Before its launch, sustainable, high performance PUSU X SPINNOVA® skis have received an ISPO Award, a recognition to the most innovative, high-quality products by an international, independent jury representing the outdoor and sports industry. Spinnova made its debut in composites with PUSU last November, so the collaboration has quickly proven to be a winning concept.
The awarded ski called PUSU Loska SPINNOVA® is a completely new model for the coming season. It’s an all-mountain ski with emphasis on performance on wet spring snow (Loska is Finnish for slushy snow). It’s robust enough for uneven surfaces and wide enough for good flotation on soft snow. This model is the second ski made in collaboration with PUSU and Spinnova. The PUSU Abisko SPINNOVA® was launched for presales in November 2021.
Both Loska and Abisko are strengthened with a high-performance composite structure, in which the glass and carbon fabric that traditionally give strength to a wooden core, has been replaced with the highly sustainable, natural SPINNOVA® fabric. The SPINNOVA® fibre is made of certified wood with clean technology, without dissolving or using any harmful chemicals. Sustainability has also been respected in the other material choices of the skis that have e.g. been finished with a real elm tree veneer.
– ISPO Award is the pinnacle of more than a decade of ski development, says PUSU founder, ski smith Jani Ahvenainen. We are proud that the high quality of Finnish craftsmanship and high commitment in using sustainable natural-based raw materials has been noted in a very competitive category. I wish to thank our team, partners and the tireless test riders, who play a crucial role in the product development.
This is already the third ISPO award to Spinnova’s collaborative innovations. The earlier ISPO awards were given to products in Bergans’ SPINNOVA® line, Collection of Tomorrow.
- This recognition is especially great, as we made a commercial debut in SPINNOVA® composites so recently. We really appreciate the jury’s willingness to promote sustainable, competitive innovations. The ISPO award is as modern and brave as us and our partners, comments Spinnova’s Chief Technology Officer and co-founder Juha Salmela.
All PUSU’s alpine skis and snowboards are designed and made in Finland. The SPINNOVA® fibre is also produced in Finland, where Spinnova is in the process of building a commercial scale factory. It’s a start to Spinnova’s and its joint venture partner Suzano’s joint commitment of a million tonnes of global SPINNOVA® fibre capacity annually within the next 10-12 years.
The ISPO award ceremony will take place at the ISPO Outdoor trade show in Munich this June. The PUSU Loska SPINNOVA® presales is expected to begin this spring for the upcoming 22-23 season.