Snowboard opportunity

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Revision as of 20:50, 25 February 2012

Executive Summary

Market Research

Anthropological Observation

From our groups past experience of going several times a year to different ski resorts in the US and Europe, coupled with online video research we made several observations.

When moving from their cars to the ski lift, snowboarders seem to be quite confortable as they only have one piece of equipment and fairly confortable boots, especially when observed next to skiers who have two skis and two poles to carry and have much more unconfortable boots.

However one of the most common problems experienced by snowboarders is struggling getting on and off ski lifts. Snowboarders, especially beginners have great difficulties getting on J-bar(button lift) and T-bar lifts. These lifts originally designed for skiers requires that the snowboarder places the bar or disc agaist the inside of their leg. As the lift is moving at fairly high speeds when placed between the snowboarders leg, it can cause the snowboarder to lose balance and fall. This is an issue which can be both painful and embarrassing for the snowboarder, as not only does he/she fall but can risk getting dragged along on the ground by the lift still between the legs. This problem also affects the other users and ski resort owners as it increases queue time, as several lifts are wasted during the time the snowboarder gets back up and attempts again, often several times. Due to some snowboarders lack of confidence in these lifts they also often waste time by letting several lifts pass them by before attempting to mount the ski lift. Although less common than the T-lifts, J-bar lifts cause even greater problems for snowboarders as the disc surface designed to attach between the legs of skiers has very little surface that can be placed parallel to the snowboarders leg. [1]

Furthermore we looked at snowboarders taking chairlifts. When taking ski lifts (either chairlifts or bar lifts) snowboarders detach their back foot from their binding. Getting on chairlifts does not cause many problems for either skiers or snowboarders. However this is not true for getting off chairlifts. When exiting a chairlift, one moves at the speed of the lift as one slides off. This does not generally cause skiers any problems as their boots remain in skiing position during the chair lift, but for snowboarders it can be difficult to get their balance with only one foot strapped in which often cause them to fall over as they exit the chair lift. One person falling can cause a chain reaction as they block the exit area, making it more difficult for those on the next lift to remain on their feet. [2]

After exiting a ski lift, skiers can begin skiing straight away, often using the speed of the lift to get to the inclined slope, or using their poles to take them there. Snowboarders usually sit down after the ski lifts in order to strap their boots into the binding, thus losing the speed from exiting the ski lift. There is often a flat part between the ski lifts and the inclined part of the slopes and snowboarders either have to push along with their free foot, which is difficult given the approximately 90 degree angle between the board and the binding, or if strapped in it becomes even more difficult as they have to wiggle or jump in order to move forward.

Certain ski resorts have slopes which have an incline followed by a flat part. Many riders, both skiers and snowboarders do not have enough speed from the incline to get past the flat part of the slope. Wheras skiers can use their poles to move forward if stuck on the flat, and can also move their skis to create forward motion, snowboarders either have to unstrap and slide along as described before or use their board to either wiggle or jump forward, which is very slow and requires a lot of energy. [3]

User Interviews

We conducted two user interviews, Evan Waldens brother, and Erik Ringvolds mother Trude

Trude is a 56 year old, very active woman who runs, bikes or skis (depending on the season) at least 6 times a week. However she has arthritis making her fingers very weak. This condition is worsened by the cold, which means strapping on ski boots sufficiently thight on top of a mountain is impossible. Also the weigth of carrying skis from the car to the ski lift can be challenging for her, especially if the car is parked far away. Another point brought up, was that she belives snowboarders have much less control in the slopes than skiers, and she tries to keep away from them as she had an accident 2 years ago, where a snowboarder collided into her causing several months of pain and disability to do sports.

Conclusions: Although snowboard bindings are different than ski boots, they work on the same principle, and people with arthritis would probably struggle with their snowboard bindings, especially if their fingers are cold. The weigth of a snowboard is also a little less than skis but for older users or children it can be difficult to carry the board. Statistics from the National Institute of health shows that its not true that snowboarders have less control than skiers. They are equally prone to accidents altough snowboard accidents tend to be less severe [X]

Expert Interviews

Online Product Reviews

From product reviews at amazon.com [4] we were able to exctract information about possible opportunities to improve todays snowboards. The reviews of the board itself were generally extremely positive. Most people commented positively on the boards dynamics such as flexibility, stable at high speeds, soft landings, good on all terrain and there were comments on boards being lightweight. The only negative comment was about a board getting cracks on the top surface, but after being left in a moist bag for several months. We looked at reviews for snowboard wall racks, where we saw comments on people being satisified to get more space in their room, due to this device. The reviews for bindings was much more negative, the vast majority concerned parts not working correctly or breaking after using them only a few times. Users also complained about children not being able to put on their own bindings, the plastic bindings become stiff and hard to manipulate during winter temperatures, bindings unlocking while riding, bindings filling up with snow while riding. Another comment described how the strap was too long and ended up touching the snow and acting like a break, which is a serious design flaw.

