As it is now January and we were supposed to ship in December, I figured it was time to let everyone know where we were at.
We were on track to ship in December but then Sabic, one of the big companies that manufacture the actual materials we were thinking of using, got wind of what we were doing and gave us a bunch of input on different materials to try that might work better than what we had been thinking. It was really great having their molecular level knowledge on materials. So for the last month or so we've been having fun "wrecking stuff" so that when you get the 360 Quick Connect parts, it's harder for you to wreck. Burton Snowboards has been letting people test the new Burton Step On binding they've been developing for three years so I got to do some double testing. Bindings and Camera accessories. As you watch the video notice that because I'm not centered in the frame, when I get the crazy face shots, I don't get lost in the center, you get a better feel for the action and where I am in relation to the scenery around me.
By changing to a slightly different polycarbonate mixture we could tighten up the tolerances by .3 of a mm and it made the parts works so much better it was crazy. The power that the lever put on the part was so great that tightening up the tolerances made it perfect and less likely to break, which is always a good thing.
The other great thing that happened for enhanced testing was we had a good long super cold stretch -20C with 50kmh winds that let us test the different materials in super cold real conditions and they worked amazing. My nose not so much. Frostbite heals... eventually.
Two days ago we did final testing on one of the Lexan polycarbs and we were stoked. Unfortunately I crashed so hard I cracked ribs and pulled my groin as well as did something to both my sciatic nerves. Parts wise though, I was so stoked to see that they held together and worked all day even thought they were cracked. I was -20C and because they didn't shatter I knew we had found our material. I also found the hospital but knowing we had found the material we wanted made it all totally worth it.
Anyway, to make a long story short, we just gave the factory the go ahead to make the .3mm tweak and and decided on the final material so it's on. We should have the parts shipping in the beginning of Feb. Sorry for the delay, but I want the parts as perfect as I can get them so you have nothing but good times shooting with them.
This is the video of me getting the smackdown. I'm pretty sure this is the hardest I've ever hit the ground. I broke through the 1 inch think ice layer with my ribs and then rolled and tumbled 100-150 feet before coming to a stop in heap. The Grill Mount audio is pretty grim but funny. As I was rolling and tumbling down the mountain, I swear could hear Yvon Chouinard's voice as he ran through the different ways to self arrest when falling on a steep icy slope. His only words of knowledge for when you were rolling and tumbling down a mountain going head over heels was "To you I say, GOOD LUCK!"
After the wreck I had to take one more run just to get back on the horse that bucked me. Then Phil Wigglesworth and I flew out to the base to go to the hospital.
Thanks for the support, it's much appreciated.