Product Focus - Katal Landing Pad

Katal Innovations Landing Pad is the latest in progressive ski and snowboard focused safety equipment. An airbag designed to make tricks that bit more stompable before you take them to the badlands of your local park.

It’s a dangerous world out there, knuckling table tops, overshooting landings and under-rotating spins and inverts are just some of the pitfalls waiting for you in your local park. Surfing the internet a couple of weeks ago I browsed across an incredible concept from the geniuses at Katal Innovations. Essentially the landing pad is an elongated airbag that runs from the table of a kicker down the landing enabling users to fully dial tricks from take off to landing before taking their tricks to the unforgiving world of icy park landings. I contacted Ryan Regehr, Media Director at Katal Innovations to find out a bit more about Katal Innovations Inc and the Landing Pad.

Tell us a little about Katal Innovations, the people involved and the history of the brand?

Katal Innovations Inc. started as a 4th year engineering project in 2006 at University of British Colmbia.  It was started by Aaron Coret and Stephen Slen stemming from an accident that Aaron had in the highest level park on Blackcomb mountain.  Since the conception of the Landing Pad (LP) Coret & Slen’s goal has been to help progress freestyle riding while reducing the risk involved with hitting jumps. Currently Katal is working to finalize the LP on its third prototype revision.

Where did the name Katal come from?

Katal is derived from the SI unit representing the rate of moles produced per second in a catalytic reaction. Dorky, indeed, simply put Katal’s goal is to become a catalyst for progression in freestyle snow sports.

How is the Landing Pad different to conventional airbags?

The Lading Pad is the only inflatable safety device designed for installation on the deck and transition of a regular park style jump. In this case, the LP effectively mimics the geometry of a real jump rather than the flat surface provided by conventional airbags.

Is it easy to stomp your landings on the Landing Pad?

The idea is to provide and environment for the rider to become confident with the trick, airtime and gain spatial awareness. Although we have had people ride out completely that isn’t the primary goal of the product. Since the LP is on a tranny, it allows for an athlete to perfect timing their rotation and know where to plant their feet.

How long has it taken to bring the Landing Pad from an idea to the finished product?

We are always working on improvements however the current prototype has been in development since 2006.

Where is the Landing Pad manufactured? I’m assuming it’s not your average bouncy castle manufacturer!

We have been working with multiple manufactures that work with us on the inflatable design.

Has the global recession made the whole project more difficult than you initially expected?

During this economic climate, we have found it to be a lot more difficult to secure sponsorship funding for events and research then we initially expected.

You’ve done some serious testing on the Landing Pad. Did you need to make considerable changes to the first prototype?

Over the past three years we have learned at great deal from our on hill testing.  Now working with the third prototype there have been considerable improvements from the first prototype.

Recently airbags have had increased exposure as Kevin Pierce and Shaun White use every resource in their grasp to learn halfpipe tricks to give them the edge at the Vancouver Olympics. As snowboarding and freestyle skiing matures do you see the Landing Pad becoming essential to professional athletes who are serious about competing and want an edge over competitors?

We believe that at the rate that freestyle skiing and snowboarding is growing, tools such as The Landing Pad will become a necessity to the safe progression of the sport. All skill levels of riders will benefit from the LP, from beginner to expert, to help push their own limits.

Are Katal Innovations planning to develop any other park safety equipment?

Yes we are currently working on a Half Pipe bag and scalable sizes of the Landing Pad.

A current air bag on the market of approximately half the size of the Landing Pad with the conventional flat landing costs about US $35,000, even that’s a considerable amount of cash for what some resorts might consider to be a niche product. How are you going to convince hard up resort owners to part with their hard earned cash?

We believe that through the implementation of a comprehensive Katal safety program along with the LP to endorse park etiquette. Our objective is to incorporate this with liability awareness and have the program become a vital part of any resorts risk management platform.

Will the Landing Pad be making an appearance at any snowparks this season? And will it be featuring at any summer camps next year?

We are still finalizing our tour plans but we do plan to make at least a few key resorts across North America. Our team is excited to reveal the LP to the Eastern Provinces and States.  Dates and resorts have yet to be finalized but we’ll definitely be out there this season!  Stay tuned to our website to find out more details as they are finalized.

Find out more @ www.katalinnovations.com

Posted by Rich Ewbank in Features.

Next entry: FBBB Board Art Showcase Previous entry: Artist Profile - Rory Doyle