The Salomon BBR has landed

Salomon have released their all new ski the BBR on the the UK market for winter 2011-12 and it is causing as much confusion as excitement amongst consumers. With it's radical new shape, which is very surf board inspired, and bright blue colour scheme we are already seeing people drawn to it in the ski racks at sail and ski in both our shops but more often than not the look of initial excitement at seeing such a wild looking ski then quickly turns to a look of confusion as to how the ski is for. Let me try an enlighten you from my own experiences with both the Salomon BBR 8.9 and the 7.9

Every March we take 10 of us away to Italy (Austria from 2012) to the SIGB ski test and get to ski everything on the market. Nice work if you can get it. The beauty of our test team is that it is not simply 10 awesome skiers but a complete mix of abilities for recreational to very advanced allowing us to get a great cross section of opinion on all of the skis. in the case of the BBR this test group was perfect

The Concept of the Salomon BBR

Actually quite simple really, A very wide nose gives float in powder, a normal 79mm or 89mm waist width keeps the ski versatile enough to ski all over the mountain, and the narrow tail allows the rear end of the ski to sink in deep snow giving the tip more lift but also allows the tail to be maneuverable under the snow as it is not pushing against a great amount resistance. Off-piste you have a ski that want to allow the tip to the surface and is very maneuverable in deep snow at lower speeds but it has allowed you to ski the groomers to get to your powder stash without being a really wide difficult to ski 110mm or more wide ski. The only other thing we noticed about the skis ability on piste is that as the tail is narrower than the tip by a big amount beginner to intermediates get on with it well as you can easily lean a bit further back and slide the tails of the ski around a bit more

The Salomon BBR 8.9 skis

My personal pick of the two but I am quite used to stiffer skis in the 90-100mm wide territory. Would suit all skiers from strong intermediate upwards and would be the one to go for if you are looking to a lot of off piste skiing

The Salomon BBR 7.9 skis

Officially the intermediate version of the BBR but we found that it really appealed to the women as well who don't need the same width as a bigger man or to the intermediate who wanted a ski with a "talking point" that is very forgiving and will allow for easy learning in the powder down the sides of the piste

If this doesn't set you straight then just give us a call at the office on 01743 363443 and we'll try an explain it a different way - but in conclusion the big question is would you buy a pair? For me the answer was yes, but it would be the 8.9 and half our test team agreed with this. A couple preferred the 7.9 for reasons explained above and a couple simply didn't like them. But hey, if we all liked the same stuff the world (and the mountain) would be a very boring place

2012 happenings and new stock arriving

Well, It has been a while since our last post, a sign of us all having to work hard in these uncertain economic times i suppose!!

So, whats been happening? A lot would be the appropriate answer. New warehouse, new jobs for people within the company, new stock control system and a new look for the website. The Warehouse is now our operating hub taking the stress out of the office and shops and certain staff now have defintive roles in the company such as Ben who is now our E-commerce Manger and Alex who takes over as head of Customer Service.

The website is starting to look really good with a lot of input from Zoe and the new stock control system telling you what's in stock and whats not added to this has brought us right up to speed with the competion

All of these things are now functioning really well and we are all starting to get a bit of a life back now. All of the 2012 winter products are already in the warehouse with a few brands still left to deliver and the shops are starting to get full of shiny new skis and snowboards and crisp new clothing for the season ahead. We'll start to bing you some reviews on products here on the blog over the next few weeks

2011 Scott ski wear 50% off already

Once again we have the entire range of 2011 Scott Ski clothing at 50% off!!! And once it is gone, it is gone.

Scott's Best range for years with savings on jackets of up to £200 for men and women is not to be missed. Utilising the very best fabrics from Gore-tex and Entrant with an amazing colour palette of bright oranges, blues, cerise and mandarine you could bag a bargain that will last you for years to come

These are first off the line production pieces so we only have them available in Men's Large (33-35" waist / 39-41" chest) and Women's Medium (UK dress size 10-12) but is this is you or your friends be sure not to miss out - FREE UK DELIVERY on all Scott items also applies

20/25% off all Da Kine wheeled Luggage

We have a large quantity of Da Kine luggage to shift so we have reduceed it all by up to 25%. This includes their best selling travel bag the Da Kine split Roller which is normally £120 but now reduced to £95.99

Another product of note is the Da kine Falline double ski bag at £59.99 from £80 which is our best selling ski bag in the winter

General happenings at Sail and Ski and Sailandski.co.uk

Well, spring time is upon us and as usual there is a lot happening around the company.

