Saturday, February 7th, 2009
As you know last week we were at Snowbird for our on-mountain testing day. It was an awesome day. Today we were at Alta. As I pulled into the Goldminer’s Daughter parking lot at Alta I thought, “It feels good to be home.” Alta is my resort of choice so I was stoked to be testing the Klymit product on the slopes I know and love so well. With nearly a foot of new snow in the previous 24 hours, the conditions could not have been better. Also, with cooler temperatures than last week at Snowbird, the stage was set for the Klymit technology to shine. Today seven members of the Klymit Beta Team joined Matt and me: Cynthia, Colin, Barry, Richard, Ty, Neal, and Matt.
In the morning Cynthia and Colin (both of whom are Alta employees) showed Matt around the mountain. Surprisingly it was only Matt’s second time skiing at Alta….well, third I guess, if you count the time he tried to buy a day ticket with his snowboard in hand…okay, just kidding…but I did see that happen once. Poor guy, I think he was completely oblivious that Alta is a skiers-only mountain. Either way, Matt did have a few troubles of his own as he lost his pass halfway through the morning. After a frantic search in the snow he returned to the ticket office where they kindly gave him a new day pass. As avid outdoor enthusiasts, Cynthia and Colin provided excellent feedback about how we can improve the Klymit product and implement new designs and applications.
I spent the morning with Richard and Barry. The father and son combination were a lot of fun to ski with. I enjoyed showing them a few of my favorite runs. Like the guys at Klymit, Barry is an entrepreneur himself. This allowed him to easily relate to the few hiccups we had with the valve and canister system halfway through the morning. Even though we weren’t able to fully inflate their jackets after our valve broke, they were good sports. In fact, they gave us so many ideas for new valves, canisters, bladders, etc. that I could barely fit them all onto my one sheet of paper.
In the afternoon, we had big group as Matt and I were joined my Ty, Matt, and Neal. Between the five of us, we found some pretty sweet kickers with super-soft landings. Matt definitely got the loudest “OOOHHHH” from the lift on a number of occasions. The first set of “OOOHHHS” came as a result of a 360 in which he over-rotated and pulled out of both skis all while landing on the bamboo ski patrol stick. Matt redeemed himself a short time later by pulling a sick iron cross 360, much to the delight of all the people on the lift. Of course, we also made time for a few old school tricks. Matt, Neal, and Ty showed us their best spread eagles. In between pulling sick tricks and charging steep lines on Supreme, Matt, Neal, and Ty gave us some great feedback from the perspective of young college students. They too had great ideas about how we can improve our technology and make it more user-friendly and cost effective.
Despite a few product hiccups, overall today was a great day. Not only were we able to ski the greatest snow on earth but we also learned a lot about how future consumers might view our technology. We are extremely grateful for all the members of the Klymit Beta Team who joined us today. Their feedback has proved to be invaluable.
This coming Friday and Saturday, we will head north up to Snowbasin and Powder Mountain, respectively. If you are interested in participating in any of our on-mountain events or other product demos, please join the Klymit Beta Team by completing the survey found here. For future Beta Team events please click here.
Saturday, January 31st, 2009
Today we hit up Snowbird for our first on-mountain product test day! It felt good to get out of the office and onto the mountain. We couldn’t have asked for a nicer day; the greatest snow on earth and brilliant sunshine. Matt and I (Doug) were joined by Klymit Beta Team members, Mike and Christian, two very experienced outdoorsmen and gear gurus. In addition to showing Matt and me around the mountain, they provided invaluable feedback and constructive criticism. They also had great ideas about new applications for the Klymit technology and possible valve and connector concepts. We also appreciated their patience as we worked out the inevitable wrinkles that arose with our first testing event.
While the Klymit Beta Team has been busy with on-mountain testing, Klymit executives have been busy making contacts with outdoor retailers and promoting the Klymit technology. They recently returned from the SHOT Show in Orlando and the Outdoor Retailers show in our own backyard (Salt Lake). This weekend they are in Las Vegas at the SnowSports Industries America show. In February, the Klymit team will be in Germany for the ISPO show. Thus far the shows have been a huge success!
With February right around the corner, we anticipate there will be a number of other on-mountain testing events ranging from Powder Mountain and Snowbasin in the north to Sundance in the south. Next Saturday we will head further up Little Cottonwood Canyon to Alta. If you are interested in participating in any of our on-mountain events or other product demos, please join the Klymit Beta Team by completing the survey found here. For future Beta Team events please click here.
Thursday, November 6th, 2008
You may’ve noticed that the blog took a summer vacation and is now back in action. However, Klymit definitely did not take a summer vacation and has been working hard on all aspects of the business and product. In addition, Klymit was featured by a number of publications in the past few months. Click Here to browse through those publications and hear what other people are saying about Klymit!
Thursday, November 6th, 2008
After working hard all summer we’re finally excited to see the snow start falling! It’s now time to put on some product and start another round of testing.
Klymit is signing up some of the world’s largest brands in the outdoor and other industries to participate in the Klymit Beta Test this winter. These companies are building Klymit-enabled Prototypes and testing them in various ways before releasing finished product on the market. Examples of some of the products include:
- Jackets, Pants, Gloves, and Boots
- Sleeping Bags and Camping Pads
- Hydration Systems and more!
If you’re a manufacturer interested in licensing the Klymit Technology, please let us know by Kontacting us through this link.
In addition to the various companies who are involved in testing Klymit products currently, Klymit is also gearing up for some product testing of its own. If you would be interested in participating in the product testing events let us know. Click Here.
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
Check out this recent KUTV Channel 2 News Report about the Klymit Technology. Click Here For the Video
Also, hear a radio interview with Klymit founder Nate Alder and CFO Ben Maughan. Click Here For the Audio
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
It’s official! Klymit is now a proud resident of the “high-adventure Mecca of the country”, Ogden Utah. Check out this link to an article by the New York Times to learn more about why Mayor Matthew Godfrey can give such a powerful quote about our city. With so much going on in the outdoor industry, it’s no surprise that we would want to relocate our business here. There’s a lot of community support, some great outdoor activities including two ski resorts up the canyon, and we’re excited to be here. Who knows, we may see you out on the lake this summer, or hiking in the mountains, or biking on one of the many trails. Keep your eyes open for that Klymit logo!
And if you’re interested in being one of the lucky ones to test out the Klymit product line, use the “Kontact Us” form and let us know. We’re always interested in individuals who have a passion for the outdoors and have a keen sense of well-built technology.
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008
Hello to all you outdoor enthusiasts, equipment manufacturers, partners, investors, and friends! We’re excited to welcome you to the Grand Opening of the Klymit Kommunity Blog. If there’s one thing that gets us excited, it’s progress! And here is where you’ll learn about the progress Klymit is making as it seeks to become the world leader in Gas-based insulation for the outdoor gear and apparel industries and beyond. As you may already have learned from the “Products” section of our website, Klymit is initially focusing on products that will have an impact in the Snowsports and Outdoor markets. However, feel free to visit the Klymit Kommunity Forum or comment directly on this post and suggest potential applications you would like to see for our future products. After all, we’re outdoor enthusiasts ourselves and the products we’re working on now were born out of frustrations that we’ve been dealing with on the slopes and in the outdoors for years. We’d like to hear from you. Whether it be jackets, pants, boots, gloves, sleeping bags, or some other product, we all have our favorite product and love to hear about your favorites. Thanks again for visiting and look back to the blog in the future for more information! Until then, enjoy the outdoors!
