As the Red Bull Stratus Project is nearing launch, the team's preparations turn from equipment tests and refinement to pilot interaction with it. The equipment will perform in predictable ways in controlled environments, but the pilot's awareness of that equipment and the outside forces -- i.e. the human element -- is anything but predictable.

Here Felix Baumgartner talks about his preparations and making sure that he understands how to use the high tech equipment outside of the lab.

Slytech Protection gear too responds predictably and with the highest level of protection in the lab. It's only when the rider begins to use it, however, that he will begin to test his limits and feel-out how the protection is best applied.

click pic to enlarge

It's no secret that hurling yourself down the mountain at high speeds, with changing terrain, light and weather at every turn is a dangerous endeavor. Top German Newspaper Welt had a full double page spread on all the typical injuries that can plague skiers all over the world.

Top injuries include:

• skull farctures
• dislocated shoulders
• thumb sprain
• collar bone fracture
• spinal chord injury
• femur fracture
• meniscus/ knee injury
• ankle fractures
• muscle tear
• scrapes and scratches

Injury is all about PROBABILITY (not if, but when) and the more precaution you take in mitigating that probability, the more up-time you'll have on the hill, the more stoke you'll feel while shredding. Of course, who wants cumbersome protection that inhibits freedom of movement? Who really wants to lessen injury probability if it means being weighed down by bulky protective gear?

No one.

That's why it's so important to TRY different protective gear before you buy. It pays to head down to your local shop and try the various brands out... and if your store doesn't carry SLYTECH, go ahead and tell them you want to try one.

We're pretty certain that the soft, pliable memory cell foam of the Slytech 2nd Skin Back Protector or the new Kevlar® infused SLAMMER PRO will provide that maximum freedom of movement and probability mitigation that you want and need to protect your spine, shoulders, and coccyx.

Germany's Pleasure Magazine recently highlighted Wolfgang "Wolle" Nyvelt's favorite gear. His usual Salomon, Billabong and DaKine favorites are in there, as well as the Wolle Edition Slytech 2nd Skin Backprotector.

Here's the English translation:

"Slytech Backprotector
Wolle is even enticed by his Signature Series stuff. The Slytech Backprotector protects the spine, the coccyx, and the shoulder blades, as well as the important lower-back area. To keep free range of motion and comfort, this 'back caresser" avoids the use of hard plastic components. The only thing left to say is a loud 'Eööööh!"

A Snowboarder and His Toys

Wolle's Favorite Gear

MethodMag.com Reviews 2nd Skin: Friggin LOVES IT!

Man, when you get big-ups from METHOD, you know you've got something pretty sweet. Check this review posted on METHODMAG.com on Wednesday, January 27th.

Watch your back, kid!" An old saying that was probably born in a sketchy ghetto slum or the trenches of some battlefield. But it applies all too well to pristine snowy pistes at 2000 meters. Bruised backs, cracked vertebrae and mashed ribs are not a road you want to go down. So, how to avoid this? The Slytech 2nd Skin Back Protector is the answer!In hindsight, I could have totally used one of these ninja turtle shells in my early years of boosting my bones off kickers. Back when I would roll up to big ass tables thinking I knew what was up, come in with enough speed to clear the whole park and chuck some boned out stiffies. I hadn't yet sorted out keeping my weight over my feet when launching and more often than not would get sprung with my board leading the charge and my flailing corpse in hot pursuit.

Just before inverting to half flip I would crash land on the icy East Coast hardpack back first. This practice led to a colorful array of injuries, including a broken wrist. But usually I would just knock the wind out of myself and moans that resembled a bitch giving birth to a litter of 10 puppies simultaneously would emerge from my deflated lungs.

But this was back before people started padding up to thrash the hill, and I have since learned to take off on my toe edge. Things are different for you younger cats (and holiday huckers) though, and not only will the Slytech 2nd Skin Back Protector save you from busting your ribs, it will also keep all y'all next level shreds fully in the space race, double corking to the moon and back safe and sound.

With all the flippity-doo-da maneuvers these days it's quite likely you'll eventually find yourself stuck upside down halfway through one, so consider getting yourself some of this peace of mind (safety). That way you'll never find out how coughing can be as cruel as medieval torture. Don't even get me started on the tear-inducing pain of slipping out onto your back on a box or rail that you could spare yourself from...

The New 2010 2nd Skin Logo

I also found that they're quite helpful for fending off weird people with no conception of personal space in packed gondolas. Check out this next level padding that fits snug around the waist and stays in place thanks to the shoulder straps. Maybe you're thinking, "this is nothing new" but that fact is the sheer comfort offered by this back protector is what makes the difference. The memory foam 2nd skin actually molds to your body like clay but stiffens up right when you need your back to be saved. Check out the details on this memory-cell-foam technology here.

Peep the whole line of protection gear that helps you check yoself beef-o you wreck yoself!"

As if the motorcycle approved 2nd Skin Protection weren’t enough, our Pro riders and several high‐flying aspiring amateurs have requested even more protection for their death‐defying stunts. Pipe bangers and big mountain freaks alike kept bugging us for it.

Faced with the growing list of people who wanted it, the Slytech engineering department caved to the pressure then started frothing at the mouth and finally going just hog‐wild with this newest challenge.

12 hour days and several months later, they found the answer in the new SLYTECH 2ND SKIN “SLAMMER PRO”.

It offers the same high‐level craftsmanship and comfort as the Slytech 2nd Skin, except it uses infused Kevlar stringers to provide industry leading impact resistance and safety. After our memory cell foam innovation in the snow sports realm was blatantly copied, the forward thinking Slytech team has again outdone the competition with the introduction of Kevlar, the stuff they use in bullet proof vests.

You read right: Bullet Proof Vests!

The Slytech 2nd Skin Slammer Pro is only for the craziest, radical SOB's out there.

Are you crazy radical enough?

2nd Skin Logo

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Standard 2nd Skin back protector. Same killer protection as 08/09 version, but with a new look.

Walking through the lodge at the start of a World Cup Alpine Ski Race gives a glimpse into the future of consumer products, today. What you ride tomorrow, is hanging out in these rooms today. As the skiers wait for the start of their race, they sit and chill, chatting with one another or focus off in a corner by their lonesome, all the while you see gear that blows your mind.

• The newest boots that look just like the old ones, but use a new stiffer plastic;
• Speed suits with cutting edge fabrics that look more like lizzard skin than something humans wear;
• Arm guards and helmets that are constantly developed to be lighter and safer than the previous year's;
• and on and on...

I've never been in the waiting room at tennis matches or Formula 1 races, but I imagine it being quite similar: the newest of the new, the techiest of the tech. The Rafael Nadal racket I got at Tennis Warehouse is probably not the same racket Rafa actually uses (damn it!). The new tires on that Brawn-Mercedes are most certainly not the same rubber I got on my 1995 2 door Nissan pickup truck (see picture).

While I might be able to get the actual Rafa racket 2 years from now and I can get the newest Slytech's next season, the F1 tires might not be worth it.

the green dream

Formula 1

Slytech Arm Guards and Helmet

Rafa with is Custom Gear