Neon green with splashes of red.
Motorcycles, palm trees, ski masks.
The K2 logo resting confidently behind crosshairs.
My first pair of twins, the 2008 Juvy.
But, years after the golden age, twin-tips seem to be wavering slightly in popularity, why?
In the 1997-1998 season, Salmon dropped the 1080, the first mass-market twin-tip ski for the newschool movement.
Inspired by the bi-directional capabilities of the snowboard, the 1080 allowed riders to take off and land switch.
Notably, ski boards were used in the first X Games ski slopestyle event in 1998.
Porpoising (a term used to describe the necessary method for using straight skis in deep-snow) became antiquated.
This jump in sales was clearly demonstrated by a remarkable 167 percent growth in online twin tip sales.
For the past couple of seasons a friend of mine has been a member of Blizzards team.
This relegated him to a strange position.
Similarly, the backcountry marketisexploding in popularity.
According toOutsidemag, backcountry ski sales were up 81 percent as of November 2020.
If youre looking for a one ski quiver a twin-tip may not be your best choice.
And the fashions have moved on too.
It used to be that a twin tip ski was a must for your fashion-conscious weekend warrior.
Now the trend is for resort/backcountry hybrid skis and bindings.
For me, this is a win.
But could it be that the days of the twin tip ski are numbered?
