Thanks for that, obviously not Ken!
RD (Reseach Dynamics) wasn't a garage brand, I really don't recall any brands being built in garages back then or what the smaller brands were classified....other than smaller brands. Research Dynamics was more a ski marketer, along the lines of Pre (Precision). these were brands that used their industry connections/relationships to get skis built in factories like Head and K2 to their specs or used old (non inline) molds with their graphics on them.Way back when I did some work with RD, Mike Brunetto and the connection with Tim Kohl [with Swan goggles in the mix] and Mark Archer. I don't remember Ken but it was at the time when RD was on the cusp between garage skis and a 'brand'.
RD (Reseach Dynamics) wasn't a garage brand, I really don't recall any brands being built in garages back then or what the smaller brands were classified....other than smaller brands. Research Dynamics was more a ski marketer, along the lines of Pre (Precision). these were brands that used their industry connections/relationships to get skis built in factories like Head and K2 to their specs or used old (non inline) molds with their graphics on them.
I am not sure what the first "Garage Brand" was and when this trend started. There were brands that were successful as a smaller startup like DPS or Icelantic and many who have fallen by the wayside, SkiLogik and Ramp are two that come to mind...there are many more, too many to even recall but most were not even around long enough and didn't make a indelible mark on my memory.
Thanks again for that!
Sorry for continuing thread drift, but the new Crosson seems to be Similar to the early RDs, Prepreg and high end cores.
My girlfriend at the time worked at Bahnhof Sports in Park City where they had the All Mountain and Powder Skis. I lusted over the all mountain ski. Something about the shape flex and lightness was appealing as I was skiing a lot of backcountry at the time. This was in the days of skinny tele skis and I couldn't quite comprehend going as wide as the Powder ski. But the price was high and I waffled. An employee snaked the All Mountains and a Patroller ended up with the Powder ski. Both were happy. I eventually bought a pair of RD SLS that were made in Yugoslavia. Elan, I'm sure. They had a similar shape and a very light balsa like core and were fun powder skis. The later RDs were much more serious metal skis and I'd agree that they were likely built by Atomic.
Crosson > RD probably depends on the 'when', the early RD stuff was really handbuilt, the later a bit more badge engineered. Crosson seems a halfway house, no doubt a great product, buying in some bits [cores for example], others in house.
Now you mention it some of the early stuff I saw might have been elan sourced too.
Should I ask how the GF panned out ... ?
We're talking about him, aren't we?Is Bode even still relevant? Probably came cheap.
While Bode Miller will continue to be recognizable to ski enthusiasts that frequent ski forums, I am willing to bet that among the general skiing public, the names of stars of MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL (in Canada and US cities with teams) are more recognizable than WC and Olympic Skiing Champions such as Bode Miller or Lindsay Vonn or Michaela Shiffrin.Dunno, but to me, the greats of the sport stay on top the rest of their lives, and after. A big deal. (I'll resist the urge to start listing them, and they include Bode Miller.)
In terms of why racers like Bode Miller will have "hall of fame" type staying power in some quarters, the above quote seems to contain a certain minimizing, though it makes good sense. For example, there is a lot of terrain - and population - between the extremes of Paris and "the Alpine countries," including much of southern Germany, northern Italy, eastern France and large areas in Norway and Sweden. Many of these places are fanatical about competitive skiing; and the size and prominence of other sports alternatives is more a cultural difference than anything. For example, Munich kids traditionally choose soccer and Alpine skiing to go crazy about and have as their jock high school sports, based on their own preferences and traditions. They get good at the sports they like best, that their fathers and mothers also liked. And those sports produce their heroes, including top soccer players - and skiers.It's a bigger deal in those alpine countries because alternate sports just aren't at the internationally high profile level - so Austria and CH yes skiing probably at least equals domestic soccer, hockey, handball etc in media coverage. But I bet the Paris media doesn't give as much attention to Worley etc as Mbappe, Neymar and even Ntamack.
Skiing as the opposite problem globally to the big sports followed by millions and billions who do not actively play - not even the majority of particpants are really interested in following it closely save for Olympics. Guess its like fishing or climbing or running in that respect.
A lot of rural areas produce top ski racers. But Innsbruck, Salzburg, Munich, Geneva, Stockholm, Bern, Zurich, are just a few cities where high school gate skiing seems to be a big deal.