Nice Udders and Silky Hide!

In Vermont, we're proud of our ski areas, sugar maple, moose, hard work ethics, and laid-back living. And oh yeah, our Holstein cows, especially Lucy! 

DERBY, VT -- If Fern Arable in "Charlotte's Web" had "some pig," the Nelson family of Derby has some cow. Best on Earth, in fact.

Elleeta Skybuck Lucy -- Lucy for short -- was recently crowned the top female Holstein on the planet at the World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wis. The tall, black-and-white-patched, 7-year-old star lives with nearly 400 other Cowtown Holsteins in a tidy barn a hiccup away from the Canadian border.

For those not well-versed in cow competition, the clearest explanation is this: The award is a really big deal. The World Dairy Expo is the largest cow competition in the world, and winners go on to fetch high prices for their offspring.



To read the rest of the article, you know what to do...

Ibex Blows the Doors off the Outdoor Industry!

                                                                                              

And how could we not!  With designs like these, the Ibex brand is ready to dominate all the industry trade shows and take the outdoor sector by storm! 

"We're designing on an entirely new plain of development for F08.  We've transcended traditional boundaries of cut-and-sew techniques to create what we call Plan W-2.0, or Wool 2.0  No other company can match our elevated thinking," states Jinesse Reynolds, VP of Design at Ibex. 

"We're not going to divulge any  information prematurely, but we're calling what Dan's wearing (see left) the Buckskin top and bottom.  We're doing our entire line in the buckskin color for 08 including the full women's line."

The team at Ibex is truly united on this new design and the sales team is psyched that they wont have to lug around different colored samples around the country.

Dan sporting the new Ibex Merino Buckskin Top, Bottom, and Hat
that are scheduled to launch for the Fall 08 season.   

*Of course, the above pieces are some OLD protos from years gone by using "whatever colors were available at the time."

More Ibex Love Via The Interweb Tubes

Hellooooo ibex,

I can't say enough good things about the ibex I wear. I do a fair bit of skiing and climbing and I always take you with me, however I must admit i take you to work as well.  As a timber framer /carpenter/whatever I  need good gear to work (and play) in, as I work outside in interior Alaska during the winter.  So I offer this
suggestion, take the durability and flexibility of the current backcountry pants you make, line them with a mid-weight long-johns,reinforce the knees and thighs and butt with something tough,  Keep the gaiters and instep patches and add large thigh pocket, bibs with full leg zips and you would have the ultimate cold weather bottoms ever.  So what if they cost a arm and a leg if you know that what you have is going to outlast and outperform anything else.  We have an expression around here as a person gets smitten with ibex, as it happens, one tends to be "ibexed out" when clothed head to toe.  "Oh yeah" you respond, " my boxers are............. too..............."

Thank You Ibex

We Love Emails Like This!

Hello on this fine Thursday from Hamilton MT!

I have been truly delinquent in sending this letter of nothing but praise for your products.  I ordered a few items for our search and rescue team last fall.  Needless to say they received quite alot of use this last year trapesing (and standing)around in the woods-and everywhere else too.  Everything is so soft and cozy and never stinky!! wow!! All that synthetic stuff I have has definitely taken the backseat.  When I go out on a mission, Ibex is what goes with me.  I have confidence it will meet my expectations whatever unexpected turn things may take.  Being cold when you are out for the day is uncomfortable, but when someone else is depending on you, being cold (and wet) can be the difference between being able to stay out and having to call things off for the night.

Thanks again for the great clothing. I'll keep passing on the word, so you can keep making the stuff!

Traceable Integrity in Ibex's New Zealand Merino Fiber

The Zque program has been developed to satisfy our expectations of the integrity of Ibex's Merino fabrics. This includes assurance that our production systems meet suitable standards for the stewardship of livestock, management of the environment and socially responsible practices, and that the resulting products are of the highest quality.

Specifically, Zque encourages that our fiber production is managed through systems that track enhanced animal welfare, environmental, social and economic values, and provides that extra bit of confidence and transparency of the quality and integrity of Ibex's New Zealand Merino fiber.

LINK

Merino wool sweaters - puzzled over taos

For the men, the Taos is our newest sweater in sporty, superfine, midweight Merino wool concoction fit for a night on the town, a walk in the fall woods or just standing around making people jealous of your sweater. Contrast stitching on sleeves. Fully fashioned knit. Semi-fit, and fully soft on the inside.  Not an itch to be felt.   If you are looking for a trendy and comfortable wool sweater, look no further.

And for the ladies, the Puzzle organic wool sweater is easy on the skin, easy on the conscience. New for this season, an organic merino knockout. Mid-heavy weight

handles the coldest winter days. Ribbed shawl collar, rib pattern and slightly belled sleeves handle the style. Semi-fit and shaped for a woman.

