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Snow show review
- Thread starter milo303
- Start date
PJ it was racing food.....raced from one end to the other.
So you got cleansed then?
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tkuss
Well-known member
Personally, not knowing the history of this event in denver, I was disappointed in it. I really enjoyed burandts seminar, wish I woulda checked out others. I am from the midwest and can only compare it to the Milwaukee snow show and haydays(which there is no comparison). But with denver being bigger than Milwaukee, I thought the denver snow show would be huge... When in reality the Mke snowshow is twice as large as this expo was. I still had a good time, just thought there would be more there and more too do. Unless I need to buy something next year, I probably wont go.
Overall though, anything relating to sledding is a good time...
Overall though, anything relating to sledding is a good time...
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MarleneeSteven
Well-known member
Just to touch on this subject, while Denver is a large city, our snowmobile population here is very small. Wisconsin has 224,000 registered snowmobiles (according to ISMA), and 25,000 miles of trails. Colorado has 28,000 registered sleds, and significantly less miles of trails. With a target market base so much lower than our Midwestern brethren, it is difficult to produce a show as large as them. This is often overlooked because Colorado enjoys so much back country and because there are so many recognized athletes in the state.
This also affects the budget for the Producers of the show. A show that has 20,000 attendees will obviously have a larger budget than one with a few thousand (I should know our official numbers later this week). While we get a lot less people at our show than many of the Midwest shows, I would guess that the budget spent, and the in-kind donations for time teaching and sponsorships at our show is much higher (relatively speaking).
That being said, I am very proud of the number of attendees and vendors that we do get, and also very pleased with the number of industry leaders and pro-athletes that step up to put on our workshops and help keep our attendership higher, in relativity, than many of the Midwestern states.
Not dissing on your comment, or feedback, it is still very appreciated. To hear that the Wisconsin show is twice as large as Denver is a very nice compliment, given our market size!
Next year's show will include several additional attractions, outside of vendors, so I hope that we can encourage you to attend again!
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MarleneeSteven
Well-known member
Also, having never been to Wisconsin's show, I would like to hear some of the things that they are doing that makes their show better. If we could incorporate some of those things into our show, perhaps we could help it grow!
We are very committed to producing the 'Best Show' in the West and this is a great forum to find some of these things out!
We are very committed to producing the 'Best Show' in the West and this is a great forum to find some of these things out!
The frozen tee shirt contest is always a crowd pleaser 
I didn't make this year's show. But I have gone to a lot of them. What I'd like to see:
A sled raffle, to be given away AT THE SHOW, not months down the road.
Door prizes
Less vendors selling peanuts and satellite TV
More sled vendors
A better, less restrictive swap meet. If the swap is a PITA to either sell in or buy in, people won't come at all and then nobody wins. Make it easy and affordable. Peeps won't wanna pay 50 bucks for a spot if its an inconvenience for anybody to access, or sell $100 worth of stuff to clean out there garage.
In the old days we had a gathering and BBQ'd/tailgated and donations were collected for the CSA, BRC, SAWS. It was fun, affordable and good. Better than paying 20 bucks for the slop the venue sells.
I don't think you could do sled races or grass drags unless you get out of the city
A sled raffle, to be given away AT THE SHOW, not months down the road.
Door prizes
Less vendors selling peanuts and satellite TV
More sled vendors
A better, less restrictive swap meet. If the swap is a PITA to either sell in or buy in, people won't come at all and then nobody wins. Make it easy and affordable. Peeps won't wanna pay 50 bucks for a spot if its an inconvenience for anybody to access, or sell $100 worth of stuff to clean out there garage.
In the old days we had a gathering and BBQ'd/tailgated and donations were collected for the CSA, BRC, SAWS. It was fun, affordable and good. Better than paying 20 bucks for the slop the venue sells.
I don't think you could do sled races or grass drags unless you get out of the city
This has been brought up several times. I like it. Isn't there all sorts of space with all the stock yard stuff? It just needs participation and lots of volunteer help to get it going.
No. The venue I am referring to is the PLACE that is hosting the show. The food seller is the very same seller that serves the slop at stock show, bike races, the circus. I think it's AraMark. and they are also the same seller that does the Rockies, Nuggets and Avs games.
Need to see if it is possible to get the swap meet all in one area. Some people didn't even know to walk back to the second lot. Just feel like we missed out on some people. Other than that I thought it was a good show.
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tkuss
Well-known member
Thanks for the info. I can definilty see the midwest has having a much much larger population base of snowmobilers, and therefore a much larger attendance and therefore attract more vendors. I know I would generally go to the snow show in Mke on a friday night, and it would be down right packed full of people.
