Torbjorn Ragg On The Status Of
The NTN
Rottefella Breaks
Years Of Official Silence By Agreeing To An Interview
April, 27, 2005-- The New Telemark
Norm (NTN) project continues to move forward. From the beginning
the goal has been to update the interface between telemark boots
and skis by jettisoning the 75mm duckbill toe, and adopting a
tele boot norm similar in dimensions to the established Alpine
Touring boot norm. Along with this, Rottefella has designed and
patented an innovative binding with an under the forefoot attachment
configuration, utilizing a special ledge to be built into NTN
compatible boots. It's been a difficult project in that establishing
a New Telemark Norm requires the cooperation of the boot makers,
and others in the tele industry. This is in addition to the normal
challenges any company faces in bringing an advanced new product
to market. Not surprisingly, Rottefella has been reluctant to
publicly discuss the NTN during the development process. The
following Telemarktips.com exclusive interview with Marketing
Manager Torbjorn Ragg are Rottefella's first official public
comments on the project.
Q: There has been a lot of secrecy surrounding
the development of the New Telemark Norm (NTN), leading to an
extraordinary amount of speculation. First, why have you guys
been so tight-lipped? and to what do you attribute this unprecedented
interest in products that have yet to even be scheduled for release
to the market?
A: First let me say that it has never been our goal to promote
something new like the NTN and talk about products that we don't
have, giving people the idea that it's something easy to accomplish.
We know that it's very challenging to design a new product and
bring a new system to market that works well. Of course as soon
as people find out that we are trying to solve such a challenge,
the rumors and speculation naturally follow, but we knew this
was going to be a difficult task so we have tried hard to keep
a low profile. Unfortunately the fact that we are unwilling to
talk about it, is sometimes seen as a negative thing, some people
draw the conclusion that since they haven't seen anything come
out of the project, that maybe we don't know what we are doing,
or that we have given up. That's just not the case.
Q: Yet there is so much interest....
A: Yes, we are aware of that, but it's our policy, as well as
most of the European ski manufacturers..... ....we don't have
a tradition of publicly focusing so much on what's going to come
out in the future, but instead promote what we have now while
working quietly on the next generation product line. And make
no mistake, the task Rottefella has taken on when it come to
the NTN is challenging, it's as simple as that. We knew it was
going to be a long-term project.
Q: Yes, we've been writing about it on Telemarktips.com for many
years. How close are we to seeing an NTN system on shop shelves?
A: We feel that we are very close to finding all the necessary
solutions and to having a multi-functional, durable product unlike
anything else currently available. Otherwise we wouldn't have
shown our proto types at Livigno.
Q: Speaking of the proto types displayed at the Live Free Heel
Festival recently, how far along are they? Are they what are
known as "rapids," or are they closer to finished products?
What stage of development do they represent?
A:. Well, our intention at Livgino was just to give the people
a chance to see what the future will look like, but these proto
types are not something we hand-made or cut out of stock material,
all of the parts were either from molds or metal tooling. This
current generation of NTN binding proto types were costly to
produce, they should indicate to everyone that we have come pretty
far, but whether or not they represent the final design, well,
that's too early to say. Our testing has shown that there are
certain functional improvements needed, and we are working on
those at the moment. By the end of summer we expect we will have
a new set of proto types for testing and hopefully we will get
the answers we are looking for.
Q: It's a big project, isn't it?
A: It's a huge project. I know that you have also tinkered
around a bit in your workshop there, testing the basic concept,
and you found out that it is smart, that it works, but it's a
long way from that to making a commercial product ready for the
market. We know we have to make this work as it should, right
out of the box.
Q: What do you feel are the key advantages of the NTN design?
A: We believe that using the geometry of the Alpine Touring boot
norm offers many advantages, we can make better boots and higher
performance bindings, we can make tele boots that are more compatible
with crampons, and the basic concept of the underfoot attachment
gives us an opportunity to design a completely new, and modern
looking, boot/binding combination.
Q: For sometime we've been hearing from people that are considering
trying freeheel skiing that our bindings look old and antiquated,
like something that belong in a museum instead of on the mountain.
On the other hand, most of my alpine skiing friends have had
a much more positive reaction to some of the more modern looking
tele bindings that have hit the market in the last few years.
