G3’s first foray into the backcountry pole market has been met with resounding market success, a challenging prospect in such a saturated market.
The design process started with a bluesky exploration phase that yielded a good set of innovative product features and a new take on some classic ski touring features. An ergonomic analysis of competitor products demonstrated a surprising lack of consideration for gloved hands. It became important to develop a shape that would be large enough to respect human factors data, but also respect the lightweight goals. From there a shape was developed initially with shaped foam for quick testing and iterative modifications. Once the foam shape was determined, a CAD model was generated that captured the complex surfaces and accommodated the innovative features with respect to the vendors molding capabilities.
The design has several key features that have been appreciated by users and led to G3’s pole taking a large portion of the market:
- Aggressive hook on the grip makes for easy manipulation of binding heel lifts and improved retention in the hand when strap removed
- Asymmetric basket works like a tool to manipulate lifts and buckles , shape reduces snow drag when walking and eliminates cantilever effect on hardpack
- Dual density materials for grip sensitivity
- Removable strap for improved backcountry safety or tree skiing
- Two eyelets for use as tie points when snow camping
- Minimal shaft grip for quick sidehill hand positioning without adding too much weight
Part colours and graphics were developed by Form3 to integrate into G3’s common colour palette and branding guidelines and to distinguish different products within the line.
Form3 teamed up with Vacuum to design the pole packaging. The goal was to present the product in an innovative and clean way that addresses retailers’ annoyance at the messiness of poles in the retail environment, but still allows customers to easily try out the grip. Form3 worked to develop the recyclable plastic sleeve while Vacuum worked the graphics.
The design process started with a bluesky exploration phase that yielded a good set of innovative product features and a new take on some classic ski touring features. An ergonomic analysis of competitor products demonstrated a surprising lack of consideration for gloved hands. It became important to develop a shape that would be large enough to respect human factors data, but also respect the lightweight goals. From there a shape was developed initially with shaped foam for quick testing and iterative modifications. Once the foam shape was determined, a CAD model was generated that captured the complex surfaces and accommodated the innovative features with respect to the vendors molding capabilities.
The design has several key features that have been appreciated by users and led to G3’s pole taking a large portion of the market:
- Aggressive hook on the grip makes for easy manipulation of binding heel lifts and improved retention in the hand when strap removed
- Asymmetric basket works like a tool to manipulate lifts and buckles , shape reduces snow drag when walking and eliminates cantilever effect on hardpack
- Dual density materials for grip sensitivity
- Removable strap for improved backcountry safety or tree skiing
- Two eyelets for use as tie points when snow camping
- Minimal shaft grip for quick sidehill hand positioning without adding too much weight
Part colours and graphics were developed by Form3 to integrate into G3’s common colour palette and branding guidelines and to distinguish different products within the line.
Form3 teamed up with Vacuum to design the pole packaging. The goal was to present the product in an innovative and clean way that addresses retailers’ annoyance at the messiness of poles in the retail environment, but still allows customers to easily try out the grip. Form3 worked to develop the recyclable plastic sleeve while Vacuum worked the graphics.