we wish you a merry christmas

KORI Coyote for clean water, health and freedom!

Congratulations to Victoria Wagman who put in the highest bid on music-aid (musikhjälpen) auction” and is now waiting for her own Kori Coyote - an exclusive unique back protector!

Victoria has shown to be the girl who runs the swedish blog mcflickan.se - a blog about taking the license, driving motorcycles and taking care of your motorcycle from a female beginner's perspective. Victoria is also studying for math teacher in Gothenburg and will be in the Chalmers team in an international engineering competition for 2013! Victoria drives a street-bike, both in Sweden and when travelling in Europé and all autumn she has been looking for a back protector that fits her without finding the right one, last night she got a call about the campaign with the auktion for Music-aid and she struck! Read her own story on her blog!

We also want to give a big thank you to others who were in the bidding! The entire sum will go to Music-aid (Musikhjälpen) which this year supports the fight to children in slums have access to clean water. More than one child dies every minute due to dirty water, lack of toilets and poor knowledge of hygiene.

We hope that this contribution will help the children in the slums to experience good health and perhaps we might be able to contribute to a change in which clean water can create fun, freedom and adventure in their everyday life. 

The sum landed on 1775swedish kronor (SEK) that will really make a difference:

- 50 SEK to five families have access to the toilet for a whole year or clean water to over 5,000 people.

-  100 SEK is enough for about 150 bags rehydration solution that can save children's lives.

- 200 SEK enough materials to build 25-meter pipe.

Picture from http://sverigesradio.se/sida/gruppsida.aspx?programid=3946&artikel=5294565&grupp=18501

Index : Design to improve life

KORI is nominated to the INDEX AWORD 2013!

"INDEX: Design to Improve Life, is a Danish NPO with global reach, established in 2002. Their goal is to Inspire, Educate and Engage people in using Design to Improve Life-skills todevelop sustainable solutions to global and local challenges."

This Year KORI Coyote is nominated!

KORI Coyote was design to improve life for sport enthusiasts to give them more freedom and more flexibility, without compromising with safety. Today we have reached that goal and today KORI stands for so much more.

Today we are a family business that stand for good production with a quality and living standards that we can stand for. We stand for venturesome entrepreneurship and belief that a vision can come true.

Looking back on this journey is very exciting!

Go to the nomination and give us a LIKE!

Musikhjälpen - We hope to give freedom and adventure in the everyday life.

KORI is no big company, we are a new and still very small business but we are a kind of business want to help. Even though we have no sales to brag about yet, we still believe that you allways can help with the resources you have. Therefore, we have just given one of our products to the Music aid (Musikhjälpen) auction here in Sweden!

Every minute a child dies by causes of bad water. Music aid helps children in the slum, alover the world to get access to fresch water.

Our KORI Coyote is a Swedish invention that was born to experience freedom and sporting adventures. By giving away one of our Coyote back protectors to the auction we hope to help children in the slums towards good health, maybe that can lead to a difference where clean water can create fun, freedom and adventure in their everyday life.

Now we challenge all other business in this country, to at least do the same - everyone can contribute!

KORI - Encouraging Freedom. Encouraging Safety.

All pre-orders are packed and ready to go!

Yesterday our new Squirrel sport socks arrived and all focus was put on getting the pre-orders ready for delivery!

The socks were wrapped in silver tissue, put into their envelopes which then was sealed with our embossed KORI labels – hopefully giving a good impression when reaching their new owners! 

Looking forward for that!

Delivery of our NEW Squirrel sportsock! YEY!

And so they came!

A box full of the new KORI Squirrel sportsocks directly from our factory here in Sweden! Now it is time to start packing! People are waiting!

This will be fun!

KORI Squirrel sportsock on its way!

Today our NEW KORI Squirrel is shipped from the factory in Gällstad, Sweden!

Through good collaboration between manufacturing, skilled developers and involved athletes, we are now able to offer KORI Squirrel, Swedish-made sports socks which are of the highest quality both in terms of design, durability and composition of materials.

At KORI we put great value in high quality production as well as preserving and supporting local handcraft knowledge. That is why our KORI products is not only "Design in Sweden" but also "Made in Sweden". All products are produced with living standards that we feel that we can stand for. KORI Squirrel is produced Cansocks in Gällstad in Sweden, they have been producting socks for over 60 years and today they are stronger than ever. We are convinced that, that is because they really know what they are talking about!

Here are some teasers from the production!

