulder is on the mend and he is very motivated for next season. We discussed the possibility of expanding the Ski with Casey program (keep an eye here for updates) and did a fitting for his race uniform. Skier cross athletes are not allowed to wear tight one piece suits like the alpine racers. Last season, Casey essentially raced in gear "off the rack". This year he'll be racing in what might be consider "off the hook" or Casey might consider "so KJUS". This winter Casey stopped in at our head office in Cham and met with designers to work on a race uniform for this season.
Pants are the toughest to get a good fit for. Above Casey was testing out one of the prototypes that were brought in for him to try on. After trying on pants of various materials, we found one that Casey felt would give him the best performance. Roman Stepek, KJUS Director of Design and Development was on hand to take measurements and preparations for the next round of prototypes.Once Casey's fitting was complete we headed back to our hotel and prepare for the evening, which included a reception for Bode, by his other sponsor SuperFund. SuperFund was kind enough to invite us to their event where they invited about 150 avid skiers and Bode fans from the New York area to meet Bode. The event was a lot of fun as everyone was really passionate about skiing and excited to meet Bode.

Bode is the one in the way back with baseball cap on.We had some mannequins on hand in Bode's 08/09 Uniform

After the reception the KJUS team went to dinner while Bode, Casey and friends went to POP Burger. We all met up later that night... and that story is for another time.

So Long Jim McKay

On Saturday legendary sportscaster Jim McKay passed away. Growing up I had a love hate relationship with McKay. Loved him because I knew skiing would be on shortly, but before I could catch a glimpse of the Hannekahm start house I had to watch the agony of defeat- which was painful as an aspiring ski jumper.

Each weekend McKay brought ski racing and other sports not regularly seen on network TV into living rooms across the country. Whether it was cliff diving or slalom racing McKay always had great insight and brought great perspective to sport.

These days, about the only time we see alpine racing on television is during the Olympics, and McKay covered many of these as well. As the games made their way into the latter half of the fortnight, the bags under McKay's eyes got deeper than the ruts in an Olympic slalom course. But as tired as he may have looked he always reported in a calm in gentle manner.

Thanks Jim for bringing racing into our homes for so many years.

Minimums...

Stumbled upon a post today on Patagonia's blog, The Cleanest Line about how supply and demand effect size runs available in the apparel industry.

When it comes time to build our clothing, factories are more inclined to work with the larger companies who offer far more lucrative contracts. To make working with a smaller company like Patagonia worth their while, factories impose minimums--thus ensuring that the costs of building our unique, labor-intensive products are covered. Because of our smaller financial punch, we often don't have the demand to meet the minimums required by the factory. This is especially true with less-popular larger and smaller sizes.

We are a much, much smaller than Patagonia, but the points made apply to us as well. Our skiwear is very technical and labor-intensive. It takes about 500-700 minutes to build one of our ski jackets. Unfortunately, these ingredients sometimes culminate in not only fewer sizes on either end of the spectrum, but also some styles and color ways that were initially part of the collection not brought to market. This season some of our warm olive and nightshade styles were victims of this.

No need to fret however, there are plenty of other exciting designs and colors coming this fall. For example the ladies Formula Jacket- available in sizes 4-16:

2070- The end of skiing in the Alps as we know it...

Datline: Davos January 20, 2070

The Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research Davos released a report predicting the end of skiing in the Alps by 2070. According to the press release, they aren't sure if we have crossed the Rubicon yet. The current research they said is likely influenced by human behavior from the 1980s- a 20 year trickle down. As such, it would likely take another twenty years to see if any changes in behavior would have any effect in reversing the trend... or we maybe we've crossed the Rubicon. Let's hope not.