We drew the following conclusions from the product reviews :

- The board are very optimalized, litte room for improvement

- Some users would benefit from an easily storable snowboard

- There are several problems with the bindings, manufacturing as well as design flaws

Online Forum Survey

We conducted a survey [5] on reddit.com a snowboard forum, asking snowboarders if they would benefit from the idea of a foldable snowboard, considering it had the same dynamic properties as a regular snowboard. The answers consisted mostly of people thinking that it can not be done. One person expressed interest in this kind of snowboard and another said it would not be useful as the snowboard was not the most ackward thing to transport, but rather the boots, helmet and clothing.

Top Stakeholder Product Needs

We have identified four major stakeholders in the life cycle of the competitor's product: the user, the retailer, the manufacturer and the shipping company. Below is a list of the needs of each stakeholder concerning the product.

Users

The user is the main person to use the product, therefore his needs are the ones that should be first taken into consideration when redesigning the competitor's product.

• Low price
• Light with sufficient rigidity and flexibility
• Durable
• Board should have sharp edges but remain safe to carry
• Adjustability and strength of bindings
• Ergonomics of bindings: they should be easy to strap on and release
• Appearance, branding
• Easy to store

Retailers

The needs of the retailer are centered around making profit by selling the product, and facilitating the after-sales service.

• Profitability
• Appearance, branding, appeal
• Easy to store: small weight and dimensions
• Serviceability: standardization of parts

Manufacturers

The needs of the manufacturers are aimed at easy and cheap manufacturability.

• Simple geometries
• Limited number of parts
• Cheap materials that are easy to work with
• Cheap manufacturing processes
• No toxic materials
• Easy to store: small weight and dimensions

Shipping Companies

The shipping companies want an easy to carry product.

• Package should be light and compact
• Durable: resistance to vibrations and shock
• Replacement parts must be easily shippable

Top Design Concepts

Foldable Snowboard

Easily Turnable Bindings

Easy Release Bindings

Snowboard/Snowshoe Combo

Competitor Products

We begin by reviewing the different kinds of conventional snowboards that exist on the market. Then, we take a look at two innovations that have appeared recently: the splitboard and the Magne-Traction Snowboard.

Common Snowboards

Snowboarding is a sport that has developed into various styles, the most common ones being freeride, freestyle and freecarve. Each snowboarding style requires a specific equipment that suits the technique needed for that particular style. While all common snowboards are constituted of a board and two bindings, there are various kinds of snowboards that have different shapes and flexibility, and different kinds of bindings.

Freestyle

Freestyle snowboarding consists of performing tricks on man-made terrain features such as rails, jumps and boxes. It usually takes place in parks and urban areas. The snowboards used in freestyle are twin-tipped, which means that both ends have an identical shape. They have a short length, are quite flexible and are used with soft boots. The bindings used are either strap-in bindings, where the boot is retained by an ankle strap and a toe strap, or step-in bindings, where a locking mechanism automatically secures the boot when it is inserted into the binding. Freestyle snowboards is the most popular kind of snowboard, also being used by people going down groomed slopes in ski resorts.

Freeride

Freeride snowboarding consists of riding down any terrain available, but most often groomed runs. Freeriding includes aerial tricks, borrowed from freestyle, and deep carve turns, common in alpine snowboarding. The snowboards used are longer than freestyle boards, have a moderate to stiff flexibility and are often twin-tipped. They exhibit directional stiffness in the sense that their rear part is stiffer. As in freestyle, strap-in bindings are mostly used, with soft boots.

Freecarve

Splitboard

Magne-Traction Snowboard

Pugh Chart

Gantt Chart

Team Roles

Chris Tomaszewski

Evan Walden

Phil Brown

Saviz Mowlavi - Competitor Products lead

Erik Ringvold - Market Research lead

Conclusion

Summary of Findings

Hypothetical User Scenario

Appendix - List of 100 Design Ideas

1.	Snowboard with wheels that turns into skateboard
2.	Built in bottle opener
3.	Surfboard with bindings and keel
4.	Remote control snowboard
5.	Remote controlled Exploration board
6.	Snowboard/vehicle with seat
7.	Built in Breaks
8.	Binding that releases foot during fall (like skis)
9.	Eject able snowboard
10.	Wind snowboard (like wind surfing)
11.	Adjustable length
12.	Energy storage (for tricks)
13.	Tether to ankle
14.	Jump assist board
15.	Voice controlled board
16.	Built in object avoidance (like in cars)
17.	Goggles with edge detection and colored terrain gradient
     a.	Built in trail map
     b.	Eye tracking
18.	Low cost board for beginners
19.	Heated Board to melt ice
20.	Hover Board
21.	Built in Jetpack
22.	Ferromagnetic board to change dynamics

References