Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/379417
FOCUS PSB Snow www.PowersportsBusiness.com Powersports Business • September 8, 2014 • 17 Giant Loop launches packing systems for snowmobiles Tunnel bags and gear pockets are first products Adventure-proof packing systems innovator Giant Loop announced the introduction of a new line of products this fall for the 2014- 15 snowmobile season. The new Giant Loop Snow line is targeted at the hardcore mountain sledder, demanding touring snowmobile rider and the growing crossover market of on- and off-piste snow travelers. Giant Loop Snow is launching with rugged, functional tunnel bags and gear pockets that deliver the rugged, stable, technical aspects of the company's adventure motorcycle gear. "We've been working in collaboration with Canadian extreme cross-country snowmobile racer Kirk Hastings and the owners of Moton- ation Canada, our motorcycle line distributor, to develop a tightly focused snow-specific product offering for serious sledders," said Har- old Olaf Cecil, Giant Loop's owner. Giant Loop dealer Rox Speed FX will pre- view the Giant Loop Snow Line at the Sno- Barons Haydays Grass Drags, set for Sept. 6-7 in North Branch, Minn. This event officially starts the snowmobile season each year, with many of the manufacturers introducing their new mod- els at Haydays. Last March, Hastings's Snowxcapes Team 7 finished third, capturing $20,000 in prize money, at the world's longest snowmobile endurance race, Cain's Quest in Labrador, Canada, using virtually unmodified gear from the Giant Loop motorcycle product line, including the Great Basin Saddlebag, Bush- wackers Hand Guards, Possibles Pouch and Pronghorn Straps. "With minus 52-degree C temperatures, polar bears, constant ice build up that required stopping to chop it off the sleds with axes — the most extreme conditions imaginable — Giant Loop gear performed flawlessly," Hastings said. "I have rolled my race sled twice — once down a bare gravel road — and the Giant Loop gear's tough construction has barely shown a scuff. I have driven through a forest burn-over intoxicated with sleep deprivation and brushed up against seasoned sharp branches with no penetration." "There simply is no other luggage system out there utilizing such high quality materials and construction that would keep me moving forward under such user abuse," Hastings said. "Preparing for the race, we did extensive research into the most rugged and stable bags available to carry our 90 pounds of extra fuel and mandatory supplies, and Giant Loop came up repeatedly as the best designed, most func- tional and durable bags in powersports. Next year, we are poised to win Cain's Quest with the help of the Giant Loop Snow line." Giant Loop Snow products will be distrib- uted by Motonation Canada and available from a network of premium powersports dealers throughout the U.S. Giant Loop designs and tests products in Bend, Ore. PSB Haydays visitors will get to preview the Giant Loop Snow Line. Harold Olaf Cecil is taking his company into the snowmobile market after much success in the off-road motorcycle segment.