To try and sum up my experience at denver real quick, I went in with 300$ cash in my pocket, looking to pick up 1 sled DVD, maybe some oil if a vendor had the brand I like (nobody did, no big deal). My girlfriend was looking for a nice winter jacket, and I had told her to wait for this event, as I am sure they would have alot of nice options for a good price. I arrived and slowly walked through all the vendors, it took me only about 20 mins to get through everything, as I wasnt looking for much, and what I was looking for wasnt there. I got my DVD, and most all the jackets we saw for my girlfriend, were klim and such and they were looking to get 300$ for a jacket. I was kinda hoping something would catch my eye (good deals on who knows what?), and that I would end up wasting my money on it, lol. Well nothing really caught my eye. So basically I spent 20$ to get in the door after driving an hour to buy a DVD, and walk around for 20 minutes to look at turbo sleds I cant afford (which is still cool to look at) and gear that I dont need and is priced much higher than would spend anyway.
Comparing this to the Milwaukee show, that show takes probably 3 times as long to walk through if you dont stop at any of the booths. They have many more vendors, selling a greater variety of clothing, I know my girlfriend woulda been able to find a nice jacket there for under 100$. I am sure I woulda ran into something there that woulda made me want to spend some of my 300$, dont know what it woulda been, but just with the # of vendors and variety of products I am sure I woulda ran into something.
Also at Mke, all 4 sled manufactures have huge booths setup showing all there new technology, I take generally a good 30 mins or hour to just go through all the sled brands and check out them all out. At denver, ski-doo had a nice booth, AC's was very small, and the other two were non existent I believe...
At denver I personally would like to see more vendors offering clothes/outerwear for more normal/cheap prices. Cause I think alot of the sledders, bring non sledders to the event, and if they can get a nice pair of gloves for 20$ or a cool looking jacket for 100$, it would be a good thing. It could also help keep the wives/girlfriends busy, when the man goes to the turbo booth to talk bout getting his new sled setup
...Hope this doesnt come off as me being negative towards the show, as I did have a good time and thats why I asked what the history of the show was in denver... I understand everything starts small and grows year by year, which sounds like what your plans are which is great. Like you said, I think having the pro's like burandt, rasmuessen and vohk showing up and being interactive is a huge advantage over all the other shows in the country....
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stingray719
Well-known member
Thanks for the info. I can definilty see the midwest has having a much much larger population base of snowmobilers, and therefore a much larger attendance and therefore attract more vendors. I know I would generally go to the snow show in Mke on a friday night, and it would be down right packed full of people.
To try and sum up my experience at denver real quick, I went in with 300$ cash in my pocket, looking to pick up 1 sled DVD, maybe some oil if a vendor had the brand I like (nobody did, no big deal). My girlfriend was looking for a nice winter jacket, and I had told her to wait for this event, as I am sure they would have alot of nice options for a good price. I arrived and slowly walked through all the vendors, it took me only about 20 mins to get through everything, as I wasnt looking for much, and what I was looking for wasnt there. I got my DVD, and most all the jackets we saw for my girlfriend, were klim and such and they were looking to get 300$ for a jacket. I was kinda hoping something would catch my eye (good deals on who knows what?), and that I would end up wasting my money on it, lol. Well nothing really caught my eye. So basically I spent 20$ to get in the door after driving an hour to buy a DVD, and walk around for 20 minutes to look at turbo sleds I cant afford (which is still cool to look at) and gear that I dont need and is priced much higher than would spend anyway.
Comparing this to the Milwaukee show, that show takes probably 3 times as long to walk through if you dont stop at any of the booths. They have many more vendors, selling a greater variety of clothing, I know my girlfriend woulda been able to find a nice jacket there for under 100$. I am sure I woulda ran into something there that woulda made me want to spend some of my 300$, dont know what it woulda been, but just with the # of vendors and variety of products I am sure I woulda ran into something.
Also at Mke, all 4 sled manufactures have huge booths setup showing all there new technology, I take generally a good 30 mins or hour to just go through all the sled brands and check out them all out. At denver, ski-doo had a nice booth, AC's was very small, and the other two were non existent I believe...
At denver I personally would like to see more vendors offering clothes/outerwear for more normal/cheap prices. Cause I think alot of the sledders, bring non sledders to the event, and if they can get a nice pair of gloves for 20$ or a cool looking jacket for 100$, it would be a good thing. It could also help keep the wives/girlfriends busy, when the man goes to the turbo booth to talk bout getting his new sled setup
Hope this doesnt come off as me being negative towards the show, as I did have a good time and thats why I asked what the history of the show was in denver... I understand everything starts small and grows year by year, which sounds like what your plans are which is great. Like you said, I think having the pro's like burandt, rasmuessen and vohk showing up and being interactive is a huge advantage over all the other shows in the country....
Being a cheap bastard by nature I hear you on the cheap jackets, but the fact is technology has marched on and the old $100.00 jackets we used to (or still do) wear just cannot compete with a good KLIM jacket. After Corey at NextLevel Powersports talked me into a pair of KLIM boots I can tell you I will never wear a pair of Arctic Cat boots again. Does make the sport that much more expensive though...........
