Kühl & Plake: A Match Made in Mountain Heaven
It's not every day you see a story that makes you say, "Yep, that makes perfect sense." But seeing Kühl team up with the legendary Glen Plake to launch their new Defiant Ski Line is one of them. For those of us who have been around a while, this feels less like a new chapter and more like a story coming full circle.
I've been watching this story unfold since the beginning. I have great memories from the early days of Älf—before it even became Kühl—of seeing founder Ole-boy, aka Kevin, cruising up Little Cottonwood Canyon in his Alfa Romeo, heading for a day at the Bird or Alta. Back then, if you were a serious mountain person, you had one of those iconic Älf fleece hats with the earflaps. To see that same independent, born-in-the-mountains spirit now powering a full-blown, bomber ski line is just awesome.
And bringing in Glen Plake? It's a masterstroke. Plake is the real deal—a Hall of Famer whose passion for skiing is absolutely infectious. He lives and breathes this sport, from pioneering extreme lines to his grassroots "Down Home Tour." He's always been about function over flash, and that's exactly what this partnership is built on.
This wasn't just a "slap your name on it" deal. Plake was deep in the trenches on this project, working for years on the design and testing. His goal was to create something that moves with you, gear that feels so natural you forget you're even wearing it. As Plake put it, "The stretch material we designed feels like you have nothing on... it shows in every detail."
So, what did they cook up? The Defiant line is a complete system for serious skiers. The Defiant Shell is the centerpiece—a bombproof jacket made with KühlFLEX fabric that's built to move, whether you're ripping resort laps or setting a skin track. They put this gear through the wringer right in their backyard, testing it in the legendary powder of Little Cottonwood Canyon.
The collection also includes bibs, a slick quarter-zip midlayer, and a down insulator that's packed with new tech like graphene to manage body heat. It's clear they've built this for those of us who live for the mountains, demanding durable, high-performance gear that works from bell to bell and beyond.
For a brand that started with fleece hats and built a reputation on incredible pants, this is a bold and exciting move. By teaming up with a legend like Plake, Kühl isn't just entering the skiwear game—they're coming in hot, ready to shake things up. And I, for one, can't wait to see it.
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