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Ski Rucksack Design - your input required!

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Hi fellow ski people. My son is studying Product Design at Nottingham Trent Uni and for his final year project he is designing a rucksack aimed specifically at skier/boarders. He's made a questionnaire and it would be really helpful if you could spare 5 mins to complete it.

Link here https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=xcLLiu3Ix0KBabpDig2-Lzvf-u0SLGNMnWhj83LXOCpURDZHUU5VRUhPMUZPVUdLS0pBOE9RNlNZTS4u

Thanks all in advance! Cool
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Failed on first question - He needs to cover ALL ages. We don't all give up skiing at 54!
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Have just spotted that myself (aged 57) currently skiing in Corvara!I will tell him to update now!
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
@alipret, question 7 needs avvy gear as an option (or even a presumption)
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Is he really only interested in a rucksack "for going skiing with a family"?
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Perhaps when the questionnaire specifies "resort skiing" that means on-piste only?
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
He has a fairly tight brief of a ski rucksack for a “family” holiday. I have flagged the age thing to him and he will update, but for ethical reasons he can’t collect data from anyone over 65 (not entirely sure why). I think when his project is finished he may be interested in designing something for all types of ski trips so all your comments are very welcome!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Maybe anyone over 65 can just enter the max age? I can't imagine it would skew anything meaningful, unless rucksack requirements change dramatically at 65? Integrated weekly medicine planner?
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Very Happy That sounds sensible….I’d possibly add a compartment for on-tap Voltarol Eh oh!
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Ski the Net with snowHeads
@alipret, hmmm, my niece (12) and nephew (10) and all their friends ski with avalanche equipment, so it's very certainly "family" oriented!
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
@alipret, A warning - this method of getting replies to a questionaire is a very dodgy sampling practice and will almost certainly give misleading results to your son.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Quote:

I’d possibly add a compartment for on-tap Voltarol

And a wee pouch for Viagra.....
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
@under_a_new_name thanks for the feedback. If complete the questionnaire could you add to question 8 or 9? Thanks again!
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
@alipret, shouldn't your son be here asking for himself? Just sayin'.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Helpful comment - thanks a bunch
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@alipret, I really don't understand this - from the very start I don't know what you mean by "skiing with the family" or indeed "family ski holiay". Is there some assumption that this means skiing with children where the responder is a parent or other responsible adult? Is the responder taking stuff for all the other family members or just for themselves? In order for answers to be in any way meaningful he needs to be much clearer what is meant, or to design the questionnaire to find this out.

Oh, and why is a portable charger listed as an optional additional item, but not a phone?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
But yes, I agree with @spyderjon that the researcher should be doing this enquiry himself. We get quite a lot of daft questionnaires on Snowheads and generally quite a few people do their best to answer, just out of goodwill.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Surely everyone keeps their lipbalm in their pocket to easily reapply during the downtime on a lift?
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
alipret wrote:
Helpful comment - thanks a bunch

I'll go even further and say that if that's the typical standard of questionnaire from a final year Product Design degree student then what's left of the industrial future of this country is doomed. As Origen says, we get a lot of daft (ie poor) questionnaires here but this one is garbage.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@spyderjon, is not wrong! That age thing... And need some avy kit questions, and all about how we want our skis/boards securing (the only issue/bad thing on Ortovox kit IMHO). Oh yes, and I don't have a family, and don't want one for skiing! Toofy Grin
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
I'm just imagining a pack with very specific pockets for everything which turn out not to fit the actual things that you own
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Design a strapless backpack.

Straps, wires, loose material = danger.

Saw recently a woman hanging off a chairlift by her straps.

It was comical.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Questionnaire:
“Would you take a backpack skiing?”
Me: “No”.

Questionnaire:
“Great! What are you putting in your backpack?”
Me: ermmmm…. Nothing? Oh, no that’s not an option. (Of the stuff listed that I do take, it fits in my jacket pockets.)
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
"Non-binary" Really? I stopped filling it in there.

Oddly enough, I designed and made a backpack especially for my own skiing holidays, after using it a couple of times I stopped using it as I ended up taking more stuff than I ever used/needed.
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@alipret, I didn't respond cos I think this is a bit odd.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
All questionnaires should be piloted. This is the pilot and the guy now has lots of useful feedback. The guy can now re-design the questionnaire and start again.

My 11 year old grand-daughter is doing a geography project on urban safety and has designed a questionnaire for her neighbours. She got permission from the estate committee, tried it out on a few people, and has now re-designed it as a result. It's this process which is the valuable learning - she was initially a bit disheartened but her mother (who fortuitously taught geography....) explained that writing up this part of the process would be worthwhile. In a third year undergraduate product design project I'd expect some sophisticated analysis of the design process, and learning from initial mistakes and assumptions is a vital part of this, so really, this Snowheads response is invaluable and we should probably have a footnote somewhere. wink
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
king key wrote:
"Non-binary" Really? I stopped filling it in there.

