The crew at Boa would like to send out a a huge high five to Specialized Team Rider Todd Wells for winning his second (in a row) US National MTB Championship wearing Boa on the Specialized BG S-Works MTB shoe. Enjoy the vid!

Boa was bruised, battered but not beaten!

The crew at Knox just forwarded over this customer email.

We can read product reviews all day long about motorcycle technology, but only a letter like this truly illustrates the strength, quality and durability of the Boa Closure System on moto gloves when put to the ultimate test…a real world crash. The Boa Closure System on the Knox Handroids stayed tight and secure during the entire slide and kept the gloves on his hands. What more can you say? Glad you are doing OK Brandon!

Let me start off by saying you guys rock. About a year and a half ago I bought myself a pair of Knox Handroids because I kept hearing good things about them. I picked up a pair and loved riding in them. They felt great, looked great, and I hoped they would protect me as well as they looked. Last week they got put to the test. I went down going around a turn at about 105mph. I low sided because of some gravel, slid across the road, across the gravel, and flew into a ditch which then turned into a corn field. And my hands came out perfectly! Without even a scratch, bruise, burn etc. I did mess up my left knee, my back and my left thigh sense they weren’t covered by something that Knox makes!

Way to make one damn amazing product. Enclosed are some pictures of the damage to the gloves.
I’m also curious if you guys do some sort of refurbish if I were to send you the gloves?

Thanks again,
Brandon Smith
Minnesota, U.S.A.

Welcome…Welcome Back…and Congrats!

Responding to a 2010 sales surge and anticipating even greater demand for its award-winning patented Boa Closure System, Denver-based Boa Technology has recently re-structured its team and added several employees.

“These moves position us well to better serve our growing partner base while also ensuring that we maintain close collaboration with our current partners, continue to innovate product, and work to raise the profile of Boa worldwide,” says Boa President Mark Soderberg.

The recent changes include a wide range of hires, departmental shifts and promotions:

Eight-year Boa veteran Jimmy Capra will head up the new Medical Business Unit. Says Boa CEO Gary Hammerslag, “Jimmy has worn many hats at Boa, from sales to product development to marketing; he is uniquely and perfectly qualified to maximize the exciting avenues for our product in the Medical Category.”

In response to Capra’s promotion, Ilya Minkin—the former Global Category Manager in the sales department—will assume Capra’s previous position as Product Manager. “Ilya possesses a deep understanding of our product and a personable collaborative approach that make him ideal for this spot,” adds Hammerslag.

The Sales Department, overseen by recent hire Vice President of Sales & Marketing Chuck Mason, has also welcomed several new team members. Most recently, Vin Connolly re-joined the company as Global Category Manager. The move represents a homecoming for Connolly, who spent the past two years at Burton Snowboards. In addition, both Karl Wurm and Eric Weis will join Boa as Development Support Specialists. Wurm comes from One Track Mind, a snowboard shop in Beaver Creek, Colo., and adds twenty years of snowboard expertise to an already seasoned team. Eric Weis comes to Boa after working for four years at Recreational Equipment Incorporated, where he was a sales and product expert. At the same time, Kim Polak and Jeff “Woody” Woodard have moved from Development Coordinator positions to become Regional Account Managers.
(more…)

Mud. Rocks. Scree. Talus. Snow. Creek crossings. And even lightning. The Boa Closure System saw it all as Boa Marketing Director Garett Graubins tackled the fabled Hardrock 100 Endurance Run last weekend. Running in prototyped Hoka Bondi B’s, Graubins successfully completed the course, which climbs a total of 33,000 feet and crosses 13 high-altitude mountain passes, in 37 hours. “This was the ultimate field testing ground for Boa on trail running shoes,” says Graubins. “It was sort of like when Samsonite tested their suitcases by throwing them into the gorilla cage at the zoo. The Hardrock course is relentless and it beats you up like nothing else. If you have one weak chink in your armor, Hardrock will expose it.” Graubins also points out that the Boa Closure System let him “Set it and Forget It” for virtually the entire race — he didn’t need to adjust the system once — and the system was lighter weight than traditional shoelaces, since the Boa lace does not absorb water and sheds mud.

The Boa Closure System currently is available at retail on trail running shoes from The North Face (Sentinel Boa), Scarpa (Blitz & Corsa) and TrekSta (Kobra). It also appears on several light hikers.

Graubins enjoyed the company of a pacer over the race’s final 26+ miles: prolific running blogger Sarah Lavender Smith. You can read her account of the final quarter of the race here: http://www.therunnerstrip.com

Photo courtesy of Bryon Powell, iRunFar.com

Black Diamond athlete Zack Giffin (Black Diamond Quadrant Boa Ski Boot) is always prowling around the Pacific Northwest backcountry for prime lines, and the adventure featured in this video and report is absolutely prime. Big, steep, committing and sweet—this epic line on Mount Shuksan was for sure one of the highlights of Zack’s spring ski season.

BD athlete Zack Giffin and friends make an epic descent on Washington’s Mount Shuksan from Black Diamond Equipment on Vimeo.