Read the full press release- http://www.snowboardclub.co.uk/news-6986.html

The Rolls Royce RR4

Yesterday the Telegraph had a story on the new Rolls Royce RR4. The listed some minor details on the car and posted the image above. At first glance it is quite a departure from what is traditionally expected from Rolls Royce. But if you actually look closer you can see details that are inherently Rolls. Ian Cameron, the chief designer, said:

"The RR4 has a more informal presence than the Phantom, with a greater emphasis on driving. This is expressed through its slightly smaller dimensions and more organic form, yet with powerful, purposeful proportions. It is a true and uncompromising Rolls-Royce in every sense."

Looking over our 08/09 collection that will be out this fall, there are some pieces that might not be immediately recognizable as "KJUS". But as Mr. Cameron suggested about the RR4- they are true and uncompromising KJUS in every sense.

And like the RR4 sketch above sometimes it's hard to tell in reality what it'll actually look like-

According to Edmunds.com the RR4 will be priced between $250,000 and $280,000 and will be available in 2010. The men's Prime, a 4-way stretch down jacket with 4-way stretch lining and ultrasonic welded baffles will retail for $1,790 and be available in October of this year.

Melges 24 Worlds Update

In yesterday's race Lasse finished 32nd, moving him up to 96th overall. Race four is underway with winds freshening to 20 mph. Follow live text updates at http://www.melges24worlds2008.com/

The Off Season

Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning on Summer for many of us. All but a few ski resorts have shuttered for the season and we focus on other outdoor activities.

The majority of us at KJUS are avid golfers. Our CEO Didi Serena handicap is in the single digits. Others of us aspire to lower our handicaps by as much. Both Casey Puckett and Bode Miller enjoy getting out on the course. Bode recently competed in the World Ski & Golf Championships where we put on the Team America race suit before lacing up the spikes (soft of course).

His team, Team Kitzbuhel, took the title. Bode won the ski and he finished 10th overall in his class.

Another sport enjoyed by a number of us at KJUS is sailing. As a Swiss company, we can no longer the excuse of a land locked country to not sail- thanks to the America's Cup success of Alinghi. In the US, our brand manager races weekly on Casco Bay. But the big sailor in our midst, is Lasse. As we reported this winter he sails a Melges 24. This week he is competing in the Melges 24 World Championships in Porto Cervo, Italy. Wind has been an issue since racing started last week, and Lasse seems to have had some issues himself as he currently sits in 99th spot of 105 boats. There's still lots of racing left, so lets hope he gets good wind and strong starts in the following races and moves up some places.

View other images from the racing action at http://www.outsideimages.co.nz/

Team America - Update

Bode and Team have been busy getting ready for next season. We just got an update from Warner Nickerson who just returned from Austria where he did some testing of new skis with Bode.

I've been home for a few days now, but that trip was pretty wild. We only ended up training three days, but not because of the weather. The weather was absolutely perfect for our entire stay. For Bode the main objective was to find or help develop good slalom skis. And after two days of slalom training he was psyched with two models. The days we skied slalom we'd drive up the 30 minute access road to arrive half way up Kauntertal by 6:30 AM. Just in time for a warm up run or two and a slip run before we dove right into training. I was skiing on four different pairs of slalom skis taking two runs in the course on each pair. Bode had 6 different pairs so he only took two runs on a couple pairs of skis, if any, since he took a few runs on his speed skis before Rainer and I finished up in the course.

Either way, it was a great set up. We were lapping around on a snow mobile and those guys were hammering. There were a few times when I was getting pulled on a relatively flat section where we were easily doing high 60s (mph not k's) the only thing I was thinking was don't catch an edge… please, don't catch an edge. With GS skis it was pretty moderate, but with slalom skis it was certainly squirrelly. We were able to get 8 runs in before the mountain opened at 9:00 and we were off the hill by 10:00 when it started to warm up a little. The snow was great and the training was better.

We're heading to New York tomorrow to meet up with Bode to take care of some planning for next season and then attend an event that his sponsor SuperFund is hosting. We'll be updating throughout the trip on twitter. Follow us here.

KJUS Spirit Collection Preview

This fall KJUS is introducing a new collection of casual apres skiwear. The collection includes sweaters, softshells, and lightweight down jackets. Last week we gave a sneak peek at the ladies Val jacket. Here is preview of a bit more of the collection.

