VANULARpow guys they ride all the same stuff thats on the shelves.
Not necessarily true.
Mr.BishopHow much R&D will an athlete be involved in? I would think/hope that athletes get brought into the experimental phase.... though maybe that is only for more niche brands?
I'm surprisingly uneducated about this I'm realizing. :)
Depends on their relationship with the company honestly. I can definitely confirm that Eric Pollard is often riding a future variant of his own pro model with the current or next seasons topsheet graphic. I think the skis he rides are even being developed for as far as three seasons away.
I'd imagine the scnario is similar for Chris Benchetler. He's also been spotted riding on Warden bindings up to two years ago, and that's a binding just hitting the market now. Hoji, I doubt much of his kit is all that stock for obvious reasons. Salomon guys like Cody Townsend and Brody Leven are likely quite involved with touring R&D as well.
And I definitely think there are more athletes out there like this but again I think it would depend on the athlete's relationship with a brand. You have to remember, these guys are paid athletes and if a brand has confidence in their tech savvy side then it would only make complete sense to have them testing out future product.
With all that being said I have no doubts that there are pros riding stock gear either. Sometimes, some stuff just performs really good as a result of R&D, and it might be crazy to be riding anything else.