Industry News
As skiers and snowboarders, we love our gear. Even if we don’t need something we can’t help but drool at the newest skis, boards, boots, or outerwear. And we should, because quality, smart gear makes our days on the slopes that much better. Ski poles are a gear item that tend to be less glamorous than others, but that may soon change due to an innovative new design by an ex-Apple engineer.
Yardsale is a new brand that launched earlier this year that aims to address the gear’s two biggest problems: 1.) how they clatter around and cross over when they’re being carried, and 2.) how difficult it can be to get your gloves through the straps. To overcome these difficulties, co-founder Kelly McGee used his previous experience as a product design engineer at Apple, to focus on some distinct features, including magnetic handles and baskets, open loop straps, and a built-in GoPro® mount.
Magnetic Handles and Baskets
Yardsale has created a proprietary system with magnets in the handles and baskets so the poles can easily click together. Cramming enough small magnets into the thin profile of a ski pole was a challenge but the company used high-frequency welding and metal-injection molding that embeds 16 magnets into the handles of the ski poles, making them easy to snap together for manageable movement.
The system means no more dropping your poles in the parking lot or getting them mixed up with someone else’s poles in the car. If you need to answer a phone call, you can easily free up a hand.
Open Loop Straps
The pole straps are built using 3D knitting and a stiffer yarn than other poles on the market. The straps retain an open loop shape that allows even the thickest ski gloves to slip in and out without getting caught. No more struggling to fit your gloved hands inside your straps while the snow is blowing and your friends already started skiing down the run.
GoPro® Mount
A GoPro® mount piece easily attaches to the top of the handle so you can take follow-along footage or snap a group picture without mounting on your helmet. The mount does cost an additional $20, but what a great alternative for your POV shots.
Other Features
For $139, the poles are in line with other quality options on the market, which is impressive given the simplicity of other poles. The company completed its first batch of production in November and has a high standard for quality. Each Yardsale pole is hand painted, and hand assembled by experts who have been making ski poles for more than 40 years using light and durable 7-series grade aluminum shafts, stainless steel fasteners, 3D-knit straps, and premium ice crushing tips.
Yardsale wants their poles to last a lifetime and each component has been rigorously tested in the lab against industry standards using sub-zero freezers, blazing hot ovens, pull tests, abrasion tests, and bend tests. The company is so confident you’ll ski them for seasons to come that if you bend or break the poles, just tell them the story behind it and they will replace them for free.
The poles can also be customized by color so you will never lose your poles in a sea of black and gray gear again. With the company’s fully modular system, you can choose between eye-catching monochrome poles, or pick different colors for your handles, baskets, straps, and poles. If you want to get weird, you can even make your right pole totally different from your left.
If you are worried about the extra weight of the magnets, rest assured that won’t be an issue. The poles weigh in at 1.3 pounds, with comparable aluminum poles weighing roughly 1.15 pounds. The company was also sensitive to the affect the magnets could have on credit cards, cell phones, and avalanche beacons, but the amount of magnetic flux given off by the poles is about half of what would be needed to cause any demagnetization.
One thing I noticed was the somewhat small and rectangular-shaped baskets. This was done because to be able to snap together and carry the poles more easily, the baskets had to be the same width as the handles. It makes me wonder how they would perform on a deep powder day.
These poles certainly have some features that add to your experience on the mountain. There is still time to order them to arrive by Christmas and shipping is free.
Can’t wait to see those dangling from empty chairs because the magnets stick to them and the skier wasn’t paying attention while hopping off.
I have a new-ish pair of Grassticks that are as high tech as I will ever need to go.