Snowboard opportunity
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Contents |
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 skiiers 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 T-bar and J-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.
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.
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 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 jump forward, which is very slow and requires a lot of energy.
User Interviews
Expert Interviews
Online Product Reviews
Top Stakeholder Product Needs
Top Design Concepts
Foldable Snowboard
Easily Turnable Bindings
Easy Release Bindings
Snowboard/Snowshoe Combo
Competitor Products
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