Oh dear, does it offend you that some people are allowing other people to define themselves in ways you don't understand?

(No, I don't really understand either, but I'm very happy that it's allowed and accepted.)
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Origen wrote:
All questionnaires should be piloted. This is the pilot and the guy now has lots of useful feedback. The guy can now re-design the questionnaire and start again.

I spent significan portions of my working life designing software to analyse and indeed to help define questionnaires, from market research to 'Patient recorded outcomes' and yes, proper design is important and often needs some test responses before you finalise your design. But you absolutely do not do so on your actual target audience. He's now lost any chance of getting meaningful results from here or anywhere else he's tried to pilot it.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I can't quite see how putting what you might take in a priority order affects the design of the pack. It might make a difference if you could reject some of them completely, eg if you would always have them in pockets or never carry them at all.

More important might be preference (or not) for things like external pockets and straps, adjustable straps, waist strap, ease of removal for chairs, carrying or equipment loops, buckles you can fasten or open with gloves, hydration bladder fittings etc
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
@alipret, The answers to that bunch of questions I would suggest is highly unlikely to provide any meaningful data, no disrespect to your son but i'd suggest a more tech savvy set of questions would be a marked improvement and assist him going forwards. I don't ski with my family so not able to offer any input, but I do own about 10 rucksacks for a wide variety of skiing, mountain-biking, photography and hiking pass-times, and they are all useful but for differing reasons, and I use them for different days and chosen for a specific set of features and benefits - my suggestion would be to dig more into the tech requirements with the questions.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
As a total pack junky I’ll make a couple of suggestions worth looking into

Day pack for riding - black diamond cirque vest. Nothing beats it imo. Combo of a running vest and a day pack.

Bigger pack for overnight trips with weight - Aarn balance packs. They are really innovative and the comfiest thing I’ve ever found to carry heavy loads all day without getting a sore back and shoulders. Hard to understand why more pack manufacturers haven’t done something similar - basically putting big pockets on the chest to balance the weight out. It really works, just have to get used to having porn star norcs.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Chaletbeauroc wrote:
king key wrote:
"Non-binary" Really? I stopped filling it in there.

Oh dear, does it offend you that some people are allowing other people to define themselves in ways you don't understand?

(No, I don't really understand either, but I'm very happy that it's allowed and accepted.)


I'm not a snowflake, the question is irrelevant, ask a sensible question, I'll give a sensible answer. I also wouldn't bother answering if it asked what my star sign is or my favourite song.


Last edited by Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person on Wed 21-02-24 10:28; edited 1 time in total
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
@king key, do you think any question about gender is relevant?
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Just some more thoughts along the "a rucksac for skiing with family theme":

Doesn't it need a seperate section to carry nappies (used and unused)?

The questionaire mentions carrying water but doen't mention a flask of tea.

It also asks about carrying food but doesn't ask about a groundsheet to spread over the snow to sit on while picnicing (like a rope bag)
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Origen wrote:
@king key, do you think any question about gender is relevant?


Male or female is usually fine, it's certainly good enough for my passport.
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Quote:

@king key, do you think any question about gender is relevant?

Maybe not, but a question about sex may be very relevant. I've noticed that many rucksacks are marketed as male or female versions and it's not pink ones for men and blue ones for women but based on different anatomies. For example many women have narrower shoulders than men.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@king key, For many people it is not good enough. Why does it bother you so much?
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Certainly body shape is relevant - too many everyday products have been designed by men, for men. I don't blame the questionnaire's author for thinking about what gender people want to declare - though I do blame him for deciding that nobody over 54 could possibly want to go skiing! There have been some occasions in my life where I've been annoyed at being asked to declare my gender when it's not relevant - like when I checked in to a S African hotel and had to put my "race" in the book. I put "Welsh".
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Chaletbeauroc wrote:
@king key, For many people it is not good enough. Why does it bother you so much?


"For many people it is not good enough." I think you'll find that is their problem and has zero to do with any rucksack design which is what I thought the questionnaire was about.
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johnE wrote:
Quote:

@king key, do you think any question about gender is relevant?

Maybe not, but a question about sex may be very relevant. I've noticed that many rucksacks are marketed as male or female versions and it's not pink ones for men and blue ones for women but based on different anatomies. For example many women have narrower shoulders than men.
I totally agree, body shape is important to get the right fit, you'll not find me disagreeing there.
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