July is here and for those of us in the northern hemisphere there’s no more denying that it’s summer. This is a slow time of year for us for sales, but a good opportunity to get work done on new improvements and products. We’re in the thick of that now, and excited to announce a new offering we’re working to deliver next season.
Introducing the PL1 Loop System
Since launching the PL1, we’ve heard a recurring concern: “what if I don’t want to ski down with the ascender in my backpack?” We’ve had many creative suggestions for solutions to this, from ziplines to toboggans. We think we’ve come up with a simple solution that resolves this limitation and expands the capabilities of the PL1 system overall.
The loop system is an accessory package that can be used with any PL1. It transforms your PL1 into something much more akin to a standard rope tow, but remains exceptionally portable, versatile, and easy to set up.
Setup & Operation
Compared to the standard PL1 configuration, the loop system takes a couple minutes longer to set up.
- Anchor a pulley at the top of your run
- Run the end of the rope through the pulley, and then lay out your line from the rope bag. You will keep hold of the end of the rope as you descend.
- Anchor your PL1 at the bottom of the run. For deep snow use the included support plate.
- Connect a rope tensioner to one end of the rope and run the other end through the tensioner
- Thread the rope through the PL1 with the tensioner on the output side of the PL1
- Use the tensioner to take out any excess slack from the system
- Connect your harness to the tensioner and apply throttle to ascend
- To bring the attachment point back down, simply disconnect the loop from the PL1 and flip the input and output sides
We’re currently working on a long range RC throttle to allow a single user to operate the system independently. We are designing this product to be entirely plug and play, and backwards compatible with all existing PL1s.
Key Advantages
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No backpack needed: Great for riders building jumps, freestyle laps, or coaches running drills
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Shared use: One anchored PL1 means multiple users can ride without waiting for the unit to return
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Event-ready: Ideal for temporary or low-volume installations
- More than skiing: Quickly create a surface lift for moving gear or materials in challenging terrain
Tradeoffs to consider
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Tripping hazard: Anchoring the PL1 at the bottom means you'll need to set up thoughtfully. We'll include high-visibility markers to make the system easy to spot.
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Shorter usable span: Because the rope loops back, your max span is effectively cut in half (though you may be able to join two ropes — we’re exploring static options to reduce stretch and tangling).
We’re still testing how longer loops behave and may recommend a different rope spec for those setups.
State of Development
We still have a lot of work to do to get this product ready for production, but we’re really excited about the concept and confident we’ll have customers using the loop system next season.
Part of that confidence comes from the field testing we’ve already done. We know that the concept is sound and we’re getting a great feel for the user experience.
That’s not to say there won’t be challenges. We’ve been through this before and know that more testing and more development will lead to more hurdles we’ll need to clear.
We’ve always tried to be open about our development process, and I fully intend to share the challenges and successes in our updates as we move closer to launching this product.
Launch Plan
Kickstarter was critical to our ability to launch the PL1, and we intend to use the platform again for this new package. As a small company with limited capital, this is an important tool to help us limit risk and plan production responsibly.
It will also be an opportunity for our followers to get exclusive deals. Early traction is critical for a campaign, so we will be offering the best deals we possibly can to early bird backers.
Not on the Kickstarter list yet? Sign up here to get notified when we launch.
Thanks for following our progress,
Let it snow,
Zoa Engineering Team