Colin , anyone ?

[LeVieuxCrouton]

The Colin poles were very popular on the slopes here ... the bamboo ones and then the aluminium ones ... made for the working class , they were littering the sides of the t-bars because people were cutting them with their edges . Or they were bent out of shape ... you could bend them by looking hard too long at the same spot .
Anyone knows where they come from and why they were lost in the fog of time ?
Let me know ....

 

[Sethmasia]

The company was Colin K. Lax Ltd (Ltee) in Montreal. They apparently started around 1961. In addition to the Colin brand they trademarked the Yodler brand, which did accessories, skiwear, skis and poles.

 

[LeVieuxCrouton]

You are killing me , Seth !
I usually find everything and now you beat me to it .
But how ??
Where was the information ? Because when I look for that name on internet , I draw a blank .

Just to encourage you , I bought your book on ski maintenance yesterday ... you will have some spare change to put Nutella on your croissants !

 

[Sethmasia]

Ha! Trade secrets! Actually I looked at the listing of products exhibited at the SIA trade show, 1967, published in Skiing Trade News that year. Colin poles were distributed by Colin K Lax Ltd of Montreal. Then a google search turned up this: http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/opic-cipo/trdmrks/srch/viewTrademark.html?id=281065&lang=eng

Hope you enjoy the book -- rather obsolete in an era of stone grinders, but basically still accurate. It's been out of print for years and of course I get no royalties on used books. I thought of updating the text and publishing an e-book, but Youtube offers so much free stuff I don't think it would sell. Even for the "why it works" material in the front, which you'd have real trouble finding elsewhere.

 

[LeVieuxCrouton]

Ahhhh , your secret weapon : the Skiing Trade News !!
But is was the Yodel brand that pop up ... I checked the address ... a two story brick building housing a Royal LePage agency ... it was traditionally a 100% English suburb . Obviously the material they were selling was not manufactured on location . The interesting thing are the baskets with the maple leaf ... I would swear they were done in the Eastern township , same location as the skis made in the province ( like the Toni Sailer ) .What happened to the mold ?? That would be nice to find !!

I am positive I will enjoy the book ... I don't like stone grinders ... I prefer the old paper templates and bastard files ... life was much simpler then ...

Thank you !

 

[Joal]

I have a pair of white THE SKI poles that are made in Canada. Colin probably makes poles for others when the demand is strong and peels of a few for themselves. The baskets are Colin but the grips are Scott.