Meet Alyx and Clive!

Here’s your chance to be the first on your block to own the new standard bearer of go-everywhere, do-everything, nothing-can-stop-you softshell wonder jackets.

Know what the Clive and Alyx are like, with their Climawool® Cirrus exterior and 100% Merino wool interior, their double-weave durability, draw cord hem, iPod® pockets, and their 14” double-slider armpit zippers? Nothing, that’s what. They are like nothing else.   And if you use them with one of our wool base layers and a Zepher Zip-T thermal top, you'll be able to withstand the coldest days of winter with ease! 

The Clive and the Alyx are truly fashionable, trendy winter coats that are perfect for any cold weather outdoor activity you can think of. 

Oh, and for the ladies Sarah is wearing her Alyx with our world famous Loose Tights; a mind-bending Merino/Lycra blend wool pants, with winter-weight warmth and all the performance and comfort you could ever want. 

   

The Matrix Problem

Email from our web developer...

Hey guys,
    I’ve put in some serious time with Tom L. this week as well as countless hours researching optimization of the database and code. 

I’m not saying that this is the end all be all of slow downs on the website, because until we can get some stress testing done on the database & coding we won’t really know how it is going to react to floods of customers using the site when we email our DB.  The problem is that the site works great on a day to day basis but we really have no idea what the threshold is for overworking the server. Over the past 3 days I have been able to optimize the loading times of the Product Category & Product Detail pages by over 300% which brings the load time to just over 1 second(1.10 seconds).

This has been a frustrating and tedious task, for everyone, myself, customer service, customers, etc, but I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Thanks to everyone for your patience and help, because I was pretty close to doing a swan dive off the gorge!

Just thought everyone would like an update.

Thanks,

Kelly

Wear your woolies under your foulies...

Below is an email from Ron, an avid sailor and racer from WA, and Ibex fan.  It sure sounds like a lot of fun
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"BTW – if you’re interested, I think that one of the main areas I use Ibex stuff for is a pretty demanding application.  I sail a Musto Skiff (www.mustoskiff.com) (actually I’m the North American importer, and also make gear recommendations for people who buy the boats, and I do recommend your folks stuff right now for our base layer)  If you would like some input for product research I would be happy to help out.

The boat is a very physical / active boat, that keeps you at a quite high average heart rate, and so develops a lot of sweat.  On top of that, I sail in the Puget Sound, Seattle area, where water temps are rarely up much above 50. I suppose some of your whitewater kayakers will have similar conditions, but we move around a lot more on the skiff, and need freedom of movement.  We also tend to get a lot of cold water splashing on us from going through (or under J) waves …  So the trick is to have something that keeps you regulated, and also warm when wet. 

I’ve been combining your ribbies crew long sleeve base layer with a Zhik superwarm neoprene top.  The wool goes under the neoprene.   I even use that combo under the dry suit as my main warmth without bulk.  I would be interested if you had any idea for a layer under the drysuit that might replace the Zhik, as the Zhik does promote sweating more than I would like.    (But I find that most other middle layers I’ve tried do not do as well at keeping me warm with the amount of sweat that generates and stays under the dry suit)  The ibex does make a huge contribution under the Zhik, even when it is quite soaked in sweat.

When I sail my trimaran I don’t use the Zhik, and actually a turtle neck version of your shirt (probably better without zip so it doesn’t puncture the dry suit seal) would be the best bet. 

Thanks,

ron

For more info, please visit Sailing Anarchy's post on Ibex and what to wear under drytops when sailing.

Kikkan Randall, US Olympian and Ibex Athlete

Kikkan Randall
Sole Woman on the US national cross-country ski team
First US woman to make the World Cup XC Podium

Preparations for the 2010 Olympics continue, less than three years to go now! 

Training over the summer and fall has been better than ever!  I started my training year two weeks earlier than normal (April 22nd) and the extra preparation is paying off.  My goals over the preparation period were to improve aerobic capacity and power and I have been rollerskiing, glacier skiing, running and cycling like crazy! 

I average six weeks left in Alaska before I head over to Europe for my first World Cup race December 1st.  My travels this winter will go all over the western hemisphere: Finland, Switzerland, Russia, Canada, Estonia, Czech Republic, Sweden, Norway and Italy! 

The 2008 Season promises to be very challenging

and exciting despite no major championship races.  My focus for the year will be on the January Word Cup races in Canmore, Alberta.  We will have the Europeans on our turf and I look forward to chasing after my first World Cup victory! A secondary focus for the season will be getting into the top ten in the overall World Cup Sprint Standings. 

It’s going to be a long winter on the road chasing those medals but I am confident knowing my IBEX Woolies will be with me every step of the way!

Cheers,
Kikkan :)

Kikkan in her Ibex jacket over her Ibex wool underwear and race suit...