The product I have chose to analyse and improve was the ski pole. The ski pole is most commonly made out of aluminium or carbon fibre and consists of a long tube with a grip and strap at one end. The pole also has a sharp point at the other end to grip the snow covered by a small plastic disk known as a basket. The poles are used by a skier to aid balance and thus improve and perfect skiing technique.

I chose this product because having skied for a long time and identified some problems of my own, I would like to find out if others experience the same discomfort and issue with a ski pole and if so, I would like to redesign the product to a higher ergonomic and comfort standard to solve these problems.

The issues I have identified are an incorrect use of the ski pole strap, that can lead to injury or discomfort and is something I have often noticed when skiing with friends or family. This is alongside another problem, where the product is generally very difficult and awkward to use and put on in terms of how easy the strap is. When using a ski pole the user is constantly wearing and removing the product to use chairlifts and other ski lifts. Therefore I feel like the product could have a much sleeker ease of use for all.

My target population are the people who go skiing, regardless of how often or what age. This can range from absolute beginners to the seasoned professionals as any way the use of a ski pole could be improved and prevent injury or discomfort, any ability within the sport would benefit from it.

Beyond allowing able bodied skier to have a better user experience, the integration of a simplified ski pole grip or strap could aid those who are taking up or using a sit-ski. The potential to redesign a sit-ski pole is also pressing. However I feel that due to the sheer difference in population using sit-ski poles and standard ski poles, many more would benefit from the redesign of the standard ski pole.

Possible solutions integrate features into the ski pole which may not have been considered. The use of colour is a feature that I feel could be overlooked, such as is the use of magnets or differently shaped ski pole grips. Therefore I will need to look into each aspect of the design. However there  is also the idea of changing how the grip conforms to the hand, creating a unique experience for each person.