...And after this they were packed and shiped to us...and soon they will be distributed to everyone who are waiting to recieve their orders! This is a wonderful feeling!

www.cansocks.se

www.kori.se

Protection + storage = true

The concept of having protection and storage in the same product evolved from the belief that a safety product should be of practical use in more situations than ”only” in the saving situation.  Being able to get extra storage or on the other hand make a storage vanish is valuable in many scenarios, here are some examples of scenarios for the upcoming winter season in the slopes:

First of all do not disregard the situations around the actual activities where all equipment is present and is transported from place to place. The KORI back protector can be used as a backpack in all these situations, storing your equipment on the way to the slopes and back from the slopes. Then use it as a back protector in the slope.

It might be that you are exploring new areas walking up the mountains, a scenario where you often need less warming equipment than when going downhill. Stuff the jacket, helmet, goggles, food and beverage in the backpack and on the way down, you’ll have no fluttering on the back as the backpack then is used, folded in as a back protector.

Hydration is important for your body, your mind and your concentration. Just by putting a hydration bladder in your KORI back protector KORI is easily used as a hydration pack and you’ll always have beverage available. 

And winter landscapes are not always cold. Spring skiing is a nice way to mix summer feelings with the joy of snow. On these days the temperatures might change a lot during the day or on different sides of the mountain. With KORI, by giving you the storage volume that you need for the moment, you’ll always have the advantage to undress or dress up.

And, why not, after a nice day in the slopes, store your equipment neat and tidy on the after ski and make sure you get all your equipment with you home.  

A real backprotector and... backpack!

KORI review in the motorcycle magazine Moto73 in Netherlands.

Back Protective bag

See here a real back protector and ... backpack! It is called D3O Viper Pro. It is a back protector that you put on like a backpack: including chest strap and a flexible belt around the waist, which you can easily attach with Velcro. You wear your motorcycle equipment over it, from which you of course remove the built-in protection, if possible. The back protector meets all requirements for materials and protection (EN 1621-2, level 2, the highest possible). It feels comfortable and keeps your back warm. One advantage at high temperatures can be felt as a drawback: despite the airy material you get at temperatures above 25 degrees anyway once a sweaty back. The back protection is removable and the rest is then washable. I met the creator and the motorcyclist Sophie von Wachenfeldt in Sweden, where she lives and works. "I never knew where I would leave my stuff when I took a motorcycle tour." explaining how she has come to this. And so evolved the idea: This back protector is also a backpack. And it easily adapts to what you put in it. An extra sweater, a newspaper or when taking a walk in a city, if needed, your whole motorcycle equipment, including helmet! With the continuous "lacing" Kori becomes exactly the size needed. Weight of this back protection Viper Pro is be between 1170 and 1450 grams, depending on which of the three available sizes you need.

I have tested the Viper Pro for a few thousand miles. It feels excellent comfortable. And as a backpack KORI Viper Pro also works excellent. A whole motorcycle equipment fits inside, when you want to visit something. But you can also get your papers and a camera with you on your bike.

Available: on the webb

Price: 450EURO

Colour: black/grey

Testperson: Willem Laros

Info: www.kori.se

Original text:

Rug beschermer zak

zie hier een heuse rugbeschermer en...rygzak! D3O Viper Pro heet het apparaat. het is een rugbeschermer die je aantrekt als een rugzak: inclusief borstriempje en een flexibele band om je middel, die je gemakkelijk met klittenband vastzet. Daar overheen draag je motorpak, waaruit je natuurlijk wel de rugbescherming verwijdert als dat kan. De rugbeschermer voldoet aan alle eisen qua materiaal en bescherming (EN 1621-2, niveau 2; het hoogst mogelijke). Hij voelt comfortabel aan en houdt bovendien de rug warm. Een voordeel dat zich bij hoge temperatuur laat voelen als een nadeel: ondanks het luchtige material krijg je boven de 25 graden toch snel een natte rug. De rugbescherming is uitneembaar en de rest daarna wasbaar. Ik ontomoet bedenkster en motorrijdster Sophie von Wachenfeldt in Zweden, waar ze woont en werkt. "Nooit wist ik waar ik mijnspullen moest laten als ik ergens met de motor naar toe rij". Legt ze uit hoe ze hierop is gekomen. En zo ontstond het idee: deze rugbeschermer is namelijk tegelijk  een rugzak. Die zich gemakkelijk aanpast aan wat je erin stopt. Een extra trui, een tijdschrift of, voor een wandelingetje in een stad, desnoods je hele motorpak, inclusief helm! Met de doorlopende "veter" neemt de Kori precies de omvang aan die nodig is. Het gewicht van de Viper Pro bedraagt tussen de 1170 en 1450 gram, afhankelijk van welke van de drie beschikbare maten je nodig hebt.

Ik heb de Viper Pro intussen gedurende enkele duizenden kilometers getest. Hij voelt buitengewoon comfortabel aan. En als rugzak functioneert de Viper Pro eveneens prima. Een heel motorpak past erin, als je iets wilt bezoeken. Maar ook je waardevolle papieren en een camera kun je zo op je bult meenemen.

verkrijgbaar: via internet

prijs: 450euro

kleruen: zwart/grijs

gebruikt door: Willem Laros

info: www.kori.se 

This is KORI...