Do you read before you buy?

According to SIA you do. Yesterday SIA released news on the impact consumer generated product reviews have on purchasing decisions, especially on "expensive snow sports equipment and apparel." According to its study more than 88% of those surveyed seek out reviews for these purchases and 7 out of 10 have decided not to make a purchase based on a review.

So, we decided to see what kind of feedback consumers were leaving about KJUS products. It was actually a harder task than we had originally thought. The majority of our retailers' websites are not set up for posting reviews the way Amazon and Backcountry.com are. That said, Sturtevant's in Bellevue, WA does. Here is what some of their customers had to say about KJUS:

Kjus: Women's Formula Pant - 2008-01-28
Love 'em! Fabulous fit, perfect in all weather, from blizzard to sunshine and I constantly get complimented on how GREAT they look! I'll definitely be buying more of this label!

Kjus: Formula Pant - Andrew Cherner - 2007-11-23
These pants are the best! I bought them in one color and loved them so now I am getting them in Black also! Stretchy, comfortable and great looking - THE BEST!

Kjus: Women's Royale Shirt - 2008-04-21
Kjus Royale Shirt I love my Kjus Royale Shirt. It fits perfect and I love the brand Kjus. I highly recommend all of Kjus products.

Hopefully in the future more of our dealers' websites will have the functionality for consumers to leave reviews. But nice to see that everyone who left feedback were happy customers.

We also come across this gem in our research:

Direct Collection on Amazon

Winter X Dates/ Puckett Update

We just saw the announcement for the dates for the 2009 Winter X Games. They'll be invading Aspen, CO once again from January 22-25. At last years event our skier cross athlete Casey Puckett came up just short, finishing 3rd.

Late in the season Casey had a pretty spectacular crash in Europe and separated his shoulder. He had surgery on his right shoulder in late March. He has had his arm in a sling ever since, though he hopes to have it out of the sling and begin the real rehab in the next couple of weeks.

He assured us (as if there was any doubt) that:

I will be ready to have a big year next year
I'm extremely motivated!

We'll be meeting up with him in New York City before the end of the month and will have more to update then.

In Good Spirits

Yesterday, we announced that KJUS increased sales by 40% over last year's pre-season results. In the US, our pre-season order were up by 27%. All great news.

One of the things that we are very excited about and was mentioned in the press release is the KJUS Spirit Collection. The collection of sporty and fashionable apres ski wear, including ski sweaters and cardigans and ultra-lightweight down jackets for ladies and men, was very well received by our dealers at SIA.

One of the most popular pieces, with our dealers and athletes, is the men's CIO and ladies VAL down jackets.
The ladies Val is shown above in methyl blue. It is also offered in white, nightshade (a deep purple), java, and black. The men's version, the CIO, is offered in black, white, java, treetop (like a hunter green), and nightshade.

They will be available at KJUS dealers in the fall.

KJUS Skiwear announces excellent order results for the winter collection 08/09

Cham/Switzerland, May 6, 2008- While the majority of ski apparel brands continue to see flat sales, KJUS skiwear over the past eight years has had consistent double digit year over year growth which has lead to its position as the recognized leader in the premium and high tech oriented ski clothing sector. LK International AG today reported that its worldwide net order results for the 08/09 winter collection of its KJUS Skiwear brand increased by 40%.

This season, the young Swiss company launched the KJUS Spirit Collection, a sporty and fashionable after ski collection of ski sweaters and cardigans and ultra-lightweight down jackets for ladies and men. The CIO and VAL ultra-lightweight down jackets are sure to be coveted prizes for next winter with their use of fresh colors in eye-catching designs.

Reto Holzmann, COO of LK International AG is very pleased with the sales results:”These brilliant results are an indication that we are on the right track and that our clients’ reception of next year’s KJUS Skiwear Collection as well as the new KJUS Spirit Collection was very positive. We are very proud to be working so successfully with our partners in 29 different countries around the globe. We are especially pleased by the growth in a number of our key countries, including Germany where pre-orders for this period increased by 58%.”