A: That's interesting. We've had our testers out on the NTN boots
and bindings in places like Chamonix, and at resorts here in
Norway, and we've experienced the same reaction. The alpine skiers
and the rando guys look at our prototypes and the response has
been immediate. "I want to try telemark skiing on something
like that." This is one of the things that tells us we are
moving in the right direction.
Q: There has been a lot of talk on our TelemarkTalk Forum concerning
the various features freeheel skiers would like to see incorporated
into an NTN binding. Two of the most obvious and complimentary
functions would seem to be an easy on/off touring mode, combined
with an active design that helps keep the forefoot on the ski
and break the boot at the bellows. With an underfoot attachment
point, we would expect it to be an active binding, but the current
NTN proto types also have a tour mode, correct?
A: Yes, that is right. We see an easy touring mode as being a
very important feature. Actually, individually, we have come
up with solutions for everything people wish for, the challenge
is to put it all together in one binding. That's the tricky part.
And to, at the same time, keep the weight at a decent level and
the cost down to a point where it is affordable. Then there are
performance considerations, you have to make sure it performs
well for the skiers who ski hard using big boots, while keeping
the people who don't ski so hard and use lighter boots happy
as well, and so on, and so on.
Q: There are a lot of compromises that need to be made... is
that what you are saying?
A: I think what we are seeing is that it is impossible to make
a compromise product. Even though alpine bindings are required
to do so much less than tele bindings, they don't make a single
do-it-all product either, they have racing bindings, recreational
and freeride bindings, and you have others that do this or that.
Same with cross-country. Why should we expect one telemark binding
to solve every issue? I'm pretty sure the future will bring us
a system, or a concept, where there will be a number of different
products within this system, each offering various combinations
of features. Kind of like we already have today, I mean we have
touring oriented bindings, resort oriented bindings, releasables,
hinged plates, 3-pin bindings, cables, active, passive, etc.
Q: What about step-in? When you look at an alpine binding, and
see how beefy the parts are that are required to make a reliable
and strong step-in function, how will such a feature ever be
made to fit under a tele skier's foot, as the NTN concept would
seem to require?
A: What we have been looking at as far as step-in is something
a little different. We have defined "easy-entry" as
the main goal, not step-in. When we talk to the users they seem
to agree with this approach, easy-entry is the key issue to solve,
not necessarily to have a step-in. I wouldn't be surprised if
you agree with that.
Q: I do. Absolutely. But don't get me wrong, the day we tele
skiers can walk up to our bindings and step in and go like an
alpine skier will be a great day, but personally I'm more concerned
with seeing a progressive and innovative boot/binding system
that looks and functions like what we would expect from 21st
century freeheel gear.
A: We want that as well, and we want to help create more enthusiasm
in the sport by updating the telemark boot/binding norm. If it
is possible for us to solve the challenges in developing
a new system we will do so, that is our goal. What we will not
do is start rumors in the market by telling people that it's
going to look and work like this or that, because that's not
what we want to do. We showed something at Livigno that has been
skied on by our testers and from which we have received good
feedback, if it had been ready it would have already been released.
It is not ready yet.
Q: So to sum up where we are at today with the NTN: you have
advanced proto types that are being ski tested and you are working
on another generation of bindings. In this next generation you
are continuing to work on solutions to a few current issues.
Is that right? Also, what are your goals as far as a time frame
for release?
A: Yes, that's right, and we have a date and a release strategy
in mind, and we are on target for that. But you will not be able
to push me into giving you a specific release date at this stage.
We know that we have taken on a great challenge and we will never
release a product before it is 100% ready. Reliability has always
been our concern, and don’t forget that Rottefella has been
making Nordic bindings for more than 75 years. We have been in
this business long enough to know that it is not very smart to
release an unfinished product just to create hype.
Our target is very clear Mitch, we have
resources to do this and we have decided to apply the necessary
resources to move the NTN forward. The current norm severely
limits what the industry can do in the future. The NTN can change
all that. Our motives are genuine. We feel that the sport and
the industry need this to progress.
Q: Torbjorn, thanks for taking the time
to answer our questions on the NTN, best of luck to you and Rottefella.
A: Thank you Mitch. |