Member of the Month

KilaTsunami
October, 2024

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

The Death of Dynastar

profile picture
Tremblantskier
Posts: 945 - Karma: 5,423
It has come to my attention that Dynastar has now lost Tanner Rainville, Justin Dorey and Mike Riddle in the span of a year. This truly spells the end for the iconic brands team and the brand itself.

A decade ago Dynastar had the strongest team in the ski industry. Candide Thovex, Mickeal Deschenaux, Phil Larose, Dave Crichton, Phil Belanger, Andy Woods, Liam Downey to name a few have all been on the Dynastar team and managers such as Josh Novotny promoted the brand the the fullest. Today I am only aware of two, Jon Brogan (who enjoys Charlie Sheen gossip status on the board) and Duncan Adams.

Dynastar has only itself to blame. The departure from the Trouble, and Big Trouble lines has spelt disaster for the brand. The new Sixth Sense skis might integrate better edge technology but the graphics are uninspired and the skis ride poorly compared to the more responsive Trouble Makers. Second they have allowed their team to slip away, most notably Mickeal Deschenaux who was denied a pro model even though he helped design the Trouble Maker and won back to back US Open Big Air titles on the skis. Arguably this is because of the poor financial situation Rossignol (who I understand owns the brand) is under but they still have maintained a winning team and visual athletes such as Kevin Rolland and Parker White. By failing to keep the most progressive skiers under one roof, the brand has lost sway in the industry and become an after thought to todays freestyle market.

From making the most progressive skis with eye catching artistic graphics (see Larose Pro, or Candide Pro Models) Dynastar has become a losing company. Hopefully Brogan starts skiing again and Adam podiums at X Games so you fools will have something to market come 2012.

MWM
Mar 7 2011 8:21PM
0 0
profile picture
NWPA
Posts: 2309 - Karma: 165
What? Atomic still makes good race skis..
Mar 8 2011 12:35PM
0 0
profile picture
tbayjibber
Posts: 326 - Karma: 62
lol Atomic still makes awesome race skis and still has a great race team (Erik Guay, Carlo Janka, Marlies Schild, Michael Walchoffer) whereas Dynastar has basically no stars on the world cup. Only thing I would miss is Lange boots best boots for narrow feet like me
Mar 8 2011 12:40PM
0 0
profile picture
steezeninja
Posts: 1271 - Karma: 731
Fuck Dynastar anyways. Never liked any of their skis. Especially the new sixth sense. Graphics are lame.
Mar 8 2011 1:20PM
0 0
profile picture
joly.sp
Posts: 2305 - Karma: 585
word 2 posts above. my mom and i have narrow feet.
Never ridden in anything but langes, never plan too
Mar 8 2011 4:42PM
0 0
profile picture
cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,686
Dynastar/Rossignol group got sold a couple years ago, new owners are not a big fan of spending a fat chunk of change on a team of premadonnas (which 95% of pro skiers are). If you look at the history of Dynastar's team they invested a lot of money in skiers who then got hurt, jumped ship to another company, or just stopped skiing, makes it hard to justify a team. Dynastar's new owners have shifted the focus of the company, and the result is that sales are up. Selling LPs and XXLs is a lot harder then selling sultan 85s and 94s. Also I can ski the legend 115 almost as hard as my XXLs in powder, and the big boy sized 105 is not a pussy ski by any means.
Mar 8 2011 5:53PM
0 0
profile picture
cgrinn
Posts: 1 - Karma: 10
When Crichton, Deschenaux, Thovex were there with the 3 Phils (and Woods/Reedy) that team was unstoppable. Style was the focus and it's lived on through all the groms. They were as big for pushing the sport as the Canadian Air Force was in the beginning. Whether Dynastar is focusing more on racing or whatever else, there is no denying they have stopped moving the sport forward on their end.... too bad, used to love their skis in the pipe
Mar 15 2011 4:35PM
0 0
profile picture
Hughes
Posts: 1023 - Karma: 940
Europe is definitely the 'stomping ground' of dynastar. their skis are everywhere in all the french resorts, especially the legends. There freeride team still has Aurelien Ducroz (won the freeride world tour chamonix comp). I think what many people don't realise is they clearly make a lot of money out of their slalom skis, which is how they can keep producing freestyle and freeride skis.