Holzmann went on to report the results from other key countries included Austria with a 38% increase, Switzerland with 32%, and the United States of America with 27%.

Connoisseurs of design and skiwear alike appreciate KJUS for its attention to detail and use of lightweight and advanced materials to create skiwear with a clean design with unobstructed freedom of movement. These are the essential attributes that have constituted to the success of the brand. KJUS Skiwear will follow this strategy of uncompromising skiwear into the future as it ventures into new territories off-piste.

KJUS is “Uncompromising Skiwear”, characterized by straightforward design, perfect fit and total ease of movement. KJUS and KJUS systems are registered trademarks of LK International AG based in Cham (ZG, Switzerland) who develops, manufactures, markets, and distributes KJUS brand products. The KJUS products are currently available in selected shops in 29 countries world-wide including Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, Spain, the Czech Republic, Belgium, Holland, Finland, Poland, Russia, Slovenia, Latvia and the United States of America.

KJUS is proud to be associated with some of the world’s most recognized skiers. KJUS team riders include: Lasse Kjus, Norway; Bode Miller, USA; Casey Puckett, USA; Daniel Mahrer, Switzerland; Michaela Gerg-Leitner, Germany; Karin Roten, Switzerland; Mario Reiter, Austria; Frederik Luytkis, Norway; Ylva Nowen, Sweden; Sara Orrensjö, Sweden

www.kjus.com

Uncompromising Speed

Today, Forbes released a list of the world's fastest cars, or more accurately, the world's fastest street legal cars. One car that we felt was missing from the list was Faster One from the Swiss company Weber Sportscars. The Faster One is reported to have reached a top speed of 248.5 mph. Here's what the company has to say about itself and the car on their website:

Legendary Swiss precision is no longer limited to the domain of creating of the world’s most prestigious chronographs. Using a unique combination of high-tech engineering and uncompromising innovative styling geared toward maximum aerodynamic efficiency, Weber Sportcars from Tobel in the Swiss canton Thurgau develops and builds the world’s fastest street-legal sports car.

The two-seater weight in at just 1,100 kilograms and is powered by a V8 engine with dual superchargers that produces 900 hp / 662.4 kW. Thanks to its exceptional power-to-weight ratio of 0.82 hp / 0.61 kW per kilogram, intelligent all-wheel drive and sophisticated aerodynamic properties the mid-engine racer sprints to 300 km/h in just 16.2 seconds and reaches a top speed of more than 420 km/h.

We can certainly appreciate a company that is all about uncompromising performance. We're kind of partial to last year's Marques Model:

Ski Racing Issue 11 Vol. 13 just Arrived

The latest issue of SkiRacing Magazine showed up in our mailbox yesterday. Bode and Lindsey Vonn, don the cover as you would expect for an issue that re-caps the season, finals, and US Nationals. Additionally, there is a great story on the 48Straight Jeep King of the Mountain event in Sun Valley- including a quote from KJUS skier Casey Puckett. With skier cross becoming an Olympic event in Vancouver in 2012 look for more SkiRacing coverage of the sport.

Opposite the 48Straight story is an ad we placed. The photo of Bode cradling his globes was taken right after worlds at an undisclosed location in Switzerland. He's wearing this year's Fusion softshell ski jacket.

Good uses for gold medals...

Last night Bode spent time with Conan. He talked about the Olympics, the difference between first and third in race- try starting and stopping a stopwatch inside of .03- and good ole yankee ingenuity, including an uncommon use for a gold medal. Watch it on NBC.com.

Lasse Still Has the Stuff

We mentioned a few weeks ago that Lasse was throwing his hat back in the ring. Well he got the equivalent of a leaner this past weekend placing second in the downhill at the Norwegian National championships.

Not bad for a guy who has been away from the sport for two years.

Congratulations Lasse!