The shrewsbury shop has had a minor re-fit to accomodate some of the new product lines that we are doing for summer. Alex has been hard at work with a lot of very noisel tools fitting new wall fixtures etc and generally making a lot of mess around the place - but he is now finished at last and the place looks great! New products include Skateboards, more wetsuits than ever including suits from Billabong and O'Neill, Von zipper glasses and DC clothing

Both shops have gone heavy in to skateboarding for the summer with large ranges arriving from all of the major skatebrands

The Chester shop is now proudly boasting a huge range of Oakley Sunglasses with prices as low as £69.99, a great new skate display and more wetsuits than ever from Billabong and O'neill

Also, if you are a local to Shrewsbury then check out the Jobs page on our website as we have 2 positions available within the company from June

SNOWBOARD TEST

Fresh back from the Snowboard Test in Kaunertal, Austria. 2011 Snowboards are looking and riding as well as expected from Burton, Ride, K2, Salomon, Forum, Lib Tech and others!

Great testing conditions as we even got a powder day on Monday - All the board reviews will follow soon but some sleep is needed first after a night on the road home last night!!

WWW.THESNOWBOARDTEST.COM

Skate Range expands again!!!

We have expanded our range of skateboards and skate hardware again as the demand seems to be growing for it in both of our shops and on the website

We have new decks in from Creature, Alien Workshop, Bullet as well as more longboards from Lush

Below are a few of the newest products to hit the shops...........................

I nearly Drowned Surfing in Ireland.....

.....but it wasn't the ocean that nearly did this - it was the amount of Guiness we drank!!! Forgot to mention the other day that it was also a stag do we were on so as you can imagine it got a bit messy!!!

Above - Me on a tiddler - the next set that followed was a monster and cleaned us all up, hard to believe looking at this (it is now shown below with me paddling to get out of the way - I didn't make it)

Here are a few of the shots taken by jay on the trip. The swell didn't quite work out the way the forcast predicted it but we found some good waves none the less.

Above is the Stag - Multi

Surf Trip to Easky, County Sligo, Ireland

I have got bloody lucky with a little trip we have planned for this weekend to the Emerald Isle surfing, Golfing and Guiness-ing with seven other north Wales based surfers.

As you can tell from the image is forcast to be pumping, with good size swell, Light offshore winds and the sun is even going to be out. I have probably spoken to soon now!!!!

Keep an eye out on Wednesday as I'll post some of the best pics on here - you might think this is just a mid-week jolly but we like to call it research / board testing!!!

Phil - Shrewsbury

http://www.sailandski.co.uk/

O'neill wetsuits at sailandski.co.uk and in shrewsbury and chester stores

Like getting dressed up in full rubber suits??? So do we!!!


Not as kinky as it sounds unfortunatley, but our range of O'neill wetsuits has started to arrive for summer 2009. We are offereing mens wetsuits in 5/3 full, 3/2 full and 2mm shorties from as little as £49. Womens wetsuits 3/2 full and 2mm shorties from as little as £49 and kids from £39.





Whether it be for surfing, canoeing, windsurfing, sailing or just general summer splashing around we will have the right suit for you at internet competitive prices.





Make sure you check out http://www.sailandski.co.uk/ for all of our latest offers on summer goodies and winter bargains now the snow has melted

Surf's Up - O'shea Surfboards back in stock for summer

We have just taken delivery of our O'shea range of surfboards for summer 2009. As ever, these represent the best value packages on the market today with FREE bag, leash and Wax all from £275 delivered to your door or ready to collect from in store.

We are offering both classic Polyester surfboards and EPS (epoxy) surfboards from O'shea giving you the choice of constuction. See out O'shea surfboards page for more on the difference in construction between these two types of surfboard.

As ever, if you can't find what you want then we can order in the size and colour you are after for no extra charge.

See our full range of summer products and great deals on winter sale items at http://www.sailandski.co.uk/

ANON SUNGLASSES ONLINE AND IN OUR CHESTER STORE

The sun definately had his hat on last week so it's time to start thinking about protecting those eyes, whilst looking uber-cool at the same time.

Anon sunglasses stand out in the crowd, offering top end fashion, design and performance. Being Anon sunglasses, technology such as lens clarity is amazing as you would expect but really it is all about expressing yourself with Anon sunglasses. Here at Sailandski.co.uk we are proud to bring you a range of Anon's best selling styles including the Anon Amos Sunglasses, Anon Fairfax Sunglasses, Anon Hollywierd Sunglasses, Anon Shocker Sunglasses, Anon Contender Sunglasses and the Anon Indee Sunglasses. If you can't find the model you would like then simply contact us and we can order them in for you. You can reach one of the team at Sail & Ski on 01743 353 776 or at shrewsbury@sailandski.co.uk

**SKATEBOARDS AND LONGBOARDS NOW IN STORE**

We have our new range of skateboards and longboards in both our Shrewsbury and Chester stores.

You can also find the whole range on the Sail & Ski website

Any questions feel free to call one of the team on 01743 353776

Here are a couple of examples of our amazing boards;

So go check them out .... they're lush !

