Using protection when skiing?

Daily News (Dagens Nyheter 2013-02-23) brings our attention once again on the importance of protection on the winter slopes. This time they have asked people, on the slopes, directly. Four out of ten snowboarders and skiers, do not care about protections. Compared to some years ago, that is a rather good figure. This also shows in fewer serious head- and back injuries (see previous blog post …)

The question is how do those who still don’t use protection when skiing, reason. What makes them not use any protection? Is it because protections cost too much? Is it because protections are uncomfortable? Or just because of old habits?

”You have to be watchfull and check the slope before you start, to make it a safer ride. Why I don’t wear a helmet? I haven’t injured myself during the whole time I have skied”

”I take it easy when I ski now. I might need a helmet, but when I skied earlier I didn’t so I won’t use one now”

The answers from the interviews in the article show that old habits win, and that if you haven’t been injured earlier, you won’t in the future. A resoning that is valid only untill the day when the accident is evident.

What is important to know, is that accidents seldom are caused by one person or the way you ski or how watchfull you are and take it easy or not. It is rather about small margins of error and unfortunate situations. A crash into someone that suddenly came out of the grove, someone that suddenly falls in front of you, someone standing still that suddenly emerges from behind the curve, a hidden rock or an icy spot.

”Most of those who come to us, didn’t have controle” says Alf Lerner, doctor and director of the medical center in Åre

To have controle you must have a tremendous self-awareness and be able to realise all the risk factors. För att ha kontroll måste man ha otrolig självinsikt och inse alla olika riskfaktorer som finns. You should also consider your daily fitness, good sleep, good food etc. Dehydration can also worsen your concentration ability and makes it easier to loose controle.

You should be prepared, an accident could happen. And that is why protections are so important. In a serious accident, a helmet can see to that you get away with a concussion instead of a cracked skull and a back protector can see to that you get away with stretching and bruising instead of a serious fracture of your spine.

KORI Hermine Made in Sweden

The making of a beanie may seem like a simple task. But a beanie with a nice sense of material, comfortable fit and consistent quality is not as easy as one  might think. Those who work with the yarns, the knitting machine and the sewing needs to know the different materials and their required fabrication. They need to know how they can meet the customers' requirements. They also need to pay attention and be responsive to possible complications. At last and of course - they should always have the desire to develope for the better. We are pleased that we have found a supplier that meets all these requirements on production and cooperation that we have on KORI. Here is a peek from the production of our new winter beanoe KORI Hermine:

5 tips for a good design process

Yesterday i was at Malmo University to hold a lecture about our design-thinking and product decelopement.

I showed the students our journey with KORI, how we took the kori-concept from idea to reality.

I tried to explain how we reach innovation through loops between chaos and structure.

Instead of promoting the ever promoted and sure worth promoting "focus" I choose to promote chaos and "leaving the track" inviting to think broad and wide, gain knowekegde and finding inspiration.

In short these were my 5 tips for a good design process,  which ended the lecture with 

1. Collect information. As much as you can. The more the better. No need to be directly related, it can as well be inspirational to the project.
2. Do not value the information too early, something uninteresting in the beginning of a project can be of great importance in later in the project.
3. Be curious. Listen and observe. The best way to learn is to get infi from the users. But note that not all questions will give you the actial answer. Ask the right questions. Observ and learn.
4. Get to know your user. And not only in the situation where your project touches him or her, get to know all levels of the user, find out as much as you can, people are complex creatures.
5. Communicate. Get to know yourself and how you communicate your own ideas, how you get them from your thoughts into something explainable for yourself and for others. How you communicate within your group and with different professions, we all have different languages.

The students at Malmö University, waiting for the lectura to begin.

Helmet and back protector is a good investment

The Swedish newspaper Dayly news (Dagens Nyheter, DN) wrote last week (2013-02-09) a good article on protective equipment for skiiers and snowboarders. In the article Alf Lerner, a doctor and director of the medical center Åre (Åre is one of Sweden's most visited and popular Skidby in northern Sweden), described his experiences how the injury situation have changed since people began to use protective equipment.

- If you want to come home from the mountains with all body parts intact, a helmet, a back protector and wrist protectors are a good investment. Says Alf.

Every year there are about 10 000 seriously injured skiers in Sweden. With the increased use of helmets, back protector and wrist protectors the last years has  made a big difference.

- The number of injuries has not decreased, but we find that many injuries are significantly lighter thanks to the protectors. In particular, the number of serious concussions and back injuries has decreased. Those who do not have protection, the uglier fractures than those using protection. Says Alf.