just my opinion
Mar 15 2011 5:58PM
0 0
profile picture
ndye
Posts: 3756 - Karma: 7,094
I purchased the last generation of Trouble Makers for $99 dollars at the end of last year, I like them but i damaged them pretty quick and now they are urban/rock skis.
Mar 15 2011 6:03PM
0 0
profile picture
J_BISCHOF
Posts: 2082 - Karma: 1,449
Honestly, Dynastar makes better skis than 90% of the market. If ya'll pulled your heads out of your asses and learned to actually ski, you'd realize that.

Why waste time marketing to a bunch of douchebags that wouldn't know a well made ski If I hit them in face with it?
Mar 15 2011 6:09PM
0 0
profile picture
Justo8484
Posts: 3905 - Karma: 205
you realize the 6th sense superpipe is essentially the same ski as the OG troublemaker, right? ok, good. if it's not broken, don't fix it. it skis, awesome, and is pretty durable, comparatively. the 6th sense huge rips when there's deep snow, and i've heard nothing but awesome things about the slicers. just because you don't think their graphics are the hottest thing out right now does not mean their skis, or the company, sucks. also, the lange rx130 pro, their top of the line freeride boot, was sold out before they even hit shops this year, and last i checked, look falls under the dynastar brand as well, so if they go out of business, i guess we can say goodbye to what is hands down the best park binding on the market right now.
Mar 15 2011 10:22PM
0 0
profile picture
ndye
Posts: 3756 - Karma: 7,094
lol
Mar 15 2011 10:27PM
0 0
profile picture
tbayskier
Posts: 1137 - Karma: 1,640
wait wtf, shut up noob.  any one who races at all can tell you that your comment is total bs
Mar 15 2011 10:30PM
0 0
profile picture
Justo8484
Posts: 3905 - Karma: 205
what's so funny? the pivot design is look's, rossi just slaps their own graphics on it. or are you debating it's best binding ever status, because i think a lot of guys competing in the xgames, FWT, dew tour, etc, would back that.
Mar 16 2011 12:44PM
0 0
profile picture
john.stossel
Posts: 943 - Karma: 5
the old troublemakers are now the sixth sense superpipe, which are still the best skis of all time... so dynastar is not dead as long as they keep churning out those bad boys. VANULAR was by far their biggest loss along with rainville and chricton, but skiing has fucking died in my opinion so who really cares.
Apr 18 2011 6:16PM
0 0
profile picture
Boggs
Posts: 1039 - Karma: 208
maybe because rossi owns them herp durp. The look pivot=FKS14.
Apr 18 2011 6:58PM
0 0
profile picture
Yung_Gnarley
Posts: 9092 - Karma: 3,022
Trouble makers are the best carving park ski ever.
May 3 2011 4:26PM
0 0
profile picture
john.stossel
Posts: 943 - Karma: 5
sucks, but seeing as dynastar makes the best ski of all time (troublemakers) (now called sixth sense superpipe) dynastar cannot possibly fail. unless we have an entire generation of idiots who think suspects are the best
Jul 5 2011 1:47AM
0 0
profile picture
john.stossel
Posts: 943 - Karma: 5
sucks, but seeing as dynastar makes the best ski of all time (troublemakers) (now called sixth sense superpipe) dynastar cannot possibly fail. unless we have an entire generation of idiots who think suspects are the best
Jul 5 2011 1:48AM
0 0
profile picture
john.stossel
Posts: 943 - Karma: 5
dammit what tf am i doing..
Jul 5 2011 1:52AM
0 0
profile picture
DG.3
Posts: 794 - Karma: 288
as far as i know their all mountain skis, legend or whatever you call em, and their flat tailed big mountain skis are still popular
Jul 5 2011 1:57AM
0 0
profile picture
Balmdogg
Posts: 1742 - Karma: 309
Trouble Makers were amazing.
Jul 5 2011 8:11AM
0 0
profile picture
^BEANS^
Posts: 624 - Karma: 248
my trouble makers were my favorite pair of skis i have owned so far, to bad they only lasted 1 month then they started to de-lam ):
Jul 5 2011 8:25AM
0 0
profile picture
seward
Posts: 5233 - Karma: 2,174

