We’re trying out a new marketing strategy here. Why not get the athletes to describe the gear they’re using, and why they choose it, in their own words? Sometimes their words won’t mesh exactly with the marketing jargon from the manufacturers, but it might also include more of the kind of information that matters to people who will use the stuff on snow. It’s worth a shot, but not something we’re going to put a lot of editing energy into. So here’s a one-take, no-edit review from Kris Freeman of his new ESK Pros from Alpina.
One thing Kris didn’t mention in the video is the removable cuff. Kris is one of a very few World Cup athletes who have competed in cuffless skate boots quite a lot. So the removable cuff is a nice feature for him.
Finally, in appreciation of Kris’s inimitable brand of blunt presentation, we’ll take this opportunity to coin the usage of the adjective “kris”. As in, “a kris review of the Alpina ESK” which appropriately includes the summary: “It’s the best boot on the market. You should buy it. That’s all I have to say.”
As for the boot – we’re not diving into the boot market in a big way. It wouldn’t make sense for us to get heavily involved with boots because we don’t have that many customers coming to our location, and ultimately, boots should be tried on. However, an increasing number of our customers know that they want, and know their sizing well. So we’re exploring the option of offering a small number of top-end boots. We’ll only sell what we know and have tested ourselves. Look for more information on this later in the summer.