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tkuss
Well-known member
I agree, no one ever regrets $ spent on good gear. I wear HMK, which isnt top of the line but still pretty good and can be pretty spendy. I also have motorfist boots that I love. So my intent is not to rip on expensive gear at all or the gear manufactures. My point is that from my experience of various snowshows, having gear of all price ranges and qualities, is a nice thing for many different reasons, which I tried to explain briefly above....
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Pfunk9
Member
We had a great time with the whole family, much better than last year, no hidden rooms to look for. Some vendor prices were way too high so we didn't buy from them. We did find a new fly helmet for our son for 50 bucks, and 509 polarized sinister googles for 70 bucks. Had to do a little wheeling and dealing no biggie. I was born and raised in the midwest, went to a lot of shows there, and you cant compare the 2, The mountain ridding out here is a whole new type of snowmobiling, and the show seems to cater to that. The midwest shows have more vendors selling full face helmets, insulated clothing, and a whole bunch of other cold weather accessories. I do miss the water cross and grass drags, but Im sure that would be tough to do out here, and liability is probably high. All in all had a great time!!!!
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NYColoraDan
Well-known member
SCAM ALERT:
One of the pretty ladies in the back of the vendor area inside right before you entered the seminar area convinced me to sign up to win a getaway to Disney or Florida or something. I provided my contact information and received a call today from somewhere in Florida telling me I had one BUT IT IS A SCAM.
REPEAT: SCAM
I tried to get as much info about it as possible. It sounds like that woman at the show was collecting information for a company called Tour America Inc. A quick online search for this company reveals exactly how it works. Here's a review from someone else:
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/tour-america-inc-clearwater-florida-c583869.html
What is described at the complaintsboard.com link above is EXACTLY what they told me on the phone. BE CAREFUL.
Let's try and weed these types of people out for next year. I believe the booth is listed in the vendor list as "Vacation Getaways" or something like that.
One of the pretty ladies in the back of the vendor area inside right before you entered the seminar area convinced me to sign up to win a getaway to Disney or Florida or something. I provided my contact information and received a call today from somewhere in Florida telling me I had one BUT IT IS A SCAM.
REPEAT: SCAM
I tried to get as much info about it as possible. It sounds like that woman at the show was collecting information for a company called Tour America Inc. A quick online search for this company reveals exactly how it works. Here's a review from someone else:
http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/tour-america-inc-clearwater-florida-c583869.html
What is described at the complaintsboard.com link above is EXACTLY what they told me on the phone. BE CAREFUL.
Let's try and weed these types of people out for next year. I believe the booth is listed in the vendor list as "Vacation Getaways" or something like that.
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dtown
Well-known member
I thought it was a good improvement from years past. Except for the swap meet... needs to be in one area, not two.
It's kind of crazy how all the western states have so few registered (OHV sticker) sleds compared to WI, MI, MN. MI has a little over 200,000 registered sleds, CO has a little over 20,000. I think this is why our expo is so small compared to those midwest states.... we just don't have the sled population to support a huge event.
It's kind of crazy how all the western states have so few registered (OHV sticker) sleds compared to WI, MI, MN. MI has a little over 200,000 registered sleds, CO has a little over 20,000. I think this is why our expo is so small compared to those midwest states.... we just don't have the sled population to support a huge event.
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MarleneeSteven
Well-known member
@Tkuss, didn't take your comments as a bad thing at all. I appreciate the feedback very much. It's very helpful to help steer this thing towards becoming something really awesome! The show in Denver has declined (except this year) for about 5 years running. It's something that I, personally, and CSA are very committed to fixing.
Some of the things you guys are talking about (drags, or other events) are in the works for next year's show. They were discussed for this year's show, but we held them for next year to really concentrate on some of the things that needed to be made right.
POSSIBLE events that are being looked at for the 2014 show might include drags, some form of snoX, aerial exhibition, and more. We'll see, over the next few months, how things progress.
The swap meet was messy, and that will be addressed for next year.
Keep the comments and reviews coming! They are very valuable!
Some of the things you guys are talking about (drags, or other events) are in the works for next year's show. They were discussed for this year's show, but we held them for next year to really concentrate on some of the things that needed to be made right.
POSSIBLE events that are being looked at for the 2014 show might include drags, some form of snoX, aerial exhibition, and more. We'll see, over the next few months, how things progress.
The swap meet was messy, and that will be addressed for next year.
Keep the comments and reviews coming! They are very valuable!
There was a second swap meet lot? 
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MarleneeSteven
Well-known member
There was a second swap meet lot?
It was just a 'continuation' of the existing lot, but it bent around the corner so some people didn't see it. To be honest, we didn't expect such a big turn out for swappers, and were left scrambling to add additional space.
It will be resolved for next year's show
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