Join us on Facebook!

Get big discounts and money off purchases by simply becoming friends with us on Facebook - Simply log in to your facebook and search for 'Sail Ski'. We should appear first and then add us to your list of friends

This year we are making a major marketing push with our website and big discounts on certain and varying product lines will occur on a regular basis so don't miss out!!!

New Website Offices Acquired

We are proud to announce that despite all of the UK economical doom and gloom we are still expanding!!

The latest stage is new offices and storage units allowing us to hold more stock than ever to for fill your orders and to make processing your orders even quicker and more efficient. A new photo studio has been set up to provide even higher quality images on our website.

All internet enquiries will still however go to the same number 01743353776 were our team is always ready to assist you

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THAT BIT OF EARLY SUMMER SUN!

Hopefully you all enjoyed the same good weather that we did for the Easter bank holiday in the Midalnds and the North west and some of us even managed to get a very summer feeling surf in over the weekend in Wales, but with the cold water and full wetsuits being worn there are some very interesting tan lines around the neck area in the office this week.

Back to the gindstone now for all of us so here is what is arriving for the summer at http://www.sailandski.co.uk/ .

Our Reef Flip Flops collection has grown again with more styles and colours than ever before. Styles such as the now famous Reef Fanning continues for 2009 with some fresh designs and even sone new versions. be sure to check out the new Fanning Supreme and the Fannning O2 with its full air bubble. As for Womens Reef flip flops we are already seeing good sales on the Sandy, the Sweet Bella and the Reef womens Fanning.

Other things to watch out for in the next week or so is the introduction of a full range of Skateboard equipment to our line up. We will be showcasing some top brands in the world of skate and longboarding to fill the void in the town that we trade in and to expand our growing website.

Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year

We would like to just say a huge thank you to all of our customers both old and new for their support at this time festive time and all year long. We hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New year and we look forward to the rest of the winter with you.

The new year will bring a lot of change to www.sailandski.co.uk and our stores and we will keep you posted here on the blog and on our news letter. Huge expansion of the website is planned with a complete re-vamp of the graphical side of the site a long with a change in our distribution and logistical set up.

Any ideas from our customers or potential customers can be sent to us at shrewsbury@sailandski.co.uk .

Christmas delivery deadline this Friday the 19th December

Just a quick reminder to let you all know that the last date for shipping in time for Christmas day is getting close. This friday at 11pm we will cease to guarantee delivery in time for the big day.

Grab yourself some last minute stocking fillers. Below is our list of top five small gifts from december so far:

1 - Burton Snowboard Socks
2 - Salomon Ski Boot Bags
3 - Burton Womens Cupcake Thermals
4 - Anon Snowboard Goggles
5 - Burton and Barts Beanies and Hats

All of these and loads more on www.sailandski.co.uk so don't hang around too long

News for Saturday 27th September 2008 – Smith Arrives on the website

Smith Goggles and Smith Helmets are now displayed on the web with us offering the most comprehensive range of Smith winter specific product in the UK.

This years helmet range features the new Smith Hustle Helmet sitting in the range below the Smith variant brim helmet of last year at £100. Featuring light weight construction and cool styling it is sure to be a winner. The Smith Holt helmet is back and once again I will bet my bottom dollar that this will be our best seller this year – it best had be as I ordered loads of them!!!

As far as the goggles are concerned, the quality is simply top notch. The grade of polycarbonate in Smith lenses is not super-seeded by any other brand including Oakley when it comes to Optical Clarity. Both of us that do the product testing and buying for our company use Smith Goggles ourselves and have done for the past 8 years which normally says something for the products.

New for 2009 is the Smith Womens Hustle Goggles which is the highest spec. goggle ever produced by Smith for Women. Simplistic in styling but sure to be a winner for the winter. Also, we are now doing 2 models in the Turbo Fan goggles – The Smith Knowledge OTG Turbo Fan and the Smith Phenom Turbo Fan Goggles – offering an option to glasses wearers and non-glasses wearers to have eyewear that won’t, sorry, can’t fog up due to it’s in built air conditioning

The other hot goggle to look out for is the Smith Fuse Goggles which comes in a variety of lens options and each pair comes with a FREE yellow lens fo ruse in low light conditions – a bargain for £70-80 as the lenses themselves cost £35 and you get 2 included making the frames seem FREE

Salomon ski and snowboard helmets now in

The all new range of Salomon helmets are now in stock. We are stocking their standard ski range and the Salomon Freeski range of helmets. From the Freeski range check out the Salomon Brigade Helmet and the womens Salomon Venom Helmet.

If you are after the most luxurious finish to a helmet that we have ever seen then look no further than the Salomon Womens Divine Helmet. Also featured on our website is our collection of RED helmets from Burton and soon to be added will be Scott helmets, Smith Helmets and Protec helmets