Skywalk at Coupe Icare 2023: CEO Arne Wehrlin on New Gliders, a Single-Skin Package, and Why the Brand Backs the X-Alps
パラワールド【超多面的パラグライダー情報チャンネル】PARAWORLD
At the Coupe Icare 2023 in Saint-Hilaire, France, the Skywalk booth was visited for an interview aimed at the Japanese market. The interviewee was Arne Wehrlin, who introduced himself as one of the shareholders of Skywalk and CEO of the whole Skywalk group. He covered the brand's releases for the year, a new lightweight single-skin package developed with JB Chandelier, a weight-guessing giveaway on Instagram, and why Skywalk keeps sponsoring the Red Bull X-Alps. Near the end, one of the X-Alps athletes stopped by and joined the conversation.
A Busy Year of Releases
Wehrlin said Skywalk had already brought out many new products in 2023. At the start of the year it launched the Range X-Alps, which he called a very big success. The Mint followed, and he described it as Skywalk's first "C 2-liner." He said it had also sold very well and that the small sizes are now available.
About a month before the interview, Skywalk launched the Breeze 2, a light harness. The company had also just released the Tequila 6. Wehrlin said customers had been waiting for it because the Tequila 4 and Tequila 5 were so successful. He described the Tequila 6 as a very agile and fun glider. He said it is built from normal fabric so it should last a long time, climbs very well, is easy to fly, and still has a lot of performance, reaching into the middle of the B class.
The Pace Single Skin and a Complete Lightweight Package
The project Wehrlin highlighted most at the event was the Pace, a single-skin wing that JB Chandelier finished with Skywalk. It is offered as part of a complete package. Alongside the wing there is a new harness called the Sleeve and a new 18-liter rucksack. Wehrlin said the rucksack is meant for serious hike-and-fly and even trail running. He noted that Skywalk already sells the top-end X-Alps equipment, but this package is something different. He also listed the available sizes, which the recording renders roughly as 91, 115 and 125. Taken together, he said, it is the smallest package you can carry if you want to go out and fly.
He explained the motivation through the company's partnership with Salewa. Skywalk already makes a range of light gear, such as the Core, the Range X-Alps and the X-Alps harness. Through the Salewa connection, though, it also reaches climbers and trail runners, and Wehrlin said those people had long been waiting for a single-skin wing. According to him, JB Chandelier has worked with Skywalk for about two to two and a half years on several projects. For the single skin, the goal was a wing that was light and also homologated, and Wehrlin said the company is happy with the result.
The Weight-Guessing Game
To promote the package, Skywalk started a contest on Instagram. People are shown the whole package and have to guess its weight in grams. The package also includes a Salewa jacket, a Salewa helmet and an apple. Wehrlin explained that these extras are there so nobody can simply add up the published spec weights to reach the exact number; people have to guess. The answer is to be revealed on October 5, and the winner among all the commenters receives the whole package.
Wehrlin said the contest had started only the day before and already had more than 5,000 to 6,000 comments, which he called crazy.
Why Skywalk Sponsors the X-Alps
Wehrlin said Skywalk has supported the X-Alps for several years and that the partnership, together with Salewa, is already fixed for the next several years. He gave both personal and business reasons. He said the company likes the competition, and he personally enjoys being around the athletes from time to time.
He also argued that the race is good for the sport. It shows what is possible with nothing more than a paraglider. And people who know nothing about paragliding still learn about the X-Alps, which he sees as a good way to spread the passion for the sport and bring it to the wider market.
An X-Alps Rookie Drops By
While Wehrlin was talking, an X-Alps athlete named Tim walked past, and Wehrlin called him over. He introduced Tim as a good friend and as the rookie of the most recent race, and said everyone is excited to see what he does next time. Tim said he intends to be at the 2025 edition "if they select me." Wehrlin replied that he thinks Tim will be selected and considers it already pretty sure. He then added that this isn't announced publicly yet and that you never know, but said Tim had done a very good job and everybody likes him.
Tim said he felt lucky to have performed as he did. He credited that result to feeling really good under his glider, and closed by recommending that everybody try the Skywalk X-Alps wing he flew.
Welcome to the Japanese market. We are at Coupe Icare at the Skywalk exhibition stand, and I'm happy to talk to you. Yeah, my name is Arne. I'm one of the shareholders of the Skywalk company, and I'm the CEO of the whole Skywalk group.
Yeah, I mean, this year we were already doing a lot of new products, like the Range X-Alps at the beginning of the year, which is a very big success. Then we brought the Mint as a first C 2-liner, which is also very successful, and even the small sizes are available now. Then, just one month ago, we launched the Breeze, Breeze 2, which is the light harness, and we launched also the Tequila 6 now.
So people are waiting for Tequila 6, because we made a lot of success with Tequila 4 and Tequila 5, and now Tequila 6 is a very agile, funny glider, long lasting with normal fabric, and you can climb very good. It's easy to fly and you still have a lot of performance. It's getting really on the middle B level. It's really cool.
And the nice project we bring here this year is JB Chandelier finished with us the Pace, the single skin, and this will be a complete package. So we have the single skin, we have a special new harness, the Sleeve, we have a special new rucksack which is 18 liters, so also for really hike and fly and even for trail running. You know, we have the top by X-Alps anyway, but this we did in, we have in 91, 115 and 125 now.
So this whole package is quite interesting because it's the smallest package you can have if you want to do something. And we make a game, maybe you saw on Instagram, that we have the whole package and you have to guess how much weight it is, to the gram. But included in the package there is a jacket from Salewa, there is a helmet from Salewa, and there is an apple, because then you don't know exactly to the gram. If you just calculate, it's not working, but you can guess, and it's really interesting.
And on the 5th of October we will show how much it is, and then from every commentary the winner will get the whole package. Wow. So it's really, really interesting. Sounds very, very exciting. Event, and a lot of people are doing the commentaries now. I think we already got, we started this yesterday, and we already got more than 5, 6,000 comments. Really? Yeah, it's crazy.
Yeah, I mean, we have a lot of light equipment, like the Core, like the Range X-Alps, like the X-Alps swing and so on, but with Salewa, with this cooperation, we also have climbers and trail runners, and they are always waiting for the single skin. And JB is working since 2 years, 2 and a half years, for us on different projects, but with the single skin the goal was really to be light but also have a homologation, and so we're happy to have it like that.
Yes, Skywalk is supporting X-Alps for several years, also for the next time. Everything is fixed for some years together with Salewa, because we like this competition, and also it's my passion to do that, to be around the athletes sometimes. But I think it's also very good because in this competition you see what is possible with just a paraglider, and even people who don't know about paragliding, they get to know about X-Alps, and I think it's very good to spread even our passion and sport to the market.
Here's one of the athletes. Come on, come on, it's Tim Alongi. Hey Tim, come here. This is Japanese market, and this is Tim, good friend of mine, now the rookie, and we are waiting for the next time, what he's doing.
2025, I will be there. Me too. Hopefully, if they select me. I think they will select you. I think this is already pretty sure. I mean, we don't tell it on the television, but you never know. But he made a very good job, yeah, and we are so excited. Everybody likes him very, very much.
Yeah, I am lucky to perform like this, and I could only do it because I feel really well under the glider. So everybody should try the X-Alps 5. Thank you. Thank you so much.
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