Line Skis

Line Skis

Type	Subsidiary of K2 Sports
Industry	Skiing, Snowsports, Creativity, Manufacturing
Founded	New York, USA (1995)
Headquarters	Seattle, Washington, USA
Parent	K2 Sports (Jarden Corp.)
Website	www.lineskis.com

Line Skis is a company building skis and skiing equipment (poles, clothing, accessories).

Beginning

Jason Levinthal’s ski creations began as a senior project at the University at Buffalo, NY, where he attempted to create a pair of skis that incorporated the shape and feel of contemporary snowboards, beginning with a twin tip design. After college, Levinthal relocated the project to his parents' garage. After much experimentation, in the summer of 1995 he was able to produce a pair of skis in 8 hours.

Eric Pollard (skier)

Backcountry freestyle skier Eric Pollard first met with Jason Levinthal in 1998. Sharing a common vision on the potential of freestyle skiing and the technology adaptations required, the two began a partnership that now includes over 10 ski pro models, the majority geared toward backcountry freestyle. Pollard is also artistically involved with Line, creating his own ski topsheets or graphics, and has contributed in Line’s outerwear design.

Sale of company

In 2003, Levinthal sold the Line ski brand to Karhu USA^[1] and the company was moved to Karhu's Vermont location. In 2006, the Line and Karhu brands were acquired by K2 Sports, Inc. K2 was itself acquired by Jarden Corp. in 2007. Line is currently a subdivision of K2 Sports.

Tom Wallisch

Signed with Line Skis on November 3, 2014.Tom Wallisch (born July 22, 1987 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a professional freeskier. He began skiing in 1990 and competing in the sport in 2009.^[2] After graduating from high school, Wallisch moved to Salt Lake City for post-secondary education at the University of Utah where he is pursuing a degree in the school of business.^[3]

Line Traveling Circus

To contrast to the high budget ski films and online webisodes, Line created the Traveling Circus to document pro skiers adventures in an average person’s playground. The series centers on the newschool skiing and non-snow adventures of athletes Will Wesson and Andy Parry, with many guest stars throughout, winter road tripping across America. The series epitomizes the ultimate quest for snow that is a ski bum's lifestyle. Many of the locations filmed are low profile resorts, especially from the East Coast. In season 3, the TC expanded their boundaries outside of North America by venturing to Europe for the first time. They took the same trip in season 4, and season 5 again expanded the boundaries with Will, Andy and friends going to New Zealand (Episode 5.2 "Lord of the Pies") and then to Japan to explore the bottomless powder (Episode 5.5 "The Last Skiurai"). Released as roughly monthly webisodes online in 2008, the series has had 6 seasons to date, and almost 2 million views.

Notable Skis

1260

The 1260 was the first one hundred percent symmetrically shaped ski. This meant that it was the same forwards as it was backwards. It was a freestyle machine made for spinning and landing backwards. The equal height tip and tail also aided in the reverse landings and carving. Equal height tip and tail means that the tails are exactly the same height off the ground as the traditionally upturned tips. The twelve sixties also featured symmetrical flex which is equal flex in front of and behind the boot. This allowed the ski to bend and pop back into shape for easier popping and carving. The 1260s name refers to a 1260 degree rotation (3.5 spins).

The 130

In 2001, Line Skis and Eric Pollard got together to talk powder. They wanted a powder ski that broke away from traditional powder ski design. Most powder skis were only 105 mm underfoot at the time. The 130 was 130 mm underfoot. This made it one of the widest skis available. Pollard and Line designed the 130 to also be useful on not only deep powder, but on groomers and in the trees as well.

Invader

The Invader showcased a new concept that inspired a new way of riding in and out of the park. The Invader's progressive "Butter Zone" construction featured a thinner ski in front and behind the boot that allowed the rider to lean forwards or backwards to playfully "butter" around in most any condition. Buttering is the act of spinning around on ones tips or tails, picture butter being spread on toast. The ski tips or tails act as a slippery pivot point. Buttering opened up a new world of technical tricks. People began buttering off of jumps and onto rails and even using the technique to continue tricks after they landed them, a similar concept of reverting on a skateboard.

EP Pro

Eric Pollard was happy with the creation of The 130 and it became his implicit pro model. Not until 2007 did Pollard get a ski named after him. The EP Pro is a cornucopia of innovative features. First, they have Early Rise. Early Rise is describing the way the camber of the ski is reversed near the tip and tail. The skis have conventional upturned tips, but they are made higher off the snow by the actual flex of the ski being turned up gradually as it goes from binding to tip. This makes skiing forwards and backwards in deeper snow much easier to control. Another aspect of the EP Pro that helps the skiers control in the powder is the Early Taper. Traditional ski designs make the widest part of the ski at the tip, making it the last part of the ski to touch the snow before it upturns to the tip. Early Taper brings the fattest part of the ski back toward the boot and away from the tip. This gives more control and quick response from the ski in the deep powder, making turns more creative and free, rather than relying on the harsh curve of the side-cut to whip you into a turn.

Chronic Cryptonite

This ski was first introduced in 2010. It was notable for its firm powerful flex pattern, a 92 mm waist and its g-cut geometry. There is reverse camber to promote reliable handling on groomed terrain, and it has a fatty base/edge for skiing in fresh snow. This ski provides uncompromised versatility, stability and control. This ski is innovative in the Line collection for being an all mountain ski; it provides great usage when skiing in both the park (freestyle terrain), and all over the rest of the mountain—anywhere from groomed trails to fresh snow.

Afterbang

This ski was first ever constructed like a skateboard. Since the act of skiing has changed from simply skiing down a hill to grinding metal railing (urban skiing) the market demanded a ski to hold up stronger than the current construction.

Sick Day Series

A new directional freeride ski with a lightweight core and geometry the yields ease of use on any terrain. There are 3 models in the series which differing waist widths of 95, 110 and 125 millimeters underfoot to accommodate different terrain.

(1) http://lineskis.com/our-story

(2) http://linetravelingcircus.com/about/ & http://issuu.com/lineskis/docs/line_traveling_circus_freeskier_magazine_story

(3) http://espn.go.com/action/freeskiing/blog/_/post/5519963/eric-pollard

(4) http://www.evo.com/content_ericPollardInterview.aspx

References