There is often a demanding product development process behind an innovative and successful product. It requires the effort of experts from several areas, until the best possible solution has been reached regarding the production, marketing, design and the end user of the product. Good examples were the skiing poles manufactured by Exel Oy. Their achievements are based on the Exel's developed pole pipe manufacturing method, quality assurance, as well as details connected to the product and its features in use. The secret of the Exel's skiing poles was the computer-steered automatic manufacturing process. Therefore, the production line was strictly protected from publicity. The manufacturing mechanism of the pole pipe was a production secret that had to be kept in order to retain the competitive advantage.

In addition to high-quality pole pipe, an important factor in the Excel's success was the effective product development of the other parts of the pole. Design had a remarkable share in the success of the poles. The industrial designer Pentti Leskinen worked in the Exel's product development team for 15 years, providing the designer's view to the pole manufacturing. Leskinen prepared model pieces of the baskets and handles from the drawings in his own model shop for the team to be tested. This cooperation introduced the world-famous pole family that included both cross-country poles for recreation skiers and competitive poles for the top of the skiing world.

In 1975, Exel Oy introduced a whole new kind of a pole with its design and features. The first carbon fibre epoxy pole, Grafil Champion, entered the market. It was advertised to be harder than steel but a third lighter than other competitive poles. One pole weighted only about 150 grams. The Grafil Champion pole had also a completely new basket structure and operation principle. The pole had a new, unsymmetrical butterfly wing basket, whose development work had started in 1974.

The butterfly wing basket and detachable snow wing.

The structure and the operation principle of the butterfly wing basket was completely different from the ordinary, round basket. The basket wing was made of the same hard piece of plastic with the sleeve. The front edge of the basket had a hoof-like claw that ensured grip even in steep rises. The basket did not have a "front part" at all and the snow tip of the pole (from the basket downwards) was short and narrow. Therefore, the pole turned lighter in the snow and it did now brake the skier by shovelling the snow.

The success of the new pole on the skiing tracks was very convincing. It was the winning pole of 40 Olympic medals in Innsbruck in 1976, i.e. 75% of all medals. Exel patented the innovative wing basket and developed new versions of it during the years.

See the butterfly wing basket 3D Model here.
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The final breakthrough of the skating style was at the Seefeld world championships in 1985. The skiers already in the previous Sarajevo Olympics were using the skating kick on the other side, but in Seefeld all distances were skated on both sides. The skating style set new requirements for the competitive poles, so the new style introduced also new development of the equipment.

The skiers needed equipment for both styles, as skating need different skis and longer, stronger poles. The skating style created new challenges for the design of the basket. In 1986, Exel Oy started to develop a new competition basket for the skating style. The target of the design was to make the basket slightly smaller than the baskets of the traditional poles. Due to the skating style, the working angle of the basket had to be tilted outwards, and the turning line of the pole tip had to be the same as the skiing direction. The basic idea was that the basket needed to be as easily to be twisted from the snow as possible.

The Skating Air competitive basket for skating and its seven degree tilt considers closely the pole pipe posture. This ensured the grip of the tip also in the lateral direction, and pole pushes provided the maximal benefit. The asymmetry of the basket and the tilt of the tip provided better grip for the basket in every phase of the push and in all snow circumstances. The form of the outer edge of the basket prevented the basket from going under the ski of a fellow competitor.

The pole pipe materials and the basket design was being developed all the time, but the pole handles remained the same for decades. One unsuccessful design attempt was to build a shovel handle style for the pole. It gave more strength for the movement, but the problem was that the pole became difficult to handle and it hit the snow randomly. In 1987 Exel Oy gave the Creadesign Oy a task to design a new kind of handle. The requirement was to find a solution that would provide the best possible support at every phase of the push. Designers designed several models that helped to clarify the effect of the handle type on the pushing force and how the hand could turn in the handle. Based on the results, a basic model for further development could be chosen.

With the help of various models the effect
of the handle types on the pushing force
was researched

Specified models based on the basic model
regarding its ergonomic measurements.

The basic model was the basis for the specified ergonomic measurements and they were tested by the competitive skiers. The further development of the form and measurement indicated that the handles of the left and right hand needed to be different. The starting point of the design of the Ergo handle, the result of the product development process, was the correct position of the hand. Three crucial details in the handle design were the small spur in the handle root supporting the side of the palm, the form of the part that stays inside the palm and the correct tilt angle i.e. the pushing angle. Together with the wide strap, the palm support provided a wider support area for the palm. The pole was easier to manage than before which led to a longer pole push and a faster return movement. The anatomic design of the handle was aimed to observe also the various requirements of different sizes of hands. The pressure in the Ergo handle was divided evenly on the part of the handle and the wide, adjustable strap, so the blood circulation in the hand remained even. This reduced numbing of the hand.