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.

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.

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…

Motorcycle event

En route to the weekly motorcycle event in Lödde. This time as a visitor, finally seated myself behind the handlebars!

On site at the Tuesday meeting with Mike, a new and happy Kori users :-) happy to be able to take of all equipment!

Smart backpack gives more freedom..

Read the story behind KORI in the lokal magazine "Kävlinge Nya".

See the article here!

Back protector – Smart design.

New test of the KORI back protector backpack made by the magazine ATV!

“We recently received a back protector and I have now had the chance to test it for some weeks. I really like the idea behind it. I am concerned about safety and uses the best possible protection of my work here at the magazine, but also private and being able to take off the back protector and use this as a backpack is smart. It actually works very well with many clever details. The back protector itself has the highest the level of protection that you can have. Kori has collaborated with d3o and this material d3o supplies are very smooth, it was nice way to carry the back protector when weighs almost nothing, while it provides the best possible protection against accidents.” 

Backpack with protection

Read about KORI in the latest number (no12) of the Swedish motorcycle magazine "Allt om MC"

”Backpack within protection
The newly started company KORI, has launched a CE-certified back protector that expands into a backpack. The protective plate used in KORI comes from D3O while the backpack itself is made of nylon. It is available in S, M and L with the volumes 30, 35 and 38 liters. Price on the Swedish market is 4000 skr. More info at  http://www.koriexperience.com/ .

Hey there!
Sophie von Wachenfeldt is an innovator, entrepreneur and the founder of KORI.

How did you get the idea?
- I took my motorcycle licence a couple of years ago. I always want to wear maximum protection when I ride and soon I discovered the trouble with carrying all my equipment once off the bike. As I was studying industrial design, a natural step for me, was to realize my ideas.”