they'll be back.

every company goes hot then cold, then hot again, then cold again.

dynastar made the troublemaker and boom, every pro was on them. watch ready fire aim, seriously everyother pro was on TM's. and they havnt made a ski that good since.

even before that everyone was on scratches, then they all left to form armada.

and even before that, everyone rode for salomon.

fahk when the suspects came out everyone was allllllll over salomon's wiener, and now all i hear in forums is how bad the suspects are. its crazy how nearly this whole site can sway so quickly because of what they think is cool or uncool. *cough* first drop. im just waiting for the day when a pro rips on jibberish and this whole site jumps off that wallnutz bandwagon so i can thank god i never spent $200 on a hoodie because someone else told me it was cool.

anyways

i dont understand how you can compare a team from almost 10 years ago to a team now. obviously their pro riders list wont be as long, there was less companies back them. thats how companies like dynastar and rossi had just powerhouse teams. now you have all these smaller "core" companies snagging up alot of people. i dont think dynastar let their team walk away, or are focusing their attention else where, i just think there is alot more places for people to go in todays industry.

i dunno, just my opinion.

Jul 5 2011 8:42AM
0 0
profile picture
Pipe_Munky
Posts: 10888 - Karma: 2,184
Dynastar is still making a killer twin line. I still love my 6th Sense Spins. Sure they don't have the graphics that kids want and don't have the pro team. Not a huge deal. They're killing it with their all mountain skis and their freeride line with the Legend series has very little competition in the market.

I don't think I even need to get into Lange boots.


Jul 5 2011 9:20AM
0 0
profile picture
cobra_commander
Posts: 16909 - Karma: 4,686
I do...

I got into some boots that were not Lange's, and I wanted back into my Langes.
Jul 5 2011 6:02PM
0 0
profile picture
TheClap.
Posts: 21664 - Karma: 4,140
haha +k
Jul 5 2011 6:09PM
0 0
profile picture
TijmenDal
Posts: 4849 - Karma: 1,295
Beat me to it. Lolz, Atomic makes badass ski's.
Jul 5 2011 6:51PM
0 0
profile picture
pretzels
Posts: 416 - Karma: 43
Does having a good pro team really matter?
Jul 5 2011 7:01PM
0 0
profile picture
bikerocker
Posts: 1427 - Karma: 461
I think a lot of you guys are missing the point. Dynastar is literally in the same building and really the same company as rossignol. In order to fight overlap between the two brands Rossignol is focusing on more of the freeski scene, while dynastar is being developed into a more mature and traditional brand. Rossignol doesn't need to promote two different sets of athletes that do the same thing.

Sure it might be a shift of an iconic brand, but when it comes down to putting money in the bank it's just too expensive and unproductive to have two complete lines of competing products.

Look at the whole Trek/ Gary Fisher merge that happened in the bike world a while ago. It just didn't make sense to compete internally and Rossi/ Dynastar knows that as well.
Jul 6 2011 3:24PM
0 0
profile picture
3mania
Posts: 2613 - Karma: 10,361
I loved my 182 LaRose troublemaker Pros. I had 2 pair.Click for larger image
Jul 6 2011 4:04PM
0 0
All times are Eastern (-5)