We are a brand that doesn't look upon our users as a market, we look upon our users as a person wich is a part of several markets, summertime...

... and wintertime.

And we'll have a range of products adapting to our users and their specific need. Products represented by inspirational animals, their characterists and their living habits.

We hope to combine these two worlds and we hope to make this a new experience - Encouraging Freedom. Encouraging Safety.

www.koriexperience.com

KORI in the discussion about oil, transportations and consumption

This morning I heard a great discussion on the radio (Morgonpasset i P3, SverigesRadio) regarding our future and our oil consumption, something that we all are more or less aware of. The Swedish professor in physiology Kjell Aleklett who were guest this morning described “Peak Oil”, how we have reached our maximum in oil consumption and that it cannot continue to increase.

Kjell explains how fish from the Atlantic – is freezed – transported to China to be cut into filets and then transported back, it is cheaper that way… Are we really that greedy?  

As we are talking about China, China is a large and strongly growing nation, we are aware of that. The thing is, as our society looks today, a growing nation implies a growth in oil consumption. Growth = increased consumption = increased production of goods and services - goods and services that needs to be transported by machines that need oil = increased oil consumption. I hope, I do not need to go in to the details why this is bad..

Chinas oil consumptions increases with 7% each year, they are growing today as Sweden did in the 1945-1970, and who are we to tell them not to… We have to let them grow, but we also need to be aware of what this means and come up with a way to change our consumption habits, read oil consumption. 

The world, and mostly the growing parts of the world, need oil for production and transportation. And of course we, our company KORI, is also a part of this consumption, but at KORI we try to be aware and try to think at least one step ahead.

Our KORIback protector/backpack is mainly made out of polyamide (Nylon) and Polyester which are plastic materials which comes from the oil. Despite this discussion about oil, we still choose to work with plastic textiles because there are no other materials that can live up to their strength and durability which is of essence for the high quality and long lifecycle that we strive for. Also, as Kjell mentioned in the interview, taking oil(plastics) and transforming it into products with a value is much better for the national economy than letting it exhaust. So in the case of choosing materials, we choose long lasting products that wont end up in the growing mountains of garbage.

When we turn the coin and look upon our part in “production and transportation” we are proud and hope to be exemplary. When we started this company, KORI experience AB, many told us to turn to China to find a production. But for several reasons, this discussion in particular, we did not. We were, and still are stubborn with the hope that more people will understand why... ...why we choose to keep our production local, 3 hours drive from our office. With the backup of this very present discussion with “Peak oil” there is no excuse not to…

The relation to consumption read oil is just like any addiction, the difference is that the addict is a whole worlds population and the body is the earth with all its nations and their economy and climate. 

The protectors of the year

The KORI back protector backpack in ” The protectors of the year” in the swedish magazine Snowrider No.2 2012/2012

Very exciting to see our protector together with other more traditional protective equipment for the snowmobilers. KORI is a new way to look upon protective equipment, the unique feature that you are also able to use the product for storage stands out from all other protectors.  

And, we totally agree with the magazine that the most important with protective equipment is that you wear it. Our first customer on the snowmobile market sent us a mail the week after he received his KORI, telling us about an accident where he hit his back quite hard, and that he felt stiff in the back the day after, but that was it. The thing behind this story is that this person had not been using a back protector for several years before he got his KORI, mainly because the previous protector took away to much of the driving-experience.   

We often look back upon this story – this makes all worth all work we put into making KORI reality – Today we are very proud to be a part of “the protectors of the year” – thank you all! 

Go to www.snowrider.se

Read about the snowmobile accident

Read more about the KORI back protector

Using protectors in different sports…

The main issue in this discussion is that if a force hits you during a crash, you do not want the least possible of that force to reach your body. Therefore there are several different types of products out on the market with the aim to protect your body in that situation.

In some cases the crashes and therefore the usage of the protector is frequent and maybe even conscious. This is in sports where crashing is a part of doing and learning, in some sports you even teach and learn how to crash. In other sports crashes are not a desirable part of the sport. But, weather you use your protectors frequently or not and consciously or not, the purpose are the same. And most important, in any sport, the unexpected accident might be just around the next corner, in the next turn or in the next jump.

So, the important aspects of the protectors for different sports are not that different:

Movement of the body. Most sports desirers protectors that follows your body movements, there are some sports with a stiffer usage position that allows for stiffer protectors, but few sports prefers them… So, a flexible and movable protector – no matter which sport. The back protector D3O Viper PRO in KORI is the markets most soft and flexible material which makes it follow every single body movement, like an extra protective skin.