At the health center where Alf works in Are they receive 2,000 injured skiers each winter season. Alf recommends that all skiers should at least have a proper helmet. But a back protector should also belong to the basic equipment, according to him. says Alf.

- Back protector does not protect against the compression you can get if you land hard and the spine is compressed, but it can protect against spinal fractures if you get a hit - if you land on your back, or collide with something or collide with another skiier. - Alf Lerner

At KORI, we have talked a lot with skiers and the difference between skiing and motorcycling is  mainly that skiers requires much more movement than motorcyclists, one reason that the previous hard plastic protectors and even the stiff 'soft' protectors have not managed to break through completely. That is why we are incredibly excited to work with D3O that has the most superior protective material. When one tries a KORI protection with d3o the reactions is - it's even comfortable.

That is what is important - the protection should ”even be able to be comfortable”. And why not practical too :-)

After what we have been notices, we have already saved aback of a user who otherwise would not have used a back protector because he did not feel comfortable with the previous ones... We look forward to saving more.

The favorite from last winter season is finally back.

Now we have our KORI Hermine, a winter beanie in an extended model for a stylish fit and with soft and warm fleece lining that keeps the wind and the cold out.

The beanie is named after the hermine, which, with its thick winter coat, withstand cold winter conditions excellent. The hermine is a brave and intelligent hunter who is not afraid of larger prey than their own body size, despite its poor vision, it is also a very skilled climber. Hermine herefore represents a brave and active lifestyle.

Today, we are excited that we have found a supplier who can live up to our expectations in quality, durability and of course Swedish production.

Read more about KORI Hermineon our website

You can not take mobility for granted.

Have you ever thought about the "everyday luxury" and the physical activity to be able to cut your own toenails?

There's a lot of heart in our work with safety equipment, we look at what we do as an opportunity to endorse the human freedom to activate the body and experience the environment, simply giving the soul some “feel good”. This opportunity may appear to be obvious, abstract and fuzzy but the fact is that when it is taken away, this obvious freedom turns to something very real and troubling.

I have had the misfortune to experience a bad hip, not as bad as an injured back, nor so bad that it has not been possible to fix, but bad enough to experience the imprisoned and dependent feeling of having limited mobility, dependent on others and incapable to activate my body and experience adventures and physical challenges.

Some days ago something a bit odd struck methought on the subject, for the first time in six months, since my last operation, I managed to cut my own toenails myself. Previously, due to limited physical capability and pain, I could not reach them and therefore not cut them. Have you ever thought about the physical activity to be able to cut your own toenails yourself is an everyday luxury?

Nah, me neither. At least not before, but some days ago the realization came to me, the feeling of a somebody that sits down on his knees in front of you, takes out a pair of scissors and put it on your toes are not luxurious but rather frightening and inferior.

I am happy that today I can cut my own toenails, I'm happy that I will be fully restored from my injury. But there are other injuries that can change your life drastically, and the back is one of those parts of your body that you are most dependent on, the back is the connection between your brain and your body, it is the spine that makes you wiggle your toes and cut your toenails - an everyday luxury that I hope to have with me the rest of my life.

Creative meeting with great girls

Yesterday I was in a meeting with three great girls with creative ideas and well thought through strategies. They are working in a project with KORI to guide us into the stunning alpine world. A world that many of us recognize and long for each year, high mountains and glittering white slopes, environments and emotions that are explained with words like freedom, flexibility and spontaneity - just the words that KORI stands for, with these feeling as a starting point, KORI enriches the experience with safety.

We want to show the market that the back protector does not need bulky, stiff and uncomfortable, with KORI, they may even be soft, comfortable and practical. The goal is to make it easy for the alpine world to know and experience the benefits that KORI carries over other back protectors on the market.

Four great girls (yes, self-confident as I am, I include myself as one in the great gang) who sit together and discuss opportunities that creates an image of the future, can it be more inspiring?!

Money + Environment + Heart = Success

Money + Environment + Heart = Success is a simple equation on how to think smart. Yestarday we were at a seminar about how to be able to act for a sustainabile future with sucessful business. We listened to Per Grankvist, an inspiring lecturer who showed the simplicity in thinking sustainable. There are two ways of thinking in decisions about CSR... is this smart or dum - not many directions toward sustainability gets the answer of being dum... it is just as simple as that.

Per talked about consumtion and how it needs to go towards less products with a higher quality. How society will learn to share instead of own. And how we are moving toward being less "greedy" and more sensitive. 

At KORI we have the intention to be small but smart, when we work we think with the heart. We want to show that you don't need to do be a large business to be aware of the situation in the world. Having a social responsibility and taking the opportunity to think and take one step further is simple, smart and gives us some hope for the future.