Impact forces – all protectors are developed to protect the body from impact forces. Note that not all protectors are developed to manage frequent impact forces, some protectors are singe-crash-products and should be exchanged after subjected to an impact force. The D3O Viper PRO protector in KORI is of a soft material that reacts with molecules that instantly locks on to each other when subjected to the force and then directly returns to its flexible form, it can be subjected again and again without loosing its protective ability. 

Body temperature – some protectors are said to be specially developed for warm/cold situations. But most important with the protectors is not to provide you heat or cold, rather to obtain and enhance your natural body environment by adjusting to its temperature and humidity (sweat). What is put underneath and on top of the protector will then keep you cool by ventilation or keep you warm by isolation. In KORI the polyester mesh and the ventilated D3O Viper protector helps transport and ventilate humid air (sweat) from your body which is the most efficient aspect to enhance the body environment. 

CE Certification EN1621. There is a standard for protectors; it is based on the motorcycle standard which meets the highest standard on the market. It is divided into Level 1 (lower) and Level 2 (higher). Note that not all protectors are tested and certified for the standard and not all sports requires products with the certification, but the certification is a proof of understanding the impacts, ergonomics and the positioning – all important for the final performance of the protector! KORI D3O Viper Pro is certified withthe higher level of protection: EN1621-2, Level 2.

So.. what differs the different sports protectors from each other is first of all that not all protectors have the CE-certification standard, secondly not all protectors are developed for frequent crashes and thirdly… well thirdly there is no other difference. The differences will come in what you personally prefer and find suitable for your body, your movements and your needs. All sport protectors want to be comfortable and ergonomic and, when the accident is there, all sports protectors wants to protect…

Choosing materials

There are so many materials out there on the market today and it is almost impossible to consider all of them. Also, all material specifications sound very good and many times often very alike. But it is important to dig deeper than those specifics.

Product development

The material choices are considered throughout the whole product development process. Especially when you, as we at KORI, work with products that both need to adapt to usage requirements; product aim, product function, product usability etc. and adapt to the users requirements; body climate, body movements and also body skin sensibility.

Above this we need to consider the strength of the materials, which together with other steps in the production process will reflect the quality of the outcome. To find the best suitable material for our products we dig deeper than the material specifics. Below is a short summary of three of the largest textile material categories:

Natural textiles

First there are natural textile materials such as wool, merino and silk that is has its origin to adapt to a body climate. Though, the big though these fibres are not composed to last long. The wool on sheep (or other wool producing animals) is constantly exchanged for new growing fur. And the delicate silk is just as delicate when it comes to handling the material; it is sensitive to for example washing and sunlight.

Synthetic textiles

Then we have the synthetic textile materials, that is polymer textiles. Synthetic textiles are first of all very strong and durable and as plastics can “go into any shape” this category is receptive to new technologies and innovations, which makes this category the largest and widest category with most possibilities. In this category we have materials as Coolmax, Nylon, Lycra, Cordura, Kevlar, Tactel, Spandex etc.

Semi-natural textiles

At last (in this summary) we have the semi-natural textile materials, that is textiles which, in a quite complicated way, is extracted from natural materials such as wood. These semi-natural materials is just as it says, something in between the other two categories, but it does not really reach either one of them. It is not as good as the naturals and can not compete with them, and neither as good as the synthetics and can not compete with them, yet… at least not for the qualities we search for in our products. It is a growing category and it is very interesting, I hope that we can await many promising production-technologies and of course great end results textile materials in this category. Today we can find textiles as Lyocell, Modal and Tencel..

One textile material that I do not even mention in this summary is cotton, which is a natural fibre with the main qualities of being cheep and not that good in any of its characteristics, apart from “commonly used” and soft. The environmental debate about cotton is also important to consider...

Product-next-to-body material choices

When we chose the materials to the back protector the aim was to make a safe and durable product, but as it is used and mounted on the human body we needed to pay attention to what is happening in the meetings where product meets body. The back protector backpack, which is not directly a product-next-to-body but very close, usually only a t-shist in between. We chose a polyester mesh where the protector is close to the body. Polyester, a synthetic fiber which is very strong and durable and also is extremely good at transporting moisture. The mesh also gives an extra ventilation to keep humid air away from the back. This was a material decision to keep the back dry and ventilated and the product long lasting. The challenge for the user (to be able to take advantage of this material) is to use a suitable material in between. If the material inbetween does not transport moisture, the risk of the dirty-sweaty-feeling is still very high…  

So, the material choices for the products that is directly next to the skin is very important. And now, at KORI, we are up for this new challenge, because we are developing product-next-to-skin products (hint of